why did you start keeping chickens

[Moosetails]

I don't know why! No, really. I don't know why. It was like a calling to raise something, and I didn't know what. I thought about raising rabbits, goats, even a cow, before I decided on chicken. Once I had settled on chicken, my mind was made up. My hubby, and my son, were against it from the beginning, but the hubby will probably change his mind tomorrow. (ha,ha,ha) On the bright side, he has stopped being so negative because he likes the taste of free-range eggs.

 

[hdowden]

got a self blue d'uccle cockerel for my mom but she didn't like him so i kept him and i had to get him some friends (2 oegb) and it just expanded from there and now i am working on my d'uccle flock still adding chickens to it and looking for more pullets while i grow out some cockerels. i now do it for the pleasure and beauty of seeing the chickens and seeing my kids faces when they come home from showing at the local fair.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Both of my grandmothers kept chickens when i was young. We only saw our grandparents once a year, 1 week at each house. Those vacation trips were just so exciting! Gramma M had raised any farm critter that lived, Gramma H mostly chickens and hogs. There were so many differences in how they fed and cared for them all. The one part that was identical, the love they showed to the animals, and love returned to them. My Grammas' both taught me no matter what that animal was put here for, you love and respect it as it has feelings, just as she or I did. It was our vacations every year that made me want chickens. I was the youngest grandchild on both sides, so i had little time with them before they had passed. Guess it makes me feel closer to both my Grammas' too.
So this spring it happened. We have 5 acres, and my future SIL walked it one day and said "SOOOO do you want some free chickens?" (hehehe i love that kid!) I blurted out YES! and my hubby looked horrified.. (poor thing, sorry hunny) Dad says, i want geese, mom says, me too! DD says i want ducks! Later, hubby said...i wouldnt mind a few guineas.... UHUH..
I have my Red, and his 5 Ladies (3 RLW, 1BR, 1EE) that give us eggs, as well as raise meat birds (23 cornish X, #24 is staying). My layers earned their keep, i won't butcher them (unless we are totally without food!). My geese are our gaurdians, and pets. My ducks are my daughters pets, and my guineas, they do give us eggs, but they just make me laugh! My little killer watchdogs! So very silly little things. Then theres 2 pigs Bacon and RoastieRoxy, 2 alpaca next week, and plans for turkeys this spring....and a few milk goats....hmm and maybe 2 cows

I am loving every moment.

 

[TallChickMagnet]

I was on a recycling tangent and one of the things that I started to recycle were egg cartons. I'd use them for arts and crafts with the a local scouting troop, and other things. After collecting so many cartons that I couldn't get rid of them fast enough, I decided that I needed something to put in them. I rescued a few hens and recycled them. Now I have nine and looking for more.

 

[TimBaumann]

I went to a friends house and saw that they had chicken. I watched them run around and scratch in the dirt, after that I couldn't get them out of my head! I went to my parents but they immediately said 'NO'. After many days of discussions about how efficient it could be to raise chicken for eggs I finally persuaded. I got my first 4 chicken not long after that! And chicken remind me of dinosaurs which is awesome!!!

 

[Frizzle13]

my granny always had chickens and i got into them through her and keep them at her farm

 

[Brookliner]

My grandparents had bantams. I spent many vacations at their house when I was young. Later I had geese, ducks and chickens. About 30 years ago we were having trouble with kids running through our yard (using it as a short cut to the store in our town). We thought that instead of having a confrontation with the kids all the time we would just get some geese. We had a flock of 20 African geese and they did a great job keeping the kids off our property. Later we added chickens and of course I wanted bantams. We now have 4 geese, 12 chickens, 9 chicks and a broody sitting on 5 eggs that might start hatching today if I counted correctly. We are trying to get our new coop finished because I really don't want chickens in the garage over the winter. We love watching the interactions between members of the flock and how their personalities change over time.

 

[tony-ps]

Every year I would see chickens being shown at local fall fairs and I though that raising one of those unique breeds of chicken would be a good pass time, so in the spring of 2011 I got 6 hens and since then its grown to 19 hens and 3 roosters.

 

[BullChick]

I hate all birds. I went to TSC to get fencing for the garden. It was Chick Days. God made babies cute for a reason. The beginning (sure isn't the end!).

 

[7 Biddies]

I'd gotten to the point where I couldn't stand the idea of grocery store, battery produced eggs and was running all over looking for fresh organic eggs. Plus, ever since I'd seen Martha Stewart's chicken palace, I'd thought about how cool it would be to have them myself. The idea finally became an obsession and I took the plunge. Haven't looked back since.