Why did you start raising chicken?

[churchx3]

I was raised in the city growing up.... as I got older my hobby was flower gardening which took alot of $ and physical stamina from a.m. to p.m. to keep up with all the beds.... at about 50 I developed high blood pressure and that kind of ended what had been the endless physical stamina I seemed to have had....so I thought long and hard about what I would really like to do...I knew I wanted to continue enjoying the outdoors, keep life simple AND be able to relax and enjoy.... I am more of a loner and thought the idea of spending time with the animals would be rewarding for me....my kids did not exactly embrace the idea of having chickens and goats in the back yard, but they were hardly ever around with college, boyfriends, social plans. So it started out with 7 chickens and 2 pygmy goats, then eventually went to 20 chickens, and this past weekend went and bought 10 more baby chicks so I am up to 30 now. I so enjoy going out to the coop daily to see how many eggs await me....I really enjoy walking out the back door having all the chickens and goats run up to me, of course I know it is really the treats they are interested in, but it makes me feel good anyway. I did not go into this to sell chickens, eggs, etc., and actually just decided this week to start donating my eggs to a church food bank that gives food to the community...just my small way of giving back and feeling good about it. Bottom line, it just feels good all the way around!

 

[Sissy]

I spent all my summers on a farm
and vowed some dayI would have chickens but the 5 kiddies came along
no time for peeps. long story short ,
kids grew up married and moved on
and in came the 6 chiks from TSC A gift from DH
then the chix layed and the peeps hatched
and more layed and more peeps so
now we are up to about 45.
Oh happy day what a wondeful world.

 

[CMV]

Four years ago a friend got some chickens. He was constantly telling us how low maintenance his small flock was, how great the eggs were, and what a small investment of time and money they were. He eventually convinced my husband that it was a good idea to have chickens. I always wanted chickens, so it was my husband that needed convincing. We also had a young child, so I figured it would be great raising babies up in the house so she could watch the process. We started with a small flock of chicks which are now three years old, and then added some ducks and geese. We are now up to 30 birds. The "small investment" of time and money has grown significantly. We have a large coop, 2 small coops, 1 fully enclosed run and a large fenced run. We spend every evening watching the birds free-range and enjoying their presence around our home. We also raise poultry for meat and do all our own processing. Our daughter has grown up around birds her whole life, which has been great. Raising poultry around a young child teaches a lot of lessons that would otherwise have been a long ways off- breeding, butchering, responsibility, loss to predators, protecting those weaker than you, and facing bullies (rooster) are just a few examples. She will be a better person because she is raised with birds. She tells everyone that she is the Queen of All Chickens, and she is.

 

[swordgeek]

Quote:

Sure, that's what I heard, too! After building the Alcatraz of coops and my second visit to the vet with the same sick bird, my boss asked me how much they were costing me per pound. Expensive hobby!

But seeing the kids around them... makes it all worthwhile.

 

[swordgeek]

Years ago, either while I was in college, or just after I graduated, my father started raising chickens. I thought he was nuts. My mother hated the birds, and wouldn't go near them. Every time I visited, he'd unload a few dozen eggs on me, even though I didn't particularly like eggs, and my cholesterol level went up for the first time in my life. They were amazing! But still... the guy was nuts. It was Cape Cod - nobody had chickens in suburban Cape Cod. I was convinced that he wanted to be labelled a redneck.

Fast-forward many years, and I'm at the 4-H fair with my two daughters, maybe 5 and 7 at the time. I was in 4-H as a kid, and loved it, but livestock was NOT something I was into! Now, normal kids fall in love with the fuzzy little bunnies and the cavies, right? Not my kids. The younger one leaves the fair all excited that there was a bearded dragon in the exotic animals booth. She wants a lizard. I like lizards, maybe this is doable, assuming the cat doesn't eat it... The older kid, however, had had a chance to hold a tiny black hen. (Looking back, I'm sure it was a bantam, but who knows what breed. I didn't know anything about chickens - maybe that they didn't look like turkeys or ducks.) She announces that the only thing that will EVER make her happy is having a little black chicken. If only she could have The Dream Chicken, life would be worth living. I say, "Yeah, tell your father that. He'll say no even quicker than I did."

And wouldn't you know... the guy who doesn't even like my cat decides that building a coop/SHED would be a fun project. And having to take care of living things would teach this heretofore irresponsible child a sense of responsibility. It was brilliant!

I was aghast. You KNOW who's going to be taking care of the chickens, right? (*)

Now it's a few years later, and we have 9 chickens, including a rooster who wasn't supposed to be male. I take care of the chickens, with a fair amount of help from my younger daughter (the older one just likes to take pictures of them). Three of our nine chickens are black, "The Dream Chickens", if you include the WCBP rooster. There are stuffed animal chickens, chicken pictures, and chicken statues all over the house and yard. I am responsible for most of these items being here. I spend hours every week just sitting quietly with the birds, sometimes with my laptop going. I dread having to go away for a few days because I won't see my chickens. I miss them when I have to go to the office, instead of working from home. My friends think I'm a freak. They call me the Crazy Chicken Lady. But they don't say no to a gift of eggs, now, do they? They've been my kids' first exposure to death and grieving, but also new life and hope. They bring us joy and amusement, and frustration, and sometimes those moments of "what the hell am I doing this for?". So glad I didn't just end up with a lizard... though there is still time...

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(*) When the first birds were a week or so old, I snuck into the basement in the middle of the night to check the temperature in the cage. I didn't want to wake them up, so I crept down the stairs by only the light of the heat lamp. I missed a stair and went flying. Broke my left foot clean in half. Screamed for help, none came, and I had to drag myself up the stairs on my knees. Yet, even while in a cast for 3 weeks and on crutches for another 8, I butt-bumped my way up and down those stairs every day to make sure they were warm enough, had food and water, a clean cage... So much for having an 8-year-old as your primary caregiver!

 

[Ed62]

My wife wanted to get a few chickens. I did not want them, but I wanted to please her. We ordered some 1 day old chicks, and I decided to try to like them. Needless to say, they made it easy. Good thread.

Ed

 

[kla37]

I was at a picnic at a friend's house, and there was this animal in the back of the yard, and I asked them what it was, and they told me it was their chicken.

They told me more about "Cinderella" and then I began to want them, and did a lot of research, and wanted them more, and more, and now I have a great coop and 8 chickens.

And I want more, and more

.......asking for an incubator for chirstmas, (just a little one...)

 

[Jeeper1540]

I started raising chickens as pets and for eggs. ducks too, but they dont really like me. selling eggs and enough eggs for ourselves. we are expanding the coop this year. i am hoping to build a separate coop someday and start raising meat birds, because the ones in my first coop are egg laying pets, not food.

 

[Bearing1]

I am just loving all the stories on why we started, some very touching.
We have each other to share them thanks to this wonderful Website to compare notes and convince ourselfs we are not
just lunatics talking to chickens etc.

 

[2DogsFarm]

I am an Urban Transplant to the country.
Six years ago I moved from Chicago (a block from Wrigley Field) after 30+ years to my 5ac farmette so I could have horses at home.

A friend who had lived on a farm moved nearby and got chickens.
I chickensat for her one Summer & was amused at how much personality her 2 hens had.
They went from running screaming from me the first 2 days, to recognizing I was FoodLady & coming to greet me.

I decided to get 2 of my own.
2 became 4, then 4 became 5 when a fellow BYCer (Treelady?) talked me into taking a Houdan pullet along with the Delawares & Black Stars she had for sale.

Now 5 will hopefully become 7 hens if my 2 newest don't turn out to be roosters
(I tell them every day it is a bad idea...)