Why do you keep chickens?

My parents had chickens when my brother and I were growing up. He and I were always responsible of them and we liked working together taking care of our old flock. We had a pet BA hen that we named Queenie. Whenever she saw us she would come running and squat down for us to pet her.
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After they quit laying my father sold them and we didn't have chickens for over 6 years after that.

In 2005 when I fifteen I got into my head to get some more chickens to provide my family with farm fresh eggs. I fixed up the old coop and on the first saturday of September I got 2 beautiful Red Sexlink hens that I named Penny and Little Red. Then 2 weeks later a friend of my father gave me a Black Sexlink pullet and two game cross roosters. I was happy taking care of them. It was alot of responsibiltly but fun.
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Little Red layed her first egg on Thanksgiving Day of 2005 when she was 6 months old. Soon Penny and Little Shadow followed her in suit.

By summer of 2006 I had 15 hens and 2 roosters. Getting about 10 to 15 eggs a day. Just a few weeks after that my first baby chicks hatched out and I named them DJ and Rusty. I was smitten by the lovely baby chicks. Mama started laying when they were about 7 weeks old so I moved her back with the flock.

On the day I was going to move them into the flock I found that they were killed.
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Darn Coon had just taken their heads and left the rest of them behind.
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By the time December came around I had over 22 hens and 5 roosters. I didn't need that many roo's so I put 10 hens and 2 roo's up for sale for $100. $50 dollars a flock for 5 hens and a roo.
I sold all the black hens and the black and white roo for $50 dollars just 2 weeks before Christmas. The next week someone wanted the the other flock for $50 dollars and were going to pick them up in 3 days time. But one of the hens got sick so I couldn't sell her. I put her in the quaratine coop and let the guy have the flock for $40 'cause one of the hens was sick.

2007 came and went with me now having over 25 hens and only one BR roo. I sold the 4 extra roosters for $10 dollars each at the flea - market to people. Most of the roo's except for Gallo and Calico I didn't care what happened to them. The other 2 hispanic people bought for dinner. So what.? Those two were always mean to me. Biting, scratching and everything.

2008 came and I was happily going to the coop one fine late spring day and I found my favorite out of my original flock dead. Butchered I should say. I even saw that days egg inside of her ready to be layed later that day.
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RIP my pretty Penny girl.
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I sold my BR roo Sal to someone for $15 dollars 'cause he had already broke 4 of my hens necks trying to learn how to mate.
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Poor guy. He was young and inmature.

When I went to camp in the last week of June I had a total of 18 chickens. When I came back I had only 9 chickens. The Great Massacre had happened while I was gone.
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The hen that had been sick was momma to 6 EE chicks at the time. Only Rhonda the RIR and her chicks, Pepper the BR hen, Marshmellow the EE hen and Blueberry the EE hen survived the Great Massacre.

Thank goodness some friends came over and COMPLEATLY rebuilt the coop. It was twice the size of the other coop and a whole lot safer. But coons still were getting into the coop and I lost Rhonda and all of her kids except for Peep. Pepper had 4 RIR chicks and was in a little open wire pen. When I found Rhonda and her kids dead I quickly checked Pepper and her babies. She and her babies were fine. I noticed some blood on her beak and there was alot of grey, black and white fur in her pen. So I'm thinking that they had just come maybe an hour or so before because their bodies were still warm. Because Pepper fended them off they went after my EE chicks and my RIR hen.
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My father figured they were coming from the loft and put tires in the spaces inbetween the wall and the wire. It worked. Ever since then I haven't lost and single chicken except to old age and weakness in the chicks.
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I bought Chili the BR hen along with her 8 baby chicks for $25 dollars. Out of those chicks only 4 survived. Out of those 4 I sold the rooster for $10 dollars and kept the rest.

By March of 2009 I had 12 hens plus 6 pullets ready to start laying anytime soon. I sold the extra 4 roo's I had for $20 dollars. Rusty, Bunty, Coal, Carmel and Butterscotch was about 7 months old. Chili went broody again so I put about BR and RIR 7 or 8 eggs under her. Then a week afterwards Coal went broody and I put 5 or 6 eggs under her. Only 2 chicks hatched under Chili and they were growing like a weed. I was postive that the coal black chick was a pullet and that the black chick with the head spot was roo. These were Black Sexlink chicks. Coal hatched out her chick and was doing a good job with him at first but just as suddenly she lost interest and the chick was doing horrid. Then she managed to grab one of Chili's babies and almost killed it. I took both chicks inside to try raising myself. Coal's chick didn't make it. I wasn't too happy but just accepted it. Chili's chick on the other hand did after 2 weeks of careful attention. It was happy and warm. The temporary brooder that I made with a carboard bow, a lamp and a lampshade kept the temperture up to 85 degree's. The chick was 2 or 3 weeks old by the time this happened to him. So by the time his wounds were healed up he was about a month old. When I put him back with Chili she accepted him back with no problem at all. Like he was never gone. That's what I like to see in a Broody.
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I had named the chick that I saved Zoe which means "LIFE" but she turned out to be a he so his name was changed to "ZON". I didn't have the heart to take Speckled Hen's precious BR roo's name Zane for my own.

The fair came and went and I had 2 blue ribbons, a big purple ribbon and a big 2 foot tall trophy from Marshmellow and Rusty.

In September 26th I bought Koda for $45 dollars. She's been doing great with the flock and protecting and keeping Coyotes, Coons, Foxes, Possums and Hawks away from them.

Just this past winter I lost Butterscotch. She was always so flighty so I knew when she started letting me pet her something was wrong. She died a week after she started letting me pet her. Oh well.

Now it's Feb. 17th of 2010 and I still have to go out and take care of the dogs, the new cats and the chickens but I took maybe an hour out of my time to type this out.

Thank you for joining me in my journey of raising chickens. This year on the first saturday of September will be the 5 year anniversery of my raising chickens. I've gotten alot of yummy eggs over the past years and they are the best things I've tasted right after Ice Cream and Dark Chocolate.
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Love this post! I lost my job, too, but that has really given me the chance to do what I always wanted to do anyway. I like your thought about putting effort into your giving.

Thanks for your response.

Katherine
 
6chickens in St. Charles :

Our backyard chickens were an accidental, bad parenting mistake gone surprisingly well. But there's history cropping up, too: my husband's related to a painter who was a pet chicken artist over a hundred years ago in Forest Park, IL. My own mother confessed to raising chickens in their Oak Park, IL backyard during the depression, and she says she hated it. It was not a popular thing for her neighbors to put up with (Chicago suburb) She recalls the chickens being difficult and stupid, and she recalls the meat being "tough" . . . We used to have a beloved cat, but we don't recall him being as sociable with us as the chickens. They seek us out and desire our company far more than the cat did. And they desire pets and laps for longer than the cat did. And they're just as good at catching chipmunks. But they're better at eating beetles off my roses
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Thanks for your lovely post,6chickens! I can see where raising chickens because you have to might not be satisfying or enjoyable. Interesting about the chipmunks - I'm going to have to let mine have free run of the yard in spring and see what they do. We are overrun with chipmunks here.

Katherine​
 
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Hey, that's fine, amy - I don't want just people whose female relatives raised chickens to answer the survey. I want to get a sense of whether it was (and is) more women than men. Obviously, it's not a scientific survey, but I'd like it to have some degree of accuracy.

My chiro's dad was the chicken-keeper in his family. Apparently, his dad was like some kind of pied piper of chickens! They followed him everywhere and did what he told them to.

Katherine
 
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DOE, that is why I got chickens - for a protein source in the garden (as well as help with pest control and a source of fertilizer.) Now I've come to really enjoy them. They haven't been our only source of protein - yet - but this day may come for many people. They are our only source produced by ourselves and that is very satisfying.

Katherine
 
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It's interesting how it skipped a generation, with many people. My mother never kept chickens, but remembers her parents and grandparents doing so. I hope you had the chance to answer the survey! I'm curious about your age and the generational thing.

I know we are not supposed to ask age on this board, but I think I can volunteer the info. I'm 52. Many women I know here in WI a generation older (70+) never kept chickens as adults, but vividly remember helping their mothers with chickens on family farms.

Katherine
 
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Me, too, Uzuri!!! I could tell a number of stories like that, including the decision to raise chickens. People think I'm crazy at first and that it won't happen. You'd think by now they'd notice I follow through. Rock on, my friend!

Katherine
 
I took your survey. I'm a former city girl. My parents never had chickens and would never have chickens, although they enjoy mine when they come to visit. I didn't want chickens, but bought a couple because hubby wanted them. Now we have chickens and ducks in the house and in the yard, chickens and ducks in the incubator, and one turkey (he's going to freezer camp soon). I have a roaster in the slow-cooker as we speak that I raised myself, and am very proud of that!

I love each and every one and they love me (at least when I have treats). There is nothing more relaxing than watching chicken TV, nor more satisfiable than finding and eating our own chickens' eggs. There is also the knowledge that if our economy is headed toward a depression, we can in a small way provide our own needs.
 

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