Why Do You Love BYC? - Writing Contest - WINNERS ANNOUNCED!

[TillinWithMyPeeps]

Do you love BYC?

If so, this is your chance to tell exactly what it is that you like about Backyardchickens.com .

Nifty has offered to donate a 6 Month Golden Feather Membership.

You will be judged by a panel of judges, the judges will be looking for originality, creativity, and mechanics (spelling, grammar, punctuation) as well as the ability to convey your message.

The panel of judges are:

1. Debiraymond
2. WriterOfWords
3. miss_jayne

You will have until Tuesday, July 28 to post your entries. The judges will then discuss, and the winner will be announced shortly afterwards.

Good Luck!

 

[TillinWithMyPeeps]

You guys need to get entering this!

 

[77horses]

ohhh I love writing stories and stuff, so this is perfect! Do we type it here or send it to you by PM or???

 

[miss_jayne]

please post here.

if Andy directs otherwise, we'll change it.

 

[Schultz]

Andy, this is such a great idea and thank you for doing this. Honestly, I don't need a GFM, I already have one that was generously gifted to me. I will, however, still tell you why I love BYC. If, by some chance, I win, I would gladly gift it to someone!

BYC came into our lives quite by chance after googling chicken breeds. We had rescued 6 one year old Buff Orpingtons and had no clue as to their breed. Of course, after many weeks of lurking, we decided to join. I have to admit, BYC was a scary new world for us because the information seemed so overwhelming; still we were so thankful to have all the knowledge and insight everyone is so eager to share. We then found Indiana hens on Craigslist and bought some gorgeous chickens from him! He was kind enough to send them home with his sister so we didn't have to drive far. Andy has been so helpful, he has answered more questions than I am sure he cared to, he helped us get vaccines for our girls and we got to visit. His place is amazing with all his animals. He even sent us home with strawberry plants and Jerusalem artichokes! We still didn't post a lot on BYC and had been treated poorly a few times but I vowed not to let it get to me and pressed on with my continued chicken education. Rob and I soon found our groove on BYC and then the worst happened...We found the "make your own incubator" threads and then the egg auction threads!!! Rob, thanks to BYC, made a wonderful incubator that would rival any Sportsman! We started winning egg auctions and auctioning off our own eggs and just could not stop the hatching madness. We met Solace aka Dan, he traded eggs with us and actually stopped at our house for lunch on his way to Wisconsin. He brought us a gift that I wouldn't trade for anything, our little Serama rooster. By this time, we were in full swing with hatching and had talked with and met so many people on BYC that we decided to host a Chickenstock to show our appreciation and to give back to the BYC community. It has blossomed into a really big deal, at least in my eyes. We have over a hundred guests signed up to come. Without BYC and God, none of this would be possible. I have seen so many good things on BYC, people helping others coping with loss, lending a shoulder to cry on, giving of themselves, random acts of kindness, helping others get back on their feet, we share triumphs and tragedies, send prayers and help when we can but the best thing of all, BYC has made me laugh at least once a day! I am one of more than 35,000 people who get together for one common cause, Back Yard Chickens and we do this without predjudice. This is why I love BYC.

 

[Indiana hens]

Quote:
I can't top that! I love BYC for :Schultz, Debiraymond,WriterOfWords,miss_jayne,and Andy123. Win, I have already won! Oh!, and for the rest of my list of things I love please look at the user list right beside index.

 

[Schultz]

Aww Andy we love you too! I was just editing my story when you typed that! There's no way we could forget about you!!

 

[dipence71]

Great idea.

Why do I LOVE BYC?
When I first decided I was going into this backyard chicken adventure I goggled chickens and found this BYC site and have been addicted ever since. I joined and started reading and posting on the different threads and was amazed at all the information I was able to get. I read all the main pages and the question and answer pages over and over. One of my main questions was on what was the best breed for "pets" and kids combined with laying ability. I checked into how to start and what the best bedding, feed, coop designs, and such were and came up with my own with the pulling together of so many ideas. I learned how to care for my babies and how to make their home a happy one all before I even went to get my chicks. So when I went to the farm and home store I had a good idea of what all I would need and didn't sound too stupid when I asked questions at the store. I was able to stop myths from scaring me out of loving on my chicks as others would say "you can't handle them or they will die". I was able to confidently say they were going to be just fine and would be more pet friendly this way. Otherwise I may have not let my DD11 and I love and handle them and would not have raised the loving chickens I have today and that may have discouraged me into quitting the chicken keeping business. I may only have 12 lady Buff Orpingtons but I will be getting or hatching more as time goes on as everyone says they are truly addicting. I do plan on finding a rooster for my ladies but as I learned that not all chicks sexed are 100% I just got my 12 and decided to wait and see how many turned out to be ladies first figuring I would at least get one rooster but alas I have all ladies. I would have hated to get too many roosters and had to re home them after getting attached to them. Between this site and having the chickens (and ducks also) I have taught my DD11 responsibility for caring for chickens and ducks. We have done allot of bonding over their care and watching them grow. Without this site and all the helpful people on it I don't think it would have been as easy.
It is so easy to jump on the site and ask a question or search out an answer that it makes things run so much more smoothly than if I were to try to do all of this on my own or out of a book. If you don't know something all you have to do is ask and no one makes you feel stupid for not knowing. The response time on answers is so short that you can head off a problem before it gets out of hand or to not have a problem in the first place. I love the entire do it yourself ideas on watering, feeding, coop building, predator proofing and emergencies. They really can save you money and time.
There are just too many reasons to love this site that I cannot put them all here because every day I find a new reason to love Backyard Chickens.

 

[Whispering Winds]

One evening I was looking on the internet for good sites. I didn't want to see who was doing who in Hollywood, I didn't want to read local BAd news about the economy, and I had exhausted the Alpaca websites. They were probably glad to see me go!!! Then, for some crazy reason, BYC popped up on my screen, and I clicked. It was the best click of my life. I found a whole new world of wonderful, caring and natural people. I can't say Natural enough! I love the old days when people took care of themselves, and didn't run to someone else for help and aid. You figured it out yourself. I had been thinking about chickens a little bit anyway, and when I read what all these wonderful people did with their chickens, I was absolutely 110% hooked. The first one I clicked on, was the guy with the fake big teeth. I cannot remember his name, but to him I owe the honor of being on here every day for at least a minimum of 30 min. if I am busy . . . if I am not, then its better left unsaid. Anyway, I have to admit when I first saw his post and the pictures, I wasn't sure quite what to think, but it intriqued me so I had to stay on and read more and read more and finally became a true blue believer. I love the way when someone has a bad problem, sad problem, goofy problem or question, no one laughs or gets snotty (in most cases!) I love the recipes, the tips on how to run your household more efficiently, and how to care for all kinds of livestock. What a wonderfu, wonderful day it was when I clicked on BYC!!!

 

[Zahboo]

Is it just short stories or is poetry game?