Why'd you guys start raising your own chickens?

[hugerooster]

Glad to hear you are trying it for yourself. You must be very excited, waiting for them to arrive.

All the best

Thanks! I can't wait!!

 

[CristinaB]

Friend of mine had a gaggle of hens around his property. They seemed really interesting. Then one night he told me about a contest on Facebook that was giving some birds away if you were like #100. I counted until I got to 100 and got 5 free speckled sussex chicks. Strait run. Two were roos and three were hens. I had to get rid of the roos because my neighbor is a piece of crap but I still have the 3 hens. Have added 4 more hens over the summer and ordered a slew of chicks in October to raise over the winter so I could get more eggs in the spring.

Raising chickens has been so much fun. I have not seen spiders or bugs anywhere, they eat mice, place in the yard in such hilarious ways and are generally just good company when you are out and about.

Be warned that there is a disease out there called "chicken math" it is similar to "can't eat just one" syndrome. You get a couple chickens and before you know it you want more and more. Once you get the feel for how to house them and care for them and realize that as pets they are better than any cat or dog you will just enjoy the experience.

Best pets ever. Stay outside, eats my bugs, fertilizes and aerates the lawn, tills the soil, keeps me company while gardening, free chicken TV, give lots of love, Eggs, eggs, eggs and in the end the best chicken soup you will ever taste!

It is a wonderful hobby, you are going to love it!

 

[AmericanMom]

Had chickens many years ago, didn't really think to much of them, they were egg producers, when they got to old to lay we got rid of them.. For the next several years we fought the bugs in the garden etc, finally decided to get some more chickens, don't know whether I've changed, gotten older and more appreciative of things but these gals have been interesting to say the least. didn't have a rooster, just 12 hens...last year had a hen go broody and decided to get a rooster, got some fertile eggs under her and she hatched all 5 out...That's when they went from just being chickens to being fun, entertaining pets. We have them sure for the eggs, they are great bug controllers and fertilize our garden, but once your bitten by the chick, egg, meat bug its hard to break it.. We now have 30 chickens, 17 which are almost 4 months old, out of the 30 ,10 of them are roosters, culling 7 of those at the end of the month for the freezer, first time we have done that (I mean culling them to eat) and just set 23 eggs in the incubator yesterday, my family thinks I'm a loon, one of our neighbors think were cruel (10 roosters crowing every morning) but we are having a great time. I probably will never be without chickens again. I love raising them, I could grab a lawn chair and just sit and watch them, they are so entertaining.

 

[dstuckey23]

I use to have chickens when I was in High School, they became my FFA project. Last March I talked my wife into getting some chicks at TSC Chick Days). She was not so sure that she would like to have them. We brought home six RIR and she took so many pictures of them. I setup a brooder area in the basement where they made a mess until we could move them outside in late April. Once outside they really enjoyed running around when I needed to clean their coop and run area. They started laying eggs in Mid-July. We have had a lot of fun raising them and eating their eggs. They lay six eggs a day for the last three weeks straight. We give away the extra eggs pretty often. Everyone loves getting the eggs and sends home egg cartons to get more. They are great entertainment and plenty of work at times too.
Fun hobby...

 

[mayoman]

It started out with me liking fresh eggs but I found that I like the chickens so much that I quit collecting the eggs in the hope that the hens will go broody and give me more chickens.

 

[mayoman]

Bug Control. But then the wife and I fell in love with their gentle nature and that led to guineas, ducks, and turkeys. BUGS, what BUGS?

 

[realsis]

Well I always wanted chickens. I thought The fresh eggs would be great and a plus. I'm a huge animal lover. Then checking into breeds I found the silkies. It was love at first sight!!

now I have all silkies. I simply love to put them in my lap and hear them purr loudly!! They have great personality and I'm totally hooked!

I wouldn't trade them for a million dollars. They Are my pets. Silkies make great and loving pets and they are irresistible! !

 

[ked0835]

Best entertainment around

 

[Cloudseeker]

I got my first few chickens when we moved into a rural area, so I could get eggs. I didn't know how addictive having chickens would be! I've had them for 3 years now, and have started hatching my own Silkie eggs - 6 have hatched so far! We do get more eggs than we can use, but my daughters GS troop loves them, and selling the eggs is funding her upcoming trip to New York City!

 

[SampyArctica]

We've always wanted our own chickens but it wasn't until our state changed the laws drastically reducing the area a chicken could have and still be classed as 'free-range' (which is barely free-range anymore). It was the kicker we needed to buy our first pair of girls as we refused to support the industry any longer.