I have had chickens for two years now, we finally purchased a home that had a barn and what do you fill that barn with you ask? CHICKENS!! I started with 5 a mix of leghorns and buff orphintons they were a bit older but at that time it wasn't about the eggs it was about being a chicken keeper. I eventually added bantams and found that I don't especially like the smaller breed chickens (not that I would turn a free one down) I like large breeds. My hubby built a small coop in the corner of the barn and added a chicken door and outside run whalah. Little did my hubby know that he built it way to big so what was a girl to do but add more and more chickens. I did buy my next batch of pullets from an auction and learned a hard lesson as they were very unhealthy and out of 35 only 7 made it to adulthood, I learned a lot about wry neck, Mareks, sour crop, and bumble foot ooh but most importantly the dreaded 4 letter word MITE . I would have been in the dark if it wasn't for BYC. I had quite a flock going, I was picking up chicks here and there and my wonderful hubby built my coop and run larger and yep you guessed it, I needed more chickens. I went to buy a few polish hens from a near by town and when I got there I decided I had to take them all, . Not because I love chickens but because these birds were in windowless, ventless, 1 foot of chicken poo, and never had been outside coop. I was horrified at the conditions there poor birds were in. I won't even get started on how I feel about people not being committed to their animals, I would go hungry before any of my animals did, you get my point I'm sure. Well I got 4 polish and 3 seremas (I think). The polish had no top hats and were severely picked by a group of white rocks who couldn't be blamed as their conditions were the cause of the brutality. I left there feeling horrid about the 10 chicks I had seen inside that coop knowing the future they faced. Before I go on I have to tell you this when I was inside of that "coop" I couldn't take a breath I had to continuously open the door or step out to breathe can you imagine that. I shovel goat, pig, rabbit and chicken poo but have never smelled anything that awful (don't want you to think I'm a city girl). When I got home I talked to hubby about the conditions and those poor babies he said see if he will sell them, I called and he would only let 5 of the so called Rhode island reds go they were really production reds but no matter so off I went and picked them up along with a Flemish rabbit that wasn't in such a bad situation as the chickens but it was caged and my rabbits are either in the barn, free grazing or in the chickens run just being rabbits. By the way he told me the reason for the coops condition was because "these chickens are the kids responsibility" I wanted to say what I really thought but wanted to get all the chickens I could so giving him a tongue lashing was out of the question.
A few pictures of the polish hens and yes they all went broody this year but I don't want to jump ahead just yet lol. Here's a few pictures of my bunnies too since I added them into the conversation.
Here's a few of my early flock, I don't have some of these any longer like the big BO roo he spurred me one too many times and made a delectable chicken noodle soup.
That's it for now, until tomorrow I will continue on with my adventure story and add more pictures. I hope I didn't bore you lol I am just a crazy girl who loves her chickens.
My next purchase was tractor supply I got Astrolorps, Red Stars, Black Stars, And Easter Eggers 12 total and I can't express how healthy and energetic these chicks were, my best purchase ever and I still have all 12 of course one rooster slipped in his name is John and beautiful. I would recommend TSC chickens to anyone. I enjoy collecting eggs everyday and was so excited to get my first green egg at 16 weeks, I would of never believed a chicken could lay so early. Family emergency write more in a while.
A few pictures of the polish hens and yes they all went broody this year but I don't want to jump ahead just yet lol. Here's a few pictures of my bunnies too since I added them into the conversation.
Here's a few of my early flock, I don't have some of these any longer like the big BO roo he spurred me one too many times and made a delectable chicken noodle soup.
That's it for now, until tomorrow I will continue on with my adventure story and add more pictures. I hope I didn't bore you lol I am just a crazy girl who loves her chickens.
My next purchase was tractor supply I got Astrolorps, Red Stars, Black Stars, And Easter Eggers 12 total and I can't express how healthy and energetic these chicks were, my best purchase ever and I still have all 12 of course one rooster slipped in his name is John and beautiful. I would recommend TSC chickens to anyone. I enjoy collecting eggs everyday and was so excited to get my first green egg at 16 weeks, I would of never believed a chicken could lay so early. Family emergency write more in a while.