The suggestion was made by a fellow chicken lover ( Feike van Dijk) that a Chicken Addicts Group be started. I thought I would get the ball rolling and start a blog page. I'd love to hear your stories about how your chicken addiction started! What was your first breed? Did you get them for eggs and realize there was so much more to love? How many did you start with and how many do you have now? Post pictures, post comments, share the addiction!
6 Comments
Since I was young fella living in Holland (not the Michigan one) my father had a facination with any kind of bird....we had parrots, peacocks, pheasants,ducks and quails but no chickens.....not untill I immigrated to the US he started having chickens....
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Diane
10/6/2012 01:23:29 pm
Feike - you are so right about hatching being an addiction all on its own. Chickens are just a gateway addiction, hatching is the hard core stuff. Not only is it hard to stop, each year you find yourself wanting a bigger incubator!
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10/11/2012 06:02:26 pm
When the kids were little we had a mini farm but I always bought my chicks. This year I bought some (hatchery) Buff Orpingtons with the idea to breed them. The roo is going to be stew as soon as I get chicks from those pullets; he's a meaner. Then I was given some Welsummers (which might not be purebred and are certainly not good examples of the breed) but I have some pullets coming up and just hatched 4 more. Making connections at BYC for more hatching eggs so I can have pretty eggs for the farmer's market next summer. Then I started learning about Black Copper Marans, Easter Eggers and Olive eggers..... sooooo I have eggs for everything coming soon! I live in a rural area, but it is mining, agricultural. One small feed store, limited types of chicks available in the spring only. From my recent hatch, all the extra chicks were spoken for in 20 minutes of posting them on a local FB page, so I know there is a market even for muttlies. But I want to breed the Wellies, Buffs and Marans to the SoP for the 4H kids. Besides, I want different colors in the basket for my farmer's market customers! This summer at market there were only eggs available on occasion and there didn't seem to be enough to fill the demand. I realized today that I have spoken for hatching eggs from two different sources to be shipped two weeks apart, meaning I have to buy an incubator! (borrowed one for my first hatch) Oh yeah, I think I'm hooked!
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10/11/2012 06:04:07 pm
oops, meant our area is a mining district, no agricultural history or tradition here
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Elle in Redding, California
7/1/2014 06:03:57 pm
I love your website. I hatched some eggs from Warner Ranch and got the cutest pair of Cream Legbars. The rooster was raised with no other roosters around and is a gentle soul. Was always protective of the 5 small pullets he grew up with. He didn't have to fight with other cockerels to be alpha so is very nice. The chickens I hatched from eggs are the best. I also hatched a French Marans from show stock. The French Marans, Cream Legbar, and Black Minorca do not go broody. The Welsummer, and two Cukcoo Marans do go broody and kick the other ones out and then the other ones go lay in some corner of the yard. You need more egg boxes if you have broody hens! Still learning. Cream Legbar is my favorite breed.
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Hello! My name is Anna. I started with a flock of 5 chickens when I was ~12. My siblings and I loved the chicks. However, once they grew and maintenance responsibilities began to get doled out to the kids, I was the only one who didn't shirk. Yes, I had fallen in love with the birds... So much so that cleaning up after my girls was a joy. Ever since those first 5 pullets I got as a young girl, I have been smitten. Presently, I have a flock of 14 (at most, it was 17). I even have a chicken website (thewayofthechicken.com) that is steadily growing. My favorite breed... I would say that it would be the Black Australorp. However, I don't think I could stick to just one breed... If it's a chicken, I will name it, hug it and feed it (no matter what it looks like!)
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My Addiction
It all started as a joke. My sister-in-law wanted to play a prank on my brother-in-law and put a chicken in his yard. As I researched chickens, I fell in love. I guess the jokes on me because now I have around 50 chickens in my yard! Archives
January 2015
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