Chickenaholics Anonymous

Hi, my name is Cathy and I have a chicken problem...

You could have one too if you're not careful.

I am on my second batch of chicks for 2013. 50 total: Lakenvelder, silver laced Wyandotte, light brown Leghorn, Ameraucana, Welsummer, Barred Rock and speckled Sussex. The mid March batch will have my 3 favorites, Russian Orloff, golden laced Wyandotte and silver laced cochin. Unfortunately, the feed store that I get my chicks from moves over 10,000 a year so they always have a great selection or will special order in what you want. Talk about an enabler. How do you whittle down the list to 10-12 pullets? My main pleasure with my chickens is the variety and beauty of the plumage as well as the comic relief they provide. Bug control is the reason I got chickens in the first place. You can eliminate some varieties as they aren't well suited for your climate, are too aggressive for a mixed flock, too flighty, too boring... but there are still too many to choose from.

The good part or bad part is I'm in the process of building a new coop.... Maybe it needs to be a little larger.

Chickens are like potato chips...

Isn't it amazing how much personality they have? I used to love having my flock loose in my back yard even though it made the daily manure removal harder. But the trade-off in fly control was definetly worth it.

Ugh all these chicken threads make me so jealous of all the people with chickens!!! I have been helping to care for a wounded chicken at the boarding stable I keep my 2 horses at and now I want some of my own! Unfortunately my partner and my landlord would have a heart attack (so would my guinea pigs who lives in our tiny 1br w/ me and my partner!!)

My daughter has shared "the girls" that belong to my mom and is hooked. We are going to join the CA club ourselves this year. We are going to order 20 red star chicks. My dad built the kiddo a chicken tractor and a large A-Frame for it so we can move them around the farm lol.

I know exactly what you mean.... I LOVE my chickens....and my churkey (the turkey who THINKS he's a chicken). I have a mixed flock of 7 hens that are Barred Rock, Brahmans, Red Sex Link, and a couple Bantys, and 2 roosters..One is an Americauna, and the other is a black one that I'm not sure what he is but he's gorgeous. I want to get a dozen more hens this spring and set up a new chicken yard with a larger coop for them...and of course for Jake the churkey...can't leave him out. LOL!

I love my chickens too! I have about 60 at the moment. Mostly Silver Spangled Hamburghs.

I have one golden spangled Hamburg that is just stunning. Wish she wasn't so high strung or I'd have a bunch of them too.

Oh! Can we have pictures?

Several of you have been following my trial-by-fire education in all things chicken after a tiny flock was rehomed to my yard in the middle of a January snowstorm! I am officially hooked.

I was going to post this on my thread, but I think it's much more appropriate here. So, for all you chicken lovers, here is your 10-minute brainteaser for the day, exploring the age-old question of "which came first"-
The Egg Makes Its Move In A New Version Of Which Came First: The Chicken Or the Egg? : Krulwich Wonders... : NPR

Lakenvelder are beautiful birds. Are they fairly small? My current layers are mixes--RIR x Welsummer/EE. I'm getting RIR brown eggs, darker brown w/speckles and olive green eggs.