rachelcasper7
Chirping
Hello all!
This is Rachel from the Casper household! We are in the planning process preparing to become a chicken family next summer! My husband and I have two boys, ages 14 months and three years. The older one was able to catch a chicken properly at a year and a half all by himself!
So I had thought of chickens once before I was married but it wasn't a good time and I had no idea what I was doing. Now with my brother and sister-in-laws all have or have had chickens (one sister-in-law just moved and hasn't been able to start her new flock yet) I have had quite a bit of exposure. As we are planning on homeschooling, having home experiences like raising chickens is something that I am all about. That and the more research I do the more I am falling in love with chickens!
We live in Central Minnesota and get all that lovely cold weather! Right now we have probably had about 15 inches of snow starting on Christmas Saturday and today is Tuesday! I am a little glad that I am taking this time to get used to the idea of keeping chickens instead of having to tromp out to the coop everyday in this weather. Definitely will once we're set up though!
I have picked out chicks to start with including Rhode Island Red, Buff Brahma, Black Copper Marans, and Barnevelders (one a rooster), plus whatever mystery chick the hatchery throws in there, adding up to 16 chicks. In subsequent years I hope to hatch some of our own chicks and maybe some of my in-laws to add to our flock, but I'm getting ahead of myself! The Barnevelders are a splurge but I have Dutch heritage so I wanted to get a breed from Holland since they are winter hardy and I thought that they were more pretty then Welsummers (no offense). Though I might get some Welsummers later, we'll see!
We're also looking forward to having our own eggs! Big egg eaters at our house and we have been relying on cousins who have a huge flock but are allergic to eggs for our eggs. It will nice to have our own!
We also have two dogs that I'm looking forward to training to be around chickens! They have great mothering instincts and I was able to train them to be around babies and small children, so why not chickens? Even though they have coonhound in them they are a working breed mix and they would love to help with the chickens. It was actually for them that I had first considered getting chickens. The girls are over five years old now so obviously a lot can change in five years.
The timing is interesting since I am starting back at online classes part time in an attempt to finish my B.A., and eventually earn my teaching license, in two weeks but I will take summers off from classes. That will give me a chance to focus on the chicks when they come.
I came across BYC a couple of months ago through Googling about winterizing coops. One sister-in-law recommended getting an account. So here I am! Looking forward to this adventure together!
This is Rachel from the Casper household! We are in the planning process preparing to become a chicken family next summer! My husband and I have two boys, ages 14 months and three years. The older one was able to catch a chicken properly at a year and a half all by himself!
So I had thought of chickens once before I was married but it wasn't a good time and I had no idea what I was doing. Now with my brother and sister-in-laws all have or have had chickens (one sister-in-law just moved and hasn't been able to start her new flock yet) I have had quite a bit of exposure. As we are planning on homeschooling, having home experiences like raising chickens is something that I am all about. That and the more research I do the more I am falling in love with chickens!
We live in Central Minnesota and get all that lovely cold weather! Right now we have probably had about 15 inches of snow starting on Christmas Saturday and today is Tuesday! I am a little glad that I am taking this time to get used to the idea of keeping chickens instead of having to tromp out to the coop everyday in this weather. Definitely will once we're set up though!
I have picked out chicks to start with including Rhode Island Red, Buff Brahma, Black Copper Marans, and Barnevelders (one a rooster), plus whatever mystery chick the hatchery throws in there, adding up to 16 chicks. In subsequent years I hope to hatch some of our own chicks and maybe some of my in-laws to add to our flock, but I'm getting ahead of myself! The Barnevelders are a splurge but I have Dutch heritage so I wanted to get a breed from Holland since they are winter hardy and I thought that they were more pretty then Welsummers (no offense). Though I might get some Welsummers later, we'll see!
We're also looking forward to having our own eggs! Big egg eaters at our house and we have been relying on cousins who have a huge flock but are allergic to eggs for our eggs. It will nice to have our own!
We also have two dogs that I'm looking forward to training to be around chickens! They have great mothering instincts and I was able to train them to be around babies and small children, so why not chickens? Even though they have coonhound in them they are a working breed mix and they would love to help with the chickens. It was actually for them that I had first considered getting chickens. The girls are over five years old now so obviously a lot can change in five years.
The timing is interesting since I am starting back at online classes part time in an attempt to finish my B.A., and eventually earn my teaching license, in two weeks but I will take summers off from classes. That will give me a chance to focus on the chicks when they come.
I came across BYC a couple of months ago through Googling about winterizing coops. One sister-in-law recommended getting an account. So here I am! Looking forward to this adventure together!
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Hello Rachel and welcome to BYC. You found an Amazing Poultry Community to be a part of, with many knowledgeable members who are willing to help you along your journey with any questions you may have. Enjoy 
