My little family and I live in New Mexico now, in a town for the first time in a long time. My son is homeschooled, and I swear I learn just as much as he does! We haven't gotten a new flock yet, but I'm working on it. (UPDATE 3/19/2024: We now have 2 Bantam Cochin and 1 Frizzle out in the yard, 4 "Assorted Bantam" babies in the brooder, and 3 Bantam EE pullets on the way.) Our chicken adventure started when we lived off-grid in the Siskiyou Mountains. We raised our original flock of 6 from tiny chicks (I learned how to brood chicks without electricity), alongside the "Luckiest Chicken in the World". She was a "5-6-year-old" (3 years ago!) Delaware hen, at the end of her egg-laying days who was living on a meat bird farm. "Nice old hen, anyone want her? We ran out of room in our freezer".... read the ad on Craigslist. My son pointed to the picture of the white hen with black spots at her neck and scruffy tail. Clearly, she had not been high on the pecking order there! "That's her, that's the one I want." He announced, cool as a cucumber, and totally certain that chicken would come home to us. Of course, she did!
Now, here in New Mexico we are planning an all-Bantam Cochin flock this Spring! The saga continues.....
I absolutely adore CHICKENS, and all things CHICKEN!!! From a fluff ball of "peep"! To a sleek, finely-feathered, egg laying hen...well, chickens are just so very, very cool. They're far more fun than watching TV, AND they eat all of my kitchen scraps! Plus, they leave free fertilizer for my garden on top of everything! I found BYC by looking up questions about my hens online, since BYC kept popping up with the best answers I decided I just needed to go right to the source. :)