- May 12, 2020
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Janie, since I met you on BYC you have never ceased to amaze me with your kindness humour and honesty.
Come say hello to Janie. She has been a member since May 2017 and comes to us from Texas.
1. Tell us a bit more about yourself.
Hi. I'm Janie, & yes those really are my teeth.(I looked like bugs bunny from age 7 to 13, so I'm happy to have grown into them!)
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I live in East Texas, along with my husband, Jim, 2 dogs (Dexter & Ruby), a cat (Boo), a rooster ( Doris), 33 pullets and hens (too many names to list), and seven 5 week old chicks. Between the two of us, my husband and I have 5 grown children, 9 grandchildren , and even 2 great grands!
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(This grandchild loves to help Lolli gather eggs)
Boo Cat
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A few family pictures
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(I didn't take this one, but she is my great granddaughter so...)
We live in a cabin by our pond/lakette on 15 acres with underground springs. About 1/4 of our acreage is water. Around 3 years ago we sold our home inside the city limits and built a cabin on our country place. It's a 30 minute drive to get anywhere (other than a $store) but we love that and we love the scenery and the wildlife!
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2. Why and when did you start keeping chickens?
In the spring of 2017, my husband bought some pullets, a few hens, and our first rooster. We had 10 hens and 1 rooster that first year, and I fell in love. That's the reason we sold our house and moved to the countryside.
I didn't want chicks at that time, because I didn't want to raise them in the house. (Later I found the MHP thread by @Blooie & started raising chicks in the run.) One of our older hens, Lucille, a black langshan, became broody not long after we lost our rooster to a hawk. I bought 6 eggs from someone local, who had a mixed flock of chickens. (Lucy is broody every 3 or 4 months and was the beginning of our population explosion. A few other broody hens contributed too.)
Lucy hatched two cockrels that spring. Doris, her first chick, is the father of many of my hens and pullets. He is a character and a great free range alarm system. He became my bestie when our oldest dog died 3 yrs ago at around 21yrs of age. Truman was a rescue and I was told he was 6 when we adopted him but that would have made him closer to 25 yrs old at his death! So my estimate is 21. He had heartworms when we adopted him but recovered well. The shelter people were amazed that I wanted him because of his "age" and the heartworm problem but it was love at first sight. He was the best friend ever.
RIP Truman
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Doris with mom, Lucy, and brother, Magpie.
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Doris
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3. Which aspects of poultry keeping do you enjoy the most?
I love the broody hens with chicks, the different colored eggs, and I love taking pictures of the eggs and chickens. Best of all, I enjoy observing the chickens. I like watching them interact with each other, with the dogs and cat, and with people too. Occasionally one of my chickens will just move to a different coop for no perceivable reason. I find it amusing that they make friends with a biological mother or sister when they've been raised in a different coop.
(Tilly and her biological mother, Beazley. Tilly was raised by Lucy but moved in with Bea after they met while free ranging. )
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It hasn't all been fun. Some of our original hens have died and we have lost chickens to predators and to our own dog. I've rehomed a lot of cockrels and a few pullets that I would have loved to keep.
Some favorites:
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Magpie, a successfully rehomed rooster, who has done well in his new home! And, I made a new friend in the process.
4. Which members of your flock, past and present, stand out for you and why?
Besides Doris, Barbie my first legbar, was the friendliest of all my chickens.
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Barbie would jump into my arms anytime she caught me sitting. She was also my most expensive chicken. (Two trips to the vet.) She didn't live very long, as she had a reproductive issue, but she captured my heart.
A few weeks ago, I was in TSC and saw some Naked Necks that had horrible pasty butt. I bought all 6 of them. I was about to take them and go when I saw a tiny legbar who had pasty butt as well. I decided to take her along as well one other legbar. I lost a chick within the next couple of days but everyone else seemed fine. A few days later, the tiny legbar-named Cindy Lou...thanks to one of the grands- was just down; she was severely dehydrated and would not drink on her own. After treatment with corid and vitamins she is very active, but she is also very spoiled. She is half the size of the other chicks. She spends her days out with her friends, but loves to be held. When she sees me she starts chirping and flying into the hardware cloth. What can I say? I'm a real mama hen, so she is still spending the nights inside.
Cindy Lou with her pal, Bertram
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5. What was the funniest poultry related thing that has happened to you in your years as an owner?
I cannot think of any particular funny incident. I laugh at my chickens pretty much every day. They have no fear. They are very intrusive.
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This is Dexter (with Vashti Orloff), he killed 2 of our roosters the first year that we had chickens, but he has been rehabilitated. It took me a long time to trust him again. I still supervise even though he hasn't shown any aggression in the last few years.
6. Beside poultry, what other pets do you keep?
We have two dogs and a cat.
I'd also love to have ducks and geese (I keep researching them) but I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to get them off the pond in the evenings.
7. Anything you'd like to add?
I'd like to pay tribute to my husband. He has a disease called CMT (Charcot Marie Tooth) which has caused muscle atrophy in his lower limbs. He has always been a very active man, unfortunately due to this disease, he has lost a lot of mobility. Inspite of that, and the pain, he keeps living the best life that he can. He is an inspiring person. He is responsible for the lovely landscape here. And, he puts up with the porch pooping, plant destroying chickens.
He also has diabetes so we stick to a low carb diet. Favorite keto friendly recipe from Jennifer Banz @LowCarbwithJennifer
Trust me you'll love it!
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I spent my 1st few years on a farm. My dad loved the land, and he always had a beautiful garden. We had cows, chickens, geese, horses, and pigs. My dad was probably the person that I have admired the most in my life. He was a Baptist preacher, one of the few I've known who practiced what he preached.
My mom was a beautiful woman and a true lady. It's rather odd that one of my earliest childhood memories is of her wielding an axe. She was very skilled at chopping off heads for Sunday dinner.
Maybe if we hadn't have moved off the farm, I would have attained some of her skill. (Though I doubt it!)
I'm most definitely a softy. I love my chickens. I've dispatched one 11 week old cockrel due to suffering, but I haven't been able to slay a single rooster. That may change someday, but my roosters have all been nice guys so far. I wish they could get along with each other so that I could keep them all. Unrealistic, I know.
I recently retired, selling off a twenty year old business for much less than we had invested. This was due to the pandemic's influence on our local small town economy. I'm enjoying being at home with the pets and my grumpy old man. I'm also enjoying not putting on makeup and driving an hour a day.
I'm very happy to be a BYC member! I love the articles as well as members' posts and photos, and I love the camaraderie of the "welcome wagon crew"!
I've asked for, and received great advice over the last few years. I believe that BYC contributes a vital service to the chicken community. I refer people to BYC regularly.
Thank you all for reading and indulging my love of sharing my (very amateurish) photography.
And just a few more...
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Mavis with her first brood ( 2019)
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Maris and Bea hatched and raised their 1st nine chicks together (2019) along with Big Sissy (not pictured)
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This is Gus. She stole two of Maris' chicks and raised them. She sulked for days when I rehomed them. I felt so guilty!
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Lucy with Shadow (named by the little boy who adopted him), he was another successfully rehomed cockrel. I keep in touch with his new owners also.
Cindy Lou aka Chippy (I'm almost ready to shop for chicken diapers!)
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Cindy's sister, Daisy Elle Debarge (named by my precious daughter in law, Erin)
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The precious daughter in law mentioned above, my baby,Jacob (who built the brooder in the run) and granddogs Sookie, Phoebe, and Franklin. (Christmas pic 2019)
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Daughter, Marsha, with her grandson, Alex. She is responsible for coop decor and adding much needed comas to this interview.
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Thank you again for reading. Have a wonderful day!
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@janiedoe
For more information about the interview feature and a complete list of member interviews:
introducing-vip-member-interviews.905602
I really didn't think you could impress me anymore but now I have read this interview of you your family and life I admire you even more.
It's an absolute pleasure too have found you here.
We need 20 more pictures STAT! lol
