it's a good novel so don"t worry! So sorry for your loss of your lab 
for 13 they were obviously taken care of and loved.
Hello and welcome from WNC also!! Sylva area. I have Buff Orpingtons and Australorps.Hello! I'm Darlene from western North Carolina, near Shelby.
I have wanted a small flock of chickens for a few years now, but didn't have the time to devote to them. I worked 6 & 7 days a week as a CNC machinist, and can never half way do something especially when it's caring for other lives.
Between back surgery and covid-19, I was able to build a coop & mostly covered run & finally get some chicks back in April.
I completely lost the chicken lottery with my 1st set of chicks. I ended up with all cockerels except one. Then my one pullet became egg bound. I now have only 1 of my originals and that's the cockerel that I kept.
It has been full of ups and downs, LOTS of lessons & many more to come, I know.
So far the breeds that I have had are Ameraucana, Spitzhauben, & still have Pavlovskaya, Cochin, Polish, White Faced Black Spanish, Silkie & Easter Egger. My flock is 6 right now & I will be getting another Pavlovskaya soon & have a silkie in the incubator.
As you can see I love to learn everything from one end to the other. Lol I constantly research, I love to learn.
Other than chickens I have 1 dog (we recently lost our 13 year old lab), 1 cat, 2 fish aquariums. My 2 children are grown & I have 2 grandchildren. We live in the country, but close enough to a decent sized city for conveniences. I love to garden, flower, herbal, & vegetable. I enjoy crocheting but rarely have the time to. I enjoy cooking, dehydrating, making animal treats although that comes & goes in spells.
I try to treat others as I would want to be treated but am definitely no push over. I stand up for what I believe in while trying to stay open minded about different perspectives.
I look forward to learning, sharing and growing with this community! Wow, I feel like I've started a book.
We're so happy you've decided to join us 
Good MOOrning Darlene! Welcome to the community and thank you for your intro
I really like your assortment of chickens, any pictures?
It's nice to see some close by but one thing that I love about the internet is that it brings us all closer even if it's just in common interests. 
Hello from Nova Scotia and welcome to BYC! You’ve joined a great and resourceful community! Enjoy your journey!
