Hi folks - thought I had registered here but apparently not - been enjoying the odd article from time to time so who knew! I have to admit I'm not much of a "poster" generally, but we are pretty keen chicken peeps.
(1) Are you new to chickens / when did you first get chickens?
Probably 5 years ago or so. We have a flock of White Chantecler that ranges from 10 to 40 birds; thinning out now so we're augmenting this year.
(2) How many chickens do you have right now?
Sixteen
(3) What breeds do you have?
White Chantecler primarily, and a few interesting birds hatched in secret by a rogue hen who flew the coop, eloped (evidently) with our neighbour's rooster, was missing and presumed dead, but showed up later with some chicks hatched in an undisclosed location. We struggle with predators here at times, so this was nothing short of miraculous to us.
(4) What are your favourite aspects of raising backyard chickens?
I think we like the routine, we enjoy "chicken TV." We love the eggs and give many away, especially to our neighbour across the road, who turns them into baked goods and gives them back! We enjoy the odd one that has a peculiar habit or personality. For example, we have a huge run - maybe 100' x 150' with 4' high fence. The birds really don't want for much, so while they can fly out, they don't. Except one. Every day. She leaves the run, forages outside of it around its perimeter all day long, then waits by our gate in the evening for us to let her back in... too lazy to fly back in. We scold her everyday in jest. If she gets close to flower beds though... look out. My wife is very protective of her girls, but the flower gardens are off-limits.
(5) What are some of your other hobbies?
We have 44 acres just outside Kanata, which is mostly mature forest with a lot of wetland, so my biggest other hobby is making forest trails. A local arborist company dumps their wood chips here - 3 or 4 five-ton truckloads per week. I spread these on our trails as part of my forest management plan, smoothing things out and keeping our trails dry. We harvest firewood (EAB-killed ash) and some Eastern White Cedar for projects. I have a small sawmill so there is wood everywhere. We also have a large vegetable garden that I struggle to stay on top of after the spring mania ebbs. I also love motorcycles, woodworking, and generally fixing things that probably aren't worth the effort, like my 1967 Case tractor.
(6) Tell us about your family, your other pets, your occupation, or anything else you'd like to share.
I'm a corporate guy for a large engineering and architecture firm. I can't wait to retire and hope this high stress career doesn't kill me first. Wish me luck. But, I have three kids in university this coming September which, if you aren't familiar or quite there yet, costs an absolute fortune. So, hi ho hi ho... We have two grown daughters "out west" as we say in eastern Canada, one grandchild, a daughter in university, and twin boys finishing high-school this year.
(7) Bonus: How did you find BYC, how long have you known about BYC, and what made you finally join our awesome community?
It's hard to avoid BYC if you're searching the internet for chicken stuff!
(1) Are you new to chickens / when did you first get chickens?
Probably 5 years ago or so. We have a flock of White Chantecler that ranges from 10 to 40 birds; thinning out now so we're augmenting this year.
(2) How many chickens do you have right now?
Sixteen
(3) What breeds do you have?
White Chantecler primarily, and a few interesting birds hatched in secret by a rogue hen who flew the coop, eloped (evidently) with our neighbour's rooster, was missing and presumed dead, but showed up later with some chicks hatched in an undisclosed location. We struggle with predators here at times, so this was nothing short of miraculous to us.
(4) What are your favourite aspects of raising backyard chickens?
I think we like the routine, we enjoy "chicken TV." We love the eggs and give many away, especially to our neighbour across the road, who turns them into baked goods and gives them back! We enjoy the odd one that has a peculiar habit or personality. For example, we have a huge run - maybe 100' x 150' with 4' high fence. The birds really don't want for much, so while they can fly out, they don't. Except one. Every day. She leaves the run, forages outside of it around its perimeter all day long, then waits by our gate in the evening for us to let her back in... too lazy to fly back in. We scold her everyday in jest. If she gets close to flower beds though... look out. My wife is very protective of her girls, but the flower gardens are off-limits.
(5) What are some of your other hobbies?
We have 44 acres just outside Kanata, which is mostly mature forest with a lot of wetland, so my biggest other hobby is making forest trails. A local arborist company dumps their wood chips here - 3 or 4 five-ton truckloads per week. I spread these on our trails as part of my forest management plan, smoothing things out and keeping our trails dry. We harvest firewood (EAB-killed ash) and some Eastern White Cedar for projects. I have a small sawmill so there is wood everywhere. We also have a large vegetable garden that I struggle to stay on top of after the spring mania ebbs. I also love motorcycles, woodworking, and generally fixing things that probably aren't worth the effort, like my 1967 Case tractor.
(6) Tell us about your family, your other pets, your occupation, or anything else you'd like to share.
I'm a corporate guy for a large engineering and architecture firm. I can't wait to retire and hope this high stress career doesn't kill me first. Wish me luck. But, I have three kids in university this coming September which, if you aren't familiar or quite there yet, costs an absolute fortune. So, hi ho hi ho... We have two grown daughters "out west" as we say in eastern Canada, one grandchild, a daughter in university, and twin boys finishing high-school this year.
(7) Bonus: How did you find BYC, how long have you known about BYC, and what made you finally join our awesome community?
It's hard to avoid BYC if you're searching the internet for chicken stuff!
So happy you have joined us.
