ChickensInMA
Chirping
Hi, everyone! After years and years of being a reader of BYC, I've decided to create an account! This place is a wealth of information for both new and old chicken keepers alike. I am not new to raising chickens, but have been raising them for about eight years. Our enclosures and how we've raised them have changed over time, but I like to think that we keep improving on what we've learnt.
Right now, we have nine chickens: one Buff Orpington, a Splash (paint?) Australorp that was a hatchery extra, a Golden-Laced Wyandotte, a Light Brahma, an Easter Egger, a Showgirl and three kikirikis, which are a Cuban/Puerto Rican type or types of bantam that are about the size of a Serama that I got on separate occasions in Florida. They are not standardised, so I have one little brown one, one completely black with long wing and tail feathers and the short legs of a Japanese Bantam and the last one is black with white spots and no feathers on her neck. I don't like keeping two of the same kind of chickens; I like the variety!
In addition, we have three call drakes. My first one is a pastel drake who had angel wing when we bought him. One of the other two is grey (wild-type, like a mallard), and the other is blackish-grey with a white spot on his breast. I'm not sure what this colour is called, if it has a special name. We also keep eleven quail, all of various colours.
I love keeping birds for their personalities. Sure, the eggs are nice, but for us, they are by no means a requirement. Living in suburbia, poultry are the only kind of livestock we'd be able to keep on our ¼ acre of land. We are now just applying for a permit, because we had the building inspector come over to see a new shed we had built, and he reported us to the zoning board. We find out 21 November if the permit has approved or not. We are hoping so! We've had chickens for years, and it would be a shame to lose them now. We run a family preschool at home, and the chickens are a huge draw to the programme. The chickens are partially the kids' responsibility, and they view the birds as their pets. We would hate that the kids lose this experience over outdated zoning laws.
Thank you for reading, and I look forward to getting to know all of you! Happy Chickening!
Right now, we have nine chickens: one Buff Orpington, a Splash (paint?) Australorp that was a hatchery extra, a Golden-Laced Wyandotte, a Light Brahma, an Easter Egger, a Showgirl and three kikirikis, which are a Cuban/Puerto Rican type or types of bantam that are about the size of a Serama that I got on separate occasions in Florida. They are not standardised, so I have one little brown one, one completely black with long wing and tail feathers and the short legs of a Japanese Bantam and the last one is black with white spots and no feathers on her neck. I don't like keeping two of the same kind of chickens; I like the variety!
In addition, we have three call drakes. My first one is a pastel drake who had angel wing when we bought him. One of the other two is grey (wild-type, like a mallard), and the other is blackish-grey with a white spot on his breast. I'm not sure what this colour is called, if it has a special name. We also keep eleven quail, all of various colours.
I love keeping birds for their personalities. Sure, the eggs are nice, but for us, they are by no means a requirement. Living in suburbia, poultry are the only kind of livestock we'd be able to keep on our ¼ acre of land. We are now just applying for a permit, because we had the building inspector come over to see a new shed we had built, and he reported us to the zoning board. We find out 21 November if the permit has approved or not. We are hoping so! We've had chickens for years, and it would be a shame to lose them now. We run a family preschool at home, and the chickens are a huge draw to the programme. The chickens are partially the kids' responsibility, and they view the birds as their pets. We would hate that the kids lose this experience over outdated zoning laws.
Thank you for reading, and I look forward to getting to know all of you! Happy Chickening!
Good luck getting that permit and hopefully the zoning laws changed too!
to have you here with us. Enjoy your time here at BYC!
