How to raise Backyard Chickens: [CHICKENS-101] An Introduction

Monday, December 3, 2012

[CHICKENS-101] An Introduction - of sorts

I've been a member of this list for awhile now and have not posted.
I refuse to use the term "lurker" cause to me that is just creepy!
Prefer to say I'm a "reader" on this list trying to learn. You see, I
don't even have chickens yet, though if future days are going to be
anything like today and yesterday, guess I could start today instead
of planning on this adventure in the Spring of '13. If I only had a
coop! Which is coming. It was 62 degrees F here today which is about
the same as yesterday. Weird weather we're having.

Retired, widowed since '10, used to live in Chicago and was a burn out
after teaching for 30 years in the public school system first as a
fine arts instructor till funds were cut, and then as a reading
specialist. I switched to dog training as a vocation using Operant
and Classical conditioning.

Attended a Bob Bailey workshop in Hot Springs AK chicken training
camp to fine tune my mechanical skills. That was fun and frustrating
all at the same time. "You want to spend WHAT to go to Arkansas to
learn how to train chickens when we don't even have any?" said my
husband. Yes, I wanted to go to make me a better trainer. We had
cats and dogs at the time that were trained but I wanted to be a
better trainer.

Later expanded out to rats, gold fish, a cria (baby Llama) and a
couple of Zebras on the farm where I took the Border Collie for
herding lessons. I had agreed to get my then 11y/o daughter a dog of
"her own" to raise, train, and run on our Flyball team when the dog
was old enough to compete.

A Border Collie from working line parents living on the Near North
Side of Chicago? Must have been out of my mind.!! Any wonder that
that dog wanted to chase cars, kids running, etc, etc, etc. Fixed
that by getting her out on legal herding though the 3 hr round trip
commute to our lessons was made worse during road construction season.
Hey, I had allowed the problem so it was up to me to fix it.

These days I live on 30 acres in southwestern MI with plenty of room
to do just about anything I can afford to do (which is getting less
and less these days and fear it will get worse. Merrill Lynch tanked
my money money market account that I was counting on for retirement
savings/living but have to go with the flow as it is now). Organic
gardening and cooking are among my favorite hobbies. Get my raw milk
from a town north east of me and make my own cheese, kefir and yogurt
as well.

Still thinking Chickens because I like eggs and could use some help
with tick control. Lots of whitetail deer here so lots of those pin
size little bitty black ticks.

Just wanted to introduce myself and admit that I don't have anything
to contribute on the subject of chickens but sure want to learn all I
can before jumping uninformed into a new species where I have no base
of knowledge.

Have also been "talking" chicken and guineas with a couple of long
time friends so a strange question and post will soon follow.

Pleased to meet you all.

Susan Traynor in Niles, MI
"A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves."
Edward R. Murrow