posted on Jan, 5 2009 @ 08:37 AM
I actually have quite a bit of experience raising chickens! Sorry I saw this little thread a tad bit late. Dg, I do hope you didn’t run out and buy
25 chickens to start with. If you want a few eggs for you and your hubby, 4 or 5 fresh hens should do the trick. With 10 hens, trust me, you’ll be
giving tons of eggs away to the neighbors so I couldn’t even imagine how you’d get rid of all the eggs you’ll get with 25 hens.
Roosters, no you don’t need any roosters to have eggs. Yes…chickens do mate; well at least the rooster has the constant needs to pass off his
seed, while the hens don’t really give much thought to mating. Really, it’s more like forced sex! One thing roosters are good for though is that
they are very protective to their harem of girls. They are constantly looking in the skies overhead for danger for flying predators such as hawks and
what not. Sometimes they even have a panic attack if a butterfly catches their eye at the last second & will run screaming… sounding a mega sized
alarm that sends the girls running for cover. They also keep hen house fighting down to a minimum, and give strong verbal support when the hens cackle
after laying an egg.
Chickens:
They all have a pecking order, and that will soon fall in to place…some rise up, some fall in the ever-constant world of higher archy! Even some
head strong hens will set out to take on the roosters and quickly learn, that he won’t put up with any such bologna...he is the king of the palace &
rightfully so! He has first pick of where he wants to sleep at night & you should see the funny noises he makes when he sees the hen house has been
cleaned and new pine chips put into place. Why he’s gets so happy, sometimes I think he might try to lay an eggs.
Yes, I like to name my chickens…I don’t care what whaaa says, there will always be an offender in the group (even with names) that you don’t
mind if they die! Names, let’s see, there was Big Momma that consistently laid double yoker’s...hugest eggs I ever saw. She was one of my
favorites until one of the neighbor’s dogs killed her in her prime. That was a sad day for me, & an even-sadder day for the offending dog. Now
Gimpy, she got her name because she injured her foot somehow and to this day walks with a limp. I call her all kinds of goofy names Gimper, Gimpy,
Gimper Pimper Poopy. She’s also one of my favorite girls & the queen of the chick house. She loves to sit in my lap and take a leisurely nap. Not
one hen will dare take on Gimpy or she’ll give them a lesson in manners they’ll never forget. She reins supreme!!
I won’t bore you by telling you the names of all my chickens, but I will mention a couple more. Agatha, well that’s how she started out, as
Agatha. I quickly learned that she was quite the HAG! She now sports her other name proudly…I soon started calling her Hagatha! Jackie: now this is
one of those cases where there is an offender in the group that you don’t mind killing. Sweet little Jackie quickly rose up through the chain of
command and was vicious to the other hens. I changed her name to Jackie The Ripper & might I say that she was also the roosters favorite love
interest. You can imagine how much he freaked out when he saw his most beloved flopping around on the ground beheaded. Yes, he flew over the fence and
made a huge spectacle of himself, and didn’t settle down until we chased him off threatening him with the axe “also” if he didn’t straighten
up.
Chickens have been a lot of fun for me, and they have a wide range of personalities. Do get some chickens Dg! Enjoy them, as they are never boring.
[edit on 1/5/2009 by jensouth31]