What is it like?

What is it like to raise chickens? If you would've asked me over a year and a half ago that question, I would've said, "I have no clue." Different I am sure. But now? I can say it is the same as owning a cat, dog, or any other animal that you can own. I have owned chickens for the past year and a half or so. It's been interesting. It has been fun. There have been moments when the last thing that I wanted was to have to go outside and deal with them, but then again, I am not that type of person. I have the mommy attitude. Had it my entire life. There is nothing better than taking care of someone. So I have still made sure that I went outside and took care of the chickens always. Even when the temp was freezing and they didn't even want to come out of their house. I went out there. Even when I was sick. I went out there. I did that because they needed me to. They are just like any other animal that I own. Any other pet you can have. You should give them attention and love as they deserve. They deserve just as much as any other pet, animal, anything.

Welcome to the life of owning a chicken :) I shall be telling about the things I have done for mine. As well as telling what it is like to raise one from a few days old. Yes, I am in the current process of raising four chicks. The current chicken that I own lost her other sister this past week. She was only around two years old. I found out that she died from a tragic thing called, 'Sudden Chicken Death Syndrome.' Basically it is the same thing as SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome).

I looked outside one day to check on my chickens and they were just fine. The next time I looked out there, I saw the hen laying down. Looked like she laid down, then died. She was in the position that she liked to sleep in. I was sad to see that she passed. But honestly, it wasn't that bad. Why? Because I know that she had the best life she could have had. She was the one that was shy. She was afraid of coming near to people. This past year I worked with her and she came out of her shell shortly before she passed away. I was so happy about that. I am sad that she is gone, but I felt worse for her sister who is now alone after losing another sister to the same thing shortly after I had brought them home over a year ago.

I read somewhere that if you don't properly care for chickens when they are babies, that they could end up developing something wrong. Maybe that is what happened. Maybe something happened after I got them that got them sick. I don't know. What I do know is that they are/were happy and healthy chickens. No problems with them. The two that passed away were not sick when they passed. Not as far as I could see. Unless I wanted to do a necropsy, I wouldn't know for sure. My philosophy is basically this ... I don't believe in artificial means. I don't believe, other than to prevent another from suffering the same fate that there would be a reason to do a necropsy. I can understand other people doing so, but it just isn't something for me. I don't believe in things like that.

I buried the hen in the same area as the current chicken is. Because that was the same area that I buried the first chicken. The lone hen left - Lilith a.k.a. Lily - helped me bury her sister Elysia. The first one that passed away was named Circe. In a way you can say that her sisters are still with her I suppose.

Elysia

All three Chickens when we first received them and brought them home.

Next we will begin my stories of taking care of the baby chicks as well as Adventure in Chicken ...