Meet Judi & her flock from My Pet Chicken

Meet Judi and her flock from My Pet Chicken! We lovingly call our My Pet Chicken employees "Peeps!" My Pet Chicken is very unique in that ALL employees are poultry keepers ourselves, so we offer a wealth of experience and wisdom. Here is your opportunity to see how we became "crazy chicken people." In this "Meet the Peeps" blog series, we introduce you to Judi. You've interacted with her by phone...now it's time to "meet" her.

Judi - Customer Service Phone Peep

1. How Long have you been part of the MPC family? I started working at MPC in March of 2014 as a Phone Peep. I can hold a 2-way conversation with a fence post, so being a Phone Peep is easy for me!

2. What is your home state and your favorite part about living there? I live in Jacksonville, NC, home of Camp LeJeune - USMC. I've lived here for 40 years as of next year and still love it as much as the first day I moved here. I like to ride my bicycle, and the land is very flat here, so it makes for nice long rides!

3. How long have you been a chicken keeper? I got my first chickens in 1982 when I got my first horse. I grew up in Pittsburgh, PA, and it was always my dream to live on a farm and have my own horse, so I guess you can say I'm living my dream!

4. What was your first breed(s) of chicken? I don't even remember anymore, but over the years, I've had lots and lots of different breeds.

5. How many chickens do you have? (Real numbers…not what we tell our family members!) Up until about 4 weeks ago, we had about 50 chickens, then a fox/coyote dug under the outside pen, and we now only have about 20.

6. Do you have any other animals besides chickens? If so, what and how many do you have? I also have 2 donkeys, Rocket Man and Ida Blue, plus about 15 pot-bellied pigs, 14 goats, 12 geese, 10 ducks, and 10 guineas, all out at the barn, plus 3 dogs and 1 cat in the house.

7. What is your favorite chicken breed? Why? Tolbunt Polish! They remind me of a calico cat, tri-colored.

8. What is your favorite part about chicken keeping? Seeing them run up to you all excited because you are coming to see them (and bring them treats!)

9. What is your least favorite part about chicken keeping? Feeding early in the morning or after dark. I'm always afraid I'll find a snake in the nest box, and they scare me to death!

10. What is your best pro tip for a newbie chicken keeper? Relax and enjoy your chickens! The more time you spend with them, the friendlier they will become, and they are a great way to get rid of the leftovers in your fridge!

11. What is your favorite chicken-keeping product and why? When I have chicks in a brooder, I use a plastic tote because it is so easy to keep clean. Since chicks like to put EVERYTHING in their water, i.e., food, pine chips, poop, etc., I hang a Bunny Bottle on the outside of the tote with the nozzle coming into the brooder thru a hole. I show 1 chick how to drink the water from the Bunny Bottle, and she will show all the others, thus eliminating me from having to clean their water bowl out 10 times a day!

Closing thoughts from Judi...I used to breed Tolbunt Polish and Ayam Cemani. I sent the owner of My Pet Chicken a dozen eggs of each, which she hatched, and then used the chicks in some pictures for MPC like the Jungle Gym. My big claim to fame is what she did with the chicks after the photoshoot... She gave them to Martha Stewart, so I have chickens on Martha Stewart's Connecticut Farm!!!