Birds on the brain -- and in school

Ever since I was a little girl, I have had a love for animals. But when I turned 8, I really got into them. Easter morning in 2012, I woke up and saw nine little chicks! I was so happy. I got two Silkies, two Polish, three Easter Eggers, and two bantam chicks. I had never seen chickens like them in my life.

Since that day, I wanted to learn more about animals. I wanted to learn about chickens the most. Two years later, in 2014, I got more chicks during Easter month. I got some real pretty ones. I got Silkies, Polish, Frizzles, and some good egg-laying chicks. Now I have a 18 chickens and five pigeons, all beautiful birds. When I was a baby, my grandfather introduced me to the different birds and eventually got me my chicks for my own coop.

One day in March of this year, I asked my fifth-grade teacher, Jeannine Pernice, if I could bring in my chickens to show the class. She was very interested and told me to tell the principal. I was so happy. About a month later the principal talked to me about my birds. That day, she said to me that she would talk to the science director. So, on June 17, I brought my chickens and pigeons to school. I was thrilled!

My dad and I made shirts to wear, booklets for the kids to keep, a presentation board, and we also made a movie. We put a lot of work into it. When the big day came, I was so excited. We called the presentation "Victoria's Amazing Pets." The whole fifth grade was there. I talked to them and then they watched the movie. Everyone loved it. After that, I showed them the things I brought in and answered any questions they had about the pigeons and chickens.

Last, I showed them my birds. They all thought they were cool and interesting. This made me very happy.

Ever since that day, I've wanted more people to learn about and see my beautiful and different birds.

The different breeds lay eggs of different sizes and colors, but all are edible. We've always enjoyed eating the fresh eggs and always share the overflow with friends and family.

My dream is to be able to share my love and knowledge of these incredible birds and other animals with everyone.

When I get home each day, there is always something wonderful going on in the coop -- either the pigeons or the chickens or both are sitting on eggs that they are trying to hatch or they are raising their young. I love to just sit with the birds and play with them. They can all be let out and allowed to walk around the yard. They always know to go back to the coop by dusk.

When I am not with my birds, I like to spend my free time researching the different breeds. You can see a video of me with my amazing pets on YouTube. Visit nwsdy.li/amazingpets. Or, just go to YouTube and search for Victoria's Amazing Pets.