Here on the "farm" we love our chickens. P Daddy has had chickens since we got married. It is a passion he passed on to Madyson. She will spend hours down at the coop. She calls it "training" her chickens. The chickens in turn trust her and enjoy the attention she gives them. Happy birds make better eggs.
When we first got married, a neighbor, Mr. Hardy gave P Daddy some chickens and he's been hooked ever since. A funny story: The first year we were married P Daddy worked down the road from a chicken factory. Needless to say sometimes chickens break out or fall off the chicken truck before they get the "ax". Well, P Daddy would have a cardboard box in his truck for just theses occasions. Many times he would see a rogue chicken on the side of the road, pull over, nab it and boom "free bird". We figured if they were brave enough to escape, they deserved a nice home.
We don't eat our chickens. We just feed them! They are pets that sometimes give us eggs. Don't get me wrong, we are MEAT eaters, and if need be they will be on the grill. But not today :)
We have 17 hens and one happy rooster. Madyson's original hen was killed last year.. Henrietta was her first chicken. She was a petunia eating Rhode Island Red, God rest her soul. Out here in the country there are critters that enjoy chicken better than humans. We have coons, cats, bobcats, and red foxes that will clean out a coop in one night.
We feed them corn, veggie peels, and grains. They love watermelon rinds. We let them out to graze several times a week. We don't use any hormones or additives to make them bigger or to lay more eggs.
If you have room chickens make wonderful pets.
That's the News from THE COOP
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