Community Feature: Interview of a Backyard Chicken Keeper

Chickens cluck boisterously around us, mixed in with playground equipment, flower beds, a shed and patio furniture. They aren't a fan of the thick layer of winter snow, but they appreciate the kitchen scraps we scattered for them. Its not a large backyard, but its a backyard so many people are starting to embrace – its a city yard with chickens.

SteadGoods: "To get us started, how long have you and your family been raising chickens in your backyard, and how many do you have?

Abigail:"We have been raising chickens for almost 4 years and we currently have 6 hens, which is the city limit here in Oshkosh."

SteadGoods: "Do you keep any specific breeds? Do you or have you had any favorite breeds over the years? If so, why do you like those particular ones?"

Abigail: "We primarily have mixed breeds, but did at one point intentionally purchase Leghorns because of their prolific egg laying. Leghorns have proven to be better layers than the other chickens, but I love the mixed breeds for their coloring and their unique eggs. My husband's favorite is a chicken that we believe is a black Australorp with the most beautiful iridescent black feathers. Her name is Darth Vader, and she is our 'boss hen'!"

SteadGoods: "What originally motivated you and your family to have chickens? As the years have gone by, has anything about that motivation changed?"

Abigail: "I remember it being a gradual process. We talked to family for a while about how great having chickens would be, checked out some books from the library, and then decided we should just go ahead and try it. We also like the idea of a hobby farm someday, but figured chickens would be a good way to be get our feet wet on a small scale. So now we are chicken 'tenders'!

We have found it be very rewarding, and we keep at it for the fresh eggs (which is great as prices keep climbing) as well as the ability to teach our kids the skill of caring for chickens."

SteadGoods: "What kinds of things did you have to address before adding chickens to your backyard? Any concerns or cons to keeping backyard chickens? Any specific pros to city chicken life?"

Abigail: "I mean, there are some of the basics: a chicken coop, a run. If you are in Wisconsin, you will want an electric warming waterer, and a regular waterer for the warm season. You'll want chicken feed and something to provide calcium, like oyster shells.

One thing we learned pretty quickly was that our initial shorter height run wasn't ideal for us as the chicken keepers. We very quickly upgraded our run from a short run that we got for our first 3 chickens, to a run that we could stand up in. This is significantly better for cleaning, collecting eggs, catching chickens that don't want to be caught, ect. Chickens will also roost as high as possible, so several roosting bars and nesting boxes as is appropriate for the number of chickens. We also buy bales of hay locally and use the 'deep litter method' for the coop.

In addition to feed, we like to provide fresh scraps, especially during the winter. And some pre-mixed chicken scratch (essentially chicken treats) are a great help for incentivizing chickens to go into the coop when you need them too.

Hardware cloth will be needed to enclose the coop, and chicken wire for any garden beds or plants that you don't want them to destroy. Don't expect the chicken wire to keep predators out of a run! We don't face a lot of pressure from predators, I think mainly because we are in the city. The only issue we have every had (knock on wood) is from hawks. One of them even landed on one of the chickens one summer day. It only got a few feathers, but it caused quite the excitement!

Also, many backyards are fenced, as ours is. But we quickly realized that a fence, even a 6 foot one, does not guarantee that the chickens will stay put. It is not uncommon for my kids to randomly yell ' There's a chicken is in the neighbor's yard!' and for me to have to run around to the neighbor's yard to throw a chicken back over the fence!"

SteadGoods:"What is your favorite part of raising backyard chickens?"

Abigail: "First point obviously has to be the fresh eggs... After that, I think its the experience it provides for our kids. Out of all the farmyard animals, chickens don't pose much danger to even the smaller children, so they are relatively safe for the kids to be involved with care, gathering eggs, and responsibilities like watering and feeding them. Plus they fit in a city backyard.

Chickens can be a bit of a menace to the condition of a yard, but on the flip side, they can be pretty effective against invasive plants. We used to have burdock plants that we struggled to control within the backyard, and our chickens took care of that issue completely! Chickens also seem to help with the mosquitos. We don't have much for ticks in town, but in a more rural area, ticks are some of their favorite snacks.

If you garden, you also get some great compost out of the bedding. I enjoy all the little ways that the chickens contribute to our backyard and family ecosystem!"

SteadGoods: "Community connection is a strong focus here at SteadGoods, particularly as we do these community feature pieces. Do you feel like keeping backyard chickens has improved your connection to your personal or neighborhood community in some way? If so, how?"

Abigail: "We already had a good relationship with our immediate neighbors, but I've had opportunities to talk to people walking by, other friends who are interested in what we are doing and possibly getting chickens themselves, and we get to share the eggs with friends and coworkers during the height of production.

I think our family is kind of the 'chicken family' in the neighborhood, and I know that our neighbors get a kick out of watching our kids and our chicken's escapades!"

SteadGoods: "Last question, any fun chicken stories to share? Words of wisdom? Advice for the newbie chicken keeper?"

Abigail: "My advice for newbies is to not panic! Chickens are oftentimes more resilient than we give them credit for. My chickens have thrived as long as they are well fed and watered, and kept dry. Keeping them dry is very important during these cold winter months.

My favorite stories are all of the funny moments – we have pictures of the kids with chicks that flew to the tops of their heads, members of the household chasing chickens in the neighbors yard. Lots of photo ops...ha ha! Picnics in the backyard became slightly chaotic, and at least one full sandwich, and another time a full piece of pizza has been snatched by a very bold chicken. We had to start putting them in their run in order to eat on the patio. Our son rode in the wagon with a bunch of the chickens when they were young...and our daughter is very proud of her reputation as 'the chicken wrangler' of the household!"

Abigail and her family have lots of great wisdom when it comes to backyard chickens. We appreciate their willingness to let us hang with the 'girls' one wintry afternoon and chat about chickens!