I have thought about acquiring chickens for a long time, so that we could have fresh organic eggs. In addition, they are good pooping machines, providing fertilizer for the garden. Moreover, wherever chickens haunt, they clear the land of vegetation, eating weed seeds, bugs and slugs. It became readily apparent they are multi purpose birds.
Originally, I asked for two pullets, was talked into taking three, but wound up with four. I’ve had them for three days now and they are growing and changing each day. One of them is a Barred Plymouth Rock named Roxy, while the other three are Rhode Island Reds, which I haven’t named thus far. The reds look very much alike; I am trying to familiarize myself with their individual features. One is starting to stand out as smaller, with darker red feathers than the other two; only time will tell if she will remain this way.
A friend in Portland raised them from little chicks to pullet size, when I purchased the extra girls. My husband and I built a two-foot by four-foot nesting house, where they are locked up tight at night. We have a chain-link dog kennel that serves as their patio by day. The whole pen is moveable; we plan to position it around the garden wherever we want them to scratch and fertilize. We topped it with black grids and some leftover pieces of plywood to provide some shade by day. We will fine-tune it as time passes.
I now officially feel countrified. Although keeping chickens in the city is feasible, keeping a flock has always felt like something you do when you live in rural areas, as we do. With my office window open, I can hear them peeping outside while I write. Sometimes I hear them in a power struggle, squabbling over their pecking order.
Maintaining a small flock will be worth it, when we savor our first fresh eggs in the next few months. In the meantime, they are scratching and fertilizing a neglected area of the garden, which by fall should be ready to plant.