My interest in raising a backyard flock has been slowly simmering for years, but it finally bubbled over at the beginning of 2023, so I decided to take the plunge and start the process of rearing chickens. There have been a number of influences leading up to this decision: a desire to have a more robust nutritional profile in the eggs themselves (fresh eggs contain less cholesterol/saturated fat and more Vitamin E, beta carotene, omega-3 fatty acids, etc.), the rising cost of eggs due to inflation (yes, yes, I know – I’ll be lucky to break even); a keen interest in nurturing the process end-to-end from chick to hen to egg and sharing both the wonders and drudgery with my husband and littles; and the knowledge that my family has a bit of a history with animal rearing/stewardship.
My grandfather (Papa) grew up in a very rural area of Alabama, and some of my fondest memories of him are listening to stories of his childhood on the farm. His father, a retired medic, served as the community’s unofficial vet, and Papa had a hunting dog that was so good at his job that the neighbors would swing by the farm to borrow him if he wasn’t out working the fields with the family. From an early age, Papa worked side by side with his parents and siblings raising chickens (for laying and for broiling), turkeys, goats, cows, and pigs, tilling fields, and learning all the lessons that come from working hard to provide food for the family.
My dear Aunt has several acres that she’s been steadily molding and shaping into the ideal homestead for her and my cousins, and her little flock of chickens, ducks, and bantams was my first hands-on experience with backyard chicken-rearing. I loved going out with her to meet the hens, and to peek in the nests as eggs were being laid. She taught me a little bit about her different breeds, colors of eggs, the importance of egg blooms and sent me home with some delicious eggs to enjoy – including some gorgeous blue duck eggs. After those visits, my curiosity was officially piqued.
CHALLENGES TO OVERCOME:
I know there are some challenges I’ll need to plan and prepare for before bringing home chicks, and that inevitably some curveballs may come my way despite my best research/preparations. That’s why I have created this site – it serves as a way for me to chronicle my experiences – both good and bad, so I can take note of lessons learned, and continuously improve my stewardship of our own backyard flock.
Outside of those start-up challenges, there’s also this slightly embarrassing fact:
I’m a teensy bit afraid of birds. This comes with many exceptions/caveats, but as fascinated as I am with avians as a whole, I’m also a little intimated by them. While I might jokingly reference a past run-in with a goose in my toddlerhood as the root of my discomfort (I didn’t want to share my bread and the goose took exception to my reticence), I think much of it has to do with the fact that I’m not adept at reading bird body language.
I haven’t had much direct experience with birds (most of my friends and family have more traditional pets), and those more intimate encounters that I have had over the years have been a little offputting to say the least:
- As a child visiting my local zoo, a man accidentally dropped his keys down from the boardwalk into an enclosure inhabited by an ostrich. The man climbed down to retrieve them, and when the ostrich spotted the interloper, he came charging across the habitat with clear intent to do harm. The man jumped back to safety in the nick of time with some help from concerned spectators, but the experience left quite an impression on me.
- In middle and high school, as a member of my school’s marching band, I and my friends were repeatedly chased (across multiple summers) by a flock of Canadian geese who insisted on using our practice field as a hang-out spot and HATED our brass section. They took every note played by a trumpet, trombone, baritone, or tuba as a personal affront with the tuba serving as their public enemy #1.
- One of my friends in college had an African grey parrot who I was fascinated by. He was named after a fictional character I’m especially fond of (Belgarion), but he took unfortunate delight in nipping at the fingers of the unsuspecting. He also insisted on mimicking the annoying chirps that a fire alarm makes as its batteries are dying, along with the sound of a dripping faucet.
All that being said, there are many birds that I find adorable and/or fascinating – owls are a personal favorite, along with other raptors like falcons and hawks, hummingbirds, penguins, ducks, quetzals, and yes, you may have guessed it — even chickens.
So outside of the more obvious thrill of being able to raise chickens for fresh eggs, I’m looking forward to having a better understanding of and appreciation for birds and their temperaments and body language.