I have a confession to make. I have a not so secret addiction and its chickens! I write this blog wearing my favorite comfy chicken pj’s, having just prepared my incubator with a batch of our own eggs to hatch in three weeks. There’s no such thing as too many chickens at our farm. Our chicken coop has gone through various stages of remodeling to now house around eighty birds comfortably (we call it the chicken palace.) They keep my husband and teenage son busy with projects such as my new chicken food catapult (yep you heard right) a spring loaded bowl that flings kitchen scraps fifty feet through the air from our porch as a nutritious spread for our flock. During the day they free range around our sixteen acre property, happily eating insects, spiders and pests such as ticks. My ladies are spoiled. As soon as I step off the porch they come running, expecting seed or kitchen leftovers. We also raise quail, enjoying their beautiful patchwork eggs as a delicacy! The fluffy feisty little males trill happily all day long, especially as spring approaches. And then there’s the ducks, incessant in their quack stacks, super naughty but wow their eggs make baking delicious! We’ve given up on making them lay in the coop, instead repurposing our dog ball thrower to reach the pearly egg treasures laid haphazardly in our fish pond. At least it keeps them cool! Free range eggs have just the right balance of omega 3 and 6 oils and are one of nature’s best sources of choline. Choline improves memory, cognition and reduces risk of stroke. My children sell our eggs to the local elementary school and area customers, teaching them basic business skills early and earning lots of $1.00 bills for spending on their favorite toys or treats. While free ranging our chickens does inevitably feed the local hawks, coyotes, raccoons and possums, I keep enough chicks hatching to keep the flock numbers adequate for our needs. So, chicken farming is fun, and in my biased opinion, a healthy addiction to share with my children. You should try it!
