What do “Animal Planet,” a runaway rooster and chicken-loving friends have in common? They possess the power to alter lifestyles. At least, that’s what happened when three Columbus households fell under the spell of one or more of those influences in recent months. All three now find themselves part of the great American backyard chicken movement.
Be careful of what you watch on TV, Kim Cook might caution.
“I was watching ‘Animal Planet’ one day, and there was a show that had these silkie chickens,” began Cook, who lives on Columbus’s Ridge Road. “I said, ‘I’ve got to have some of those chickens!'”
The ornamental breed known for its fluffy, silk-like plumage captivated Cook, who had never raised a chicken before. She took to the Internet to research the topic, though, and by late May, the first silkie joined her family.
What started with three pet silkies soon grew into a flock of 15 or so chickens of varying breeds living it up in a comfy coop behind the Cooks’ home. They range from Salmon Faverolles, which lay pink-ish eggs, to dramatically patterned Gold- and Silver-laced Wyandottes, Speckled Sussex and blue-egg laying Cream Legbars.
Many of Cook’s breeds have intriguing histories, such as her rare Jubilee Orpington. Jubilees were introduced in 1897, named for and presented to Queen Victoria in honor of her Diamond Jubilee year. Because he considered them a symbol of British spirit, Hitler ordered them destroyed during World War II.
“There are just so many breeds of chickens, and the more you read and learn, you just want more and more of them,” said Cook.
Back to nature
The urban chicken craze is fueled, in part, by the desire to know where our food comes from and the trend toward more sustainable living. Chickens provide not only fresh eggs, but manure and bedding for compost piles, and even bug control.
“More and more people are getting some backyard chickens,” said Tom Tabler, Extension professor in the Poultry Science Department at Mississippi State University. “It’s a whole lot more people than it was 10 or 15 years ago.”
For some, it’s nostalgic, reminding them of where they were raised or how they were brought up, Tabler continued. Others want to give children a chance to learn more about farm-to-table, or about the responsibility of caring for other creatures.
Sara Parker’s family on Third Avenue North has 16 chickens, a pig (Louie), three dogs and a cat.
“We have quite the little farm,” she laughed. Parker admitted she’s always harbored an itch to try her hand at raising chickens. A couple of friends with the birds in West Point inspired her, as did the realization of how most chickens are raised and housed in commercial operations.
“I’m a big animal person, and if you’ve ever watched any videos about how they’re kept …” she said meaningfully. “And I want the kids to know where our food comes from.”
Brandon, 11, Quinn, 7, and Stella Kate, 6, help care for the family’s mix of bantums, Leghorns and French Blue Marans, collecting eggs and jockeying for “ownership” of certain birds. Cook’s two youngest children who live at home — Grace, 16, and Luke, 17 — pitch in at their house as well.
“I thought it would be a good experience,” said Cook, “to watch day-old chicks grow into egg-layers, and the responsibility that goes along with that.”
Catch that bird
KK Norris on Third Street South didn’t go looking for chickens, but they found her, nonetheless.
The scene: a morning in late July, Norris with a cup of coffee on her second-story deck, taking in the scenery. In an instant, the calm is interrupted by a feathered intruder on the ground below, two pursuers not far behind.
“I’m in shock! This bird running around in my backyard is beautiful, almost majestic, and I kept asking ‘what’s going on?'”
Before the unexpected episode ended, it became a case of “You like him so much? He’s yours,” KK said, grinning. And so, Roscoe the Rhode Island Red became the founding resident of Southside Coop de Ville, the name Norris gave the coop that now houses Roscoe and “his girls.” Lucy is a Production Red, named, more or less, for Lucille Ball. Ava is dark, an Easter Egger named after Ava Gardner and also a friend’s daughter, Norris explained.
The trio was not only introduced to the neighborhood at large with a “Peck and See” event in early October, the fowl also have their own Facebook page and Twitter following (#southsidecoopdeville).
Like Cook and Parker, Norris took to the Internet and also purchased books to study up on doing right by her new animals.
“The birds eat better than I do,” she said. Indeed, their organic diet includes “home-cooked” meals, sprouts and freeze-dried mealworms among other fare.
“I know their eggs are clean and healthy, and the taste! One person described it as ‘it tastes like a farm.’ The yolks just stand up,” Norris said.
Home and garden
These three new chicken “farmers” have derived enjoyment from building shelters for their feathery pets.
“I keep them in their coop and run, which is why they have so much entertainment in there,” Cook said. “I try to keep them busy.” An enclosed run attached to a cheerfully-painted red and white coop contains two plastic “corn cob” swings as well as a stone-lined dust bath, among other distractions. (Chickens need to wallow in dust; it helps prevent parasites from finding a home in their feathers.)
For Norris, what started as a small, basic coop greatly expanded in size as friends and neighbors came on board, adding an 8-by-10-foot wire-walled room with tin roof.
The chickens can descend into their playroom via a “skywalk” and ladder, decorated with painted chicken “footprints” — “to show them the way,” smiled Norris. She added a chair, small table and other amenities so she could sit and visit with the birds. It’s “cheep” recreation.
Comical and calming
Cook said, “One thing I have learned is that chickens are the gentlest, funniest source of entertainment. They all have their own little personalities.”
Parker agreed. “I had no idea how sweet they are. Some will hop in your lap, and they come running after you if you go outside. (Chickens like to think everyone is carrying corn.)
When it comes right down to it, chickens can be good therapy, Tabler said.
“People form relationships with them, just as they with dogs and cats. You can do that with chickens, too, depending on how much time you want to spend with them.”
He advises prospective backyard chicken owners to first get familiar with any applicable ordinances. They vary from city to city. In Columbus city limits, chickens are permitted as long as they are not running at large or create undue nuisance due to smell or noise.
Guidance on keeping chickens is abundant on the Internet: The Extension Service is a good resource as well. A group called Mississippi Poultry Swap has a Facebook page, Norris said, but she hopes to soon help create a more localized group to share advice and support online because more and more Golden Triangle residents seem to be joining the backyard bird trend.
“I would encourage anyone thinking about getting chickens to get them; I don’t think you’ll regret it,” said Cook. “And if you’re thinking about getting five, build for 10 — because you will get more.”
Jan Swoope is the Lifestyles Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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