Urban Chickens

For the past several years, I have wanted to own chickens. Initially, this desire peaked around Easter, when every commercial intended to advertise clothing or cars only served to highlight the absence of fluffy baby chicks in my life. But as the years passed, I found that the impulse to keep chickens ceased to wane with the passing of spring, and became a persistent thought in the back of my mind. Even my goal of home-ownership was born of a desire to keep chickens without the permission of a landlord, so when Mark and I began to discuss the idea of expanding our menagerie, one thing I mentioned was the possibility of obtaining a flock of chickens. Not only did he readily agree, but he had also been interested in keeping chickens, so when we discovered straight-run bantam chicks for sale at Orscheln in March, we couldn't help but bring some home.

With the knowledge that many would probably be roosters, we selected a dozen chicks. Most of the chicks were what we referred to as "racing stripe chickens" (we now know them to be B.B. Red Old English Game Bantams), along with four light-colored chicks (two of which were Buff Cochin roosters, plus a Mille Fleur rooster and hen), and two pale blue chicks (Blue Cochin roosters). Having first selected a variety of chicks from those available at Orscheln, we then found chicks for sale at Tractor Supply Co. There, I fell in love with a chick that resembled a light-colored Goldfinch, the only one of her kind (we would later learn that she was a Black-tailed White Japanese Bantam). Since the chicks could only be purchased in groups of at least a half-dozen, we also selected a Red Cochin Frizzle chick (she would later come to be known as David Lee Roth by our family, though a friend noticed a striking resemblance to a chocobo from Final Fantasy), two all-black chicks (one of which was a rooster and the other a Black Rosecomb hen), and two brown-and-black chicks (an Araucana/Americana hen and rooster).

We initially kept the chicks in a large bird cage in the living room, but as they grew bigger and the weather grew warmer, we decided to relocate them outdoors. While I was disappointed to find that so many of the chickens were roosters (I had selected at least two of each in order to increase my chances of having hens), it was fortuitous that we had a surplus of roosters, as we were able to use them as food for Stekoa. We waited as long as possible to do so, even listing them for sale, but once they began crowing, we had little choice. Having a variety of straight-run chicks did allow us to learn about the different breeds and which ones we especially enjoy. We are planning to purchase more chickens in the future, and now we know which ones we prefer (Mark loves the wild appearance and independence of the Old English Game Bantams, and I appreciate the grace and elegance of Black-tailed White Japanese Bantams).

One of the best things about keeping chickens was the discovery we made after letting them out to forage in the backyard: "They do move in herds!"