A chicken in every yard

Some are into it to save the planet – eat local and organic – or for the nutrition, the companionship, or maybe just because it seems fun.
Whatever the reasons, backyard chickens are fast becoming the Victory Gardens of the new millennium: It's hip, it's money-smart and it makes you feel good about yourself.
When Sherry Elbek got her first chickens 12 years ago, she was in it for the poop.
“I'm a maniac gardener and I needed organic fertilizer,” she said. “I researched which breeds would give me the best poop for gardening and I started with 20 chickens.” She and her husband John have a couple of acres just south of Redmond and the sterile soil of Central Oregon on their property was crying out for help.
“I kept planting more and more in the garden so I needed more poop to keep up,” said Elbek. Eventually she had as many as 100 chickens. Today there are less, but she's getting ready to gear up again.
Although Steve Oberg was born and raised on a farm, it was cattle, not chickens, and he never thought much about joining the poultry craze.
But when he and his wife Bev retired to 115 acres in Powell Butte nearly three years ago chickens began to seem like a nice accompaniment to their new buffalo ranching enterprise.
“It was a slowly evolving decision,” said the retired university professor. “It just doesn't seem like a real farmyard without chickens roaming around.”
Shirlee Evans is a more typical “urban” chicken raiser, if you can call Redmond urban. The physical therapist and new city councilor lives on an average city lot, but her drive to live green and eat organic prompted her to add a few chickens to the backyard landscape nearly 10 years ago.
“To me it's about closing the loop,” said Evans. She and her husband Ron buy chicks every spring, keep the laying hens for about 18 months, then butcher that batch before winter falls. Next spring, it starts again and in between they use the chicken poop to fertilize their garden, feed their chickens scraps from the garden and kitchen and harvest the eggs, in a full circle of food production.
Raising chickens, whether it's a half dozen or so like Evanses or more than 100 like the Obergs, isn't rocket science, they say, but it pays to do a little research first.
When the Obergs first began they heard chickens were good for gardens: they eat bugs, leave poop and till up the soil with their claws. The couple penned a few roosters in their deer-proof vegetable garden.
“In one afternoon they ate every green scrap, every blossom,” said Steve Oberg with a chuckle. “There was nothing left.”
Make a note: Chickens are omnivores so don't let them loose anywhere there's anything you want to stay growing.
When Elbek began, she had one main chicken house for roosting, laying and feeding. Before long she realized that when it was cold the hens crowded inside and created so much havoc eggs were broken before collecting could take place. Today she has a small shed divided into three compartments.
“Chickens like a nice dark, quiet place to have babies,” she said. “All eggs are all babies to them.” Although it is possible to buy 'pre-sexed' chicks from a feed store or the Internet, the system is not foolproof, as all three chicken farmers learned.
“We ended up with a rooster in one year's batch of hens,” Evans recalls. “We tried to give it to my mom, who lives in the country, but she figured it out right away and we had to come get it.”
Although most folks who raise chickens do it for the eggs, or organic meat, no one can deny the charm of chickens, who can be quite tame if they spend enough time with people.
“Sometimes we just sit out in the yard and watch them,” said Evans. “They can be pretty entertaining.” If she catches field mice she feeds them to the flock, a move that can prompt a game she terms “poultry rugby” – you can guess what the ball is.
“It's so funny when they lay an egg, they boast about it with lots of clucking and fussing,” she added.
The Obergs now have their yard full of chickens, now a “real farmyard,” but the free-range eggs haven't come without a price. It didn't take long for them to realize it was important to wait until the morning laying time was up before opening the door to the chicken yard. “They were laying eggs all over the place and we never wanted to eat them because you never knew if they were laid that day or days ago,” Steve said. In addition, they have learned to protect landscape plants they treasure, and give the rest over to chickens.
Although Elbek has neighbors fairly close by, Evans, who lives within city limits, is the one who really knows how to raise chickens without raising the hackles of neighbors. It's pretty simple, she says: no roosters, keep your coop and yard clean to avoid odor and share your extra eggs. “With the economy the way it is raising chickens seems like a good idea to encourage,” Evans said.
Elbek concurs. “There’s not a lot of income in backyard farming but there is a lot of savings.”
All three families agree on one downfall of raising chickens: finding a chicken sitter is not easy. Chickens need daily care, bringing food and water and picking up eggs. ”It can keep you pretty close to home,” said Steve Oberg. “We ask neighbors for help but we don’t want to abuse their friendship.”
Maybe that’s where those free organic eggs come in.

-- photo and story by Leslie Pugmire Hole

Chicken Q & A

Where to I buy chicks?
Feed stores stock chicks every spring, your best choice if you just want a few. If your research has sold you on a particular breed, as if you can ‘reserve’ that type of chick. If you want a dozen or more, you might want to try some online sources.

What do I do with a chicken that no longer lays eggs?
You can butcher if for the dinner table or try giving it away as a pet.

How many laying chickens do I need for my family of four?
Three good layers are about right to get a dozen eggs weekly.

How can I make sure I don’t buy a rooster?
You can buy “pre-sexed” chicks to guarantee hens.

What about the bird flu?
The bird flu does not currently pose a major threat in the U.S. and it is not easily transmitted from person to person.

What can I feed my chickens?
Chicken feed, fresh garden clippings, bugs, kitchen scraps.

Isn’t Central Oregon too cold to raise chickens?
No. It has to get very cold, into the teens, to bother chickens. Simple steps such as coating their combs with ointment o avoid frostbite and putting a heat lamp in the coop will help.

Can I start my backyard flock anytime?
If you‘re starting your flock with chicks do so in spring, March through May, when they are most available. They will begin laying in about five months (slacking off some in winter when days are short).

How long will my hens lay eggs?
Hens produce eggs for 2-3 years on average.

Sources: City chicken.com; Backyardchicken.com; OSU extension

Example yearly chicken budget (6 laying hens)
$10 chicks
$60 feed
$110 chicken pellets
Total cost $180
Yield –104 dozen eggs
Cost (if purchased) - $364
** Not calculated is the cost of setting up your coop

Chicken Regs

Rules within Redmond city limits - If your home lot is an average 4,000 square feet you could have as many as eight chickens, but only if their coop could be situated on your lot at least 50 feet away from any neighboring homes, AND towards the rear of the property. Additional rules about adequacy of fencing and sanitation also apply. See zoning regulations at www.ci.redmond.or.us.

Oregon law regarding egg sales- A producer does not need a license if the producer is selling and delivering eggs of the producer's own production directly to an individual consumer. A producer may also sell without an egg handler license, if they sell only ungraded eggs to a dealer.