Raising Backyard Chickens

Billie Stafford outside her family’s chicken "mansion" with her favorite chick, Laverne (Photo: www.lawellphoto.com)

Move over, Shirley. A new duo is in town – Laverne and Billie. Billie Stafford, a retired hairdresser referred to as “Momma Chicken” by those who know her, is proud of all her chicks. (By “chicks,” we don’t mean kids, but actual chickens.) However, she admits, one chicken, Laverne, is her favorite.

Besides the physical similarities between human and fowl – Billie and Laverne are both fair-haired beauties – Billie thinks she and Laverne have similar personalities. “I am known to be affectionate, and so is Laverne,” says Billie, adding it is not uncommon for Laverne to hop up on her lap and enjoy a hug.

Raising chickens is something with which Billie is familiar, her mom having kept backyard chickens at their urban home near Bryan. Billie recalls collecting their eggs as a child. She also recalls how fastidious her mother was about keeping the chicken coop clean, and Billie now designates Sunday mornings to cleaning her backyard chicken hutch.

Words like “hutch,” “coop” or “pen” do not do Billie’s chickens’ house justice. At the back of her family’s ranch-style home on their half-acre lot in Bellaire, you’ll find a lovingly constructed abode. Billie refers it as the “mansion.”

Billie Stafford and daughter Kim McHugh tend to their "girls." (Photo: www.lawellphoto.com)

Constructed of hardy plank and built to resemble a country cottage, the chickens’ 16-by-8-foot home is a sunny yellow, with a mural painted by daughter Kim McHugh along the side and a white picket fence around a brick patio. Inside the coop, Billie and husband Joe have installed two fans to beat the summer heat.

“One of the causes of death in chickens is they overheat, so I want to keep them cool. We also have a mister that sprays them occasionally. Of course, I don’t want them to get bored, so we’ve installed a radio,” Billie laughs, adding that the station is set to country music.

Billie and Joe say there is increased interest in raising chickens in urban backyards. Joe says he likes that the eggs are free of hormones and antibiotics, and that the chickens do not spend their days squeezed into cages.

Billie says she wants her 5-year-old grandson, Logan Stafford, to discover the satisfaction of gathering food for the table. Besides having fresh eggs daily to eat, the eggs’ colors are reason enough for excitement.

“Laverne is an Americana chicken,” Billie explains. “Americanas are often referred to as ‘Easter Eggers’ because of the colored eggs they lay. Some lay blue, pink or purple eggs. Laverne lays green ones.”

Five-year old Logan Stafford loves his grandmother's backyard chickens like pets. (Photo: Kim McHugh)

Neighbors Melinda and Frank Gerow say they welcome Billie’s knock at their door with fresh eggs in hand. To return the favor, Melinda shares her baked treats with Billie. Billie also bakes, including hundreds of cookies at Christmas, and never has to worry about running out of eggs.

Another benefit is free fertilizer. Chicken manure’s high-nitrogen content makes good compost, and neighbor Paula Buhr uses old shavings from Billie’s coop in her garden.

Billie and Joe have 15 chickens, a few more than they originally planned for since beginning their venture in May. They are fostering three chickens who joined their city cousins due to a coyote threat at their farm. “We’ve installed a baby monitor so we can hear at night if there are any disturbance from raccoons, possums or rats,” says Billie.

While their backyard coop may seem unusual to younger neighbors, there are plenty of older ones around who remember searching for eggs themselves.

“Joe and I love our ‘girls,’” says Billie, “and hope our story of raising chickens will bring back some childhood memories for some Buzz readers.”

Good Reasons to Raise Backyard Chickens

Many people want to control how their food is produced, whether by raising chickens or growing their own herbs, fruits and vegetables. Fresh eggs are good sources of protein, and chickens are easier to take care of than other livestock.

Bellaire animal control officer Richard Perez is raising two chickens at his Heights home. “I bought them for my kids for Easter. I get two fresh eggs a day,” he says.

Chickens are known to eat cockroaches, other insects and even mice, so having a few around in the back yard can curtail pests.

Be sure to check your codes. Bellaire permits raising chickens, but many cities, such as West University, Southside and the Memorial Villages, do not. In Houston, deed restrictions may prohibit chickens. Where allowed, owners must adhere to regulations on noise and odor. As hens do not need a rooster to produce eggs, a noisy cock-a-doodle-doo is forbidden in most urban areas.