Uptown chickens

Chad Coffey, a junior at St. Thomas High School, raises chickens in his backyard in Spring Branch.

When I was a toddler, we raised chickens at our ranch in Cat Spring, Texas. Since my family has moved onto an acre lot in the Spring Branch area, I have started raising chickens at my house.

I am now a junior at St. Thomas High School and still interested in raising chickens. It is an adventure because they bring a mixture of domesticated and undomesticated life to the table. The chickens live outside and act like wild birds who run around the yard, but they also have a friendly side that allows you to pick them up and love on them.

Chickens have a conventional use, which is for eggs, but they are also my pets, and I treat them and feel about them as anyone feels about their pets. Raising a pet chicken is different than raising an indoor animal like a cat. Chickens do not need as much attention; they really just need food, water and some other chicken friends to be happy. But after they become used to you they will walk up to you, cluck and want to be your friend.

My chickens lay all different sizes and colors of eggs that you don’t see in the grocery store; the eggs vary from white to brown, green and pastel colors, and from the size of a quail egg to grocery store-sized eggs.

I give eggs to family and friends. When I have enough, I sell them to my neighbors. The great thing about home-raised chicken eggs is that they are organic and healthier than store-bought eggs. I currently have 10 chickens that are all different breeds. I like exotic breeds of chickens that include a Golden Laced Sebright, a Silkie and several Polish. All of my chickens live in a coop in the backyard at night for protection from predators, but during the day, the chickens free-range in the backyard to obtain vitamins and minerals that are not contained in their food.

The chickens love the garden and flower beds. They turn the dirt looking for bugs and worms. It irritates my mom when the dirt is all kicked up on the sidewalk. The chickens have added a warm country feeling to our household.

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