With the price of eggs skyrocketing due to inflation and a shortage due to avian flu in commercial flocks, more people are looking into raising chickens for themselves.
“Rooster” by Scotts Valley artist Linda Lord. Contrary to popular belief, roosters are not needed for hens to lay eggs.
As of March 3, Scotts Valley Feed is selling chicks, according to Linda Wilt, working the sales counter Thursday.
The store has all the necessary supplies on hand.
For those thinking about raising chickens, Anastasia Gil-Torres, who lives in Santa Cruz, shares her experience via email with this cautionary note.
“Chickens aren’t a commodity,” she wrote. “You don’t just stick them in a box and collect the eggs.”
She has five chickens plus six ducks – “they lay larger eggs, which are also delicious,” she wrote.
She has been raising ducks for 15 years, and got chickens about a year and a half ago.
What does she enjoy most about it?
“Chickens have big personalities and they are total characters,” she wrote. “I wasn’t expecting them to be so exuberant and social. I also love the fact that they can eat most food scraps, which really cut down on my food waste. And the ultimate benefit is, of course, the delicious eggs they provide.”
As with raising any pet, there’s a time and a financial commitment required to keep your chickens safe, healthy and happy.
Willa O’Doherty, 9, Anastasia Gil-Torres’ niece, is not too young to hold a hen. She plans to sew some “chicken diapers” for her aunt’s flock. Yeah, chicken diapers are a thing — as are chicken sweaters. Check out the selection on Etsy!
“Our chickens don’t like being cooped up, so they free-range around the back yard, eating bugs and fertilizing for us,” she explained. “This means that someone needs to be home before dark to lock the chickens safely back into their coop for the night. Previously, one of our ducks was injured, which meant a trip to the local avian vet. If left to their own devices, the chickens will rip out plants with their scratching around in the dirt for food and they’ll nibble on your flowers as well and try and walk into your house looking for a treat.”
She added, “Our chickens are kept in a fenced-in part of the yard, where they can still roam around and explore so they don’t get bored (aka they get their much-needed “chicken enrichment”) but they are far from my flower beds.”
For her chickens, a good treat is “the dried meal worms that you can buy in bulk at the feed stores.”
For more information on raising chickens, check the internet, get a book from the library, or ask at your locally-owned feed store, where employees are knowledgeable.
Good tip: Check with your local building/planning department to see if there are any prohibitions on chickens.
Gil Torres points out you do not need a rooster to get started.
“So many people have asked me how my chickens are able to lay eggs without a rooster,” she wrote. “I tell them the same way women ovulate without a man.
Given the recent inclement weather, chicken owners need to be prepared to evacuate with their chickens in case of emergency.
Gil-Torres keeps portable metal pens and crates next to her chicken and duck coops in case of an evacuation order.