City Chickens Have Names

"City Chickens Have Names," someday I'm going to write a book with that title. Take a close look at the eggs below in the rest of the post, each one is a little different, laid by a different breed.

You see when your chickens have names, you can't eat them, they're your pets. Chickens are wonderful, and here's something that most people don't know-you don't need a rooster for them to lay eggs. The rooster just fertilizes them.

Roosters are mean, loud and sometimes just won't leave the females alone. But the "ladies" are quiet, friendly and lay the most wonderful eggs you've ever tasted. My grown kids beg for them and take them to their friends to show them the difference of "farm" eggs.

All chickens need is a coop to keep the varmints out, water, a heat lamp in the winter and feed. They love something called scratch, it's what we use to lure them back to the pen when they escape, and they always escape.

Just sitting inside the run watching and listening to them as they quietly cluck and coo is therapeutic. They are beautiful and when you raise them from little chicks they don't mind being held and petted.

They also make great organic ammendments for the garden!

If your city or township doesn't allow chickens, get that law changed. If you keep the coop clean, your neighbors will never know you have them. Most municipalities don't mind gentelmen farmers, but check with city hall first.

I've got six chickens and that's plenty to feed five people with eggs left over to give away to lucky friends.