If you ’ ve ever wondered how many chickens you can fit in a horse trailer , the answer is about a thousand .
Give or take . Good to know .
If you ’ ve ever wondered how many chickens you can fit in a horse trailer , the answer is about a thousand .
Give or take . Good to know .
As I moseyed down the long gravel driveway , taking in the sprawling meadow rimmed with ponderosas , the rustic outbuildings and a dog kennel adorned with flowerpots on the doorstep , I was greeted by the baying of a handful of enthusiastic mutts , and I could hear chickens somewhere in the background . You might recognize Heath Shields as the realtor in the cowboy hat on the billboards around the area , but you might not know that in past years and places , he has been known as the Fancy Chicken Man , due to one of the ( mis ) adventures he and his wife , Shannon , shared on their series of adventures and misadventures that ultimately brought them from their Texas home to South Dakota . They now reside near Argyle with their horses and chickens and collection of rescue dogs , a trio of llamas , a few milking goats , and the crown jewel of their homestead operation , their flock of Royal White sheep .
“ Shannon comes to me one day and says , ‘ I want to get some more chickens ,’” Heath recounted in his easy manner , with impeccable , Southern storytelling sense . “ Keep in mind at this time , we had 20-30 chickens , a normal number , not a horrible chicken math number . I said , ‘ Get some more chickens , I don ’ t care !’ And she goes , ‘ Well ….’” Heath paused briefly , to great effect . “ When I heard the word ‘ well ’, just the way she said it , I knew I was in trouble .”
“ So , Shannon continues on , ‘ I found this woman in Jay , Oklahoma .’” At this time , Heath and Shannon were living in Colorado , a brief side-stay before they made their way to South Dakota in October of 2020 . “ I go , ‘ Jay , Oklahoma !
That ’ s a THOUSAND miles away from Colorado , and I KNOW they have chickens right here in Colorado .’ And Shannon explained how , well , they ’ re this special kind of breed , this fancy egg-laying breed , and a French breed , and they ’ re super hard to find . ‘ Just call the lady ,’ she said .”
So , Heath , devoted husband and man with a plan , did just that . But it turned out this wasn ’ t your average chicken lady with an average flock , but rather a commercial producer of free-range , cage-free , large brown eggs who was selling out of the business , and had 6,000 prime 2- year-old hens left of her 30,000-hen flock . She was asking $ 10 apiece .
“ Coming from an automotive background ,” Heath said ruefully , “ I have this really bad habit of just throwing a number out there , because I spent years bidding trade-ins and going to auctions – I said , ‘ Okay , I ’ ll give you $ 20,000 for everything you have left .’ What I ’ m thinking is , that ’ s only $ 3 a bird and I can tell my wife I tried to buy them ; there ’ s no way she ’ s going to come down to $ 3 from $ 10 ; look at me , I ’ m so smart , I don ’ t have to drive to Jay , Oklahoma !... but the woman said , ‘ Okay , the last 6,000 hens you can have for that price .’”
What ensued was nothing less than a comedy of errors , as they outfitted a horse trailer to haul the birds , made six 40-hour round-trips to Jay , OK , over the next several months , acquired an eggdealer ’ s license (“ Because it turns out we couldn ’ t eat 850 eggs a day ,” Heath remarked ), and sold eggs and chickens right and left (“ It turns out in a lightlypopulated rural area , you can saturate the market pretty fast ,” Heath added ).
LEFT : Heath and Shannon , and Grace , the guardian llama myblackhillscountry . com Down Country Roads 13