From Suburban Garage to Ag Reserve Barnyard
Story & photos By Bobby and Allison Tjaden
Bobby pulled into the driveway to our home in Annapolis with our first three chickens after dark one fall evening , with the coop 80 percent finished and a storm on the way . It was a high-drama start to our love affair with backyard chicken keeping . We wondered if they would make too much noise and upset the neighbors . We wondered if we would be able to protect them from predators and meet their needs . We wondered how long it would be until we got our first eggs . Would these be “ happy ” chickens ?
We learned a lot from those first three ladies and our flock continues to teach us new lessons regularly . Keeping chickens for eggs is a joy . The chickens provide much more than this important breakfast staple . They eat our kitchen-scraps , provide lighthearted entertainment , offer relaxation with even a meditative quality , and are an incredible conversation starter . A successful icebreaker for a work conference call is the pecking order of our flock .
Our first three chickens were out of their coop ranging one day when they were snatched by the neighborhood fox . It was a quick lesson for us about the dangers to chickens and the careful balance between allowing them to freerange and protecting them from harm . It took us some time to recover from the shock of the initial loss and ask ourselves : are we up to try it again ? Our replacement chickens came from a friend ’ s farm and we picked them up in time to celebrate Bobby ’ s December birthday . While production of eggs does reduce some during the winter , you can still get plenty of eggs from your birds even in the cold weather . They are also remarkably cold-hardy . No need for a space