When & where did you adopt your pet? 

We purchase our hens from Tractor Supply

What made you decide to make your home your pet's forever home?

We briefly entertained the idea of being chicken farmers since we have the land and do not have the restrictions in the neighborhood, about 7 years ago when a neighbor suggested splitting the responsibility with us! Also, we both grew up with normal domestic animals and love all animals just like we love people, so it wasn’t far-fetched for us to seriously entertain this adventure! A couple of years went by, and we didn’t seriously speak about it with the neighbors or pull the trigger until our children came home from their aunt's house with fertilized chicken eggs that needed to be incubated. We quickly bought an incubator and waited the 21 to 24 days for our babies to hatch. Meanwhile, I ordered a plan for the chicken coop off of Etsy, and Nate and I got to work building a sound chicken coop that houses 12 in our backyard. We hatched about three chicks out of that first batch and quickly decided that we want more because they are so darn cute!

How did your pet get his/her name?

We have named some of our chickens, depending on their unique look or personality. We have lost so many chickens to this point in time that we don’t put as much time and energy into naming them any longer.

Does your pet have any favorite toys, places to sleep, visit, etc?

Our chickens love to roost in the coop that we created for them, and one of their favorite treats is dried mealworms and melons! They love to forage in our landscape for tasty bugs as well

Tell us something quirky or funny that your pet does: 

We’ve also had some roosters by surprise who are lots of fun to watch do their cock-a-doodle-doo rooster call. Their neck and head do a funny movement as they make their call. It is a very cool dynamic to watch between all of the hens with or without a rooster. The pecking order is a real thing, and how it is established I’m not exactly sure, but it is neat to watch as we have introduced multiple different flocks in this five-year timeframe we have been chicken farmers.

How has having your pet made your life better?

Having chickens has definitely taught my family, especially the kids, a different level of responsibility and the care that goes into having lives that you have to care for and protect and assert responsibility for. It has also given us a greater appreciation for poultry as they work really hard to nourish their bodies in order to lay delicious eggs, which we get to enjoy the true reward of farm-fresh eggs. It’s also made us respect the food chain more and the way that nature plays out. We have experienced more loss in the past five years than we ever have in our lives, but I think that it’s making us cherish life and moments, nature, and the circle of life even more. We’ve also had to put a lot of time and care into nursing some sick or wounded hens back to health, in which some have been successful, and others have not. But it makes us look at our life, ourselves, and our abilities much more differently. Our hearts always go out to our chickens, just as they would to any other domestic animal that we have or have had.