Hens, lambs and a dog hold court while Tim Neaton, center, explains how to raise chickens during the Gale Woods’ Chickens in Your Backyard class on May 16. PHOTO: Mark Trockman
By Kelly Westhoff
Do chickens make good pets?
According to Tim Reese, supervisor of the Gale Woods Farm in Minnetrista, the answer is yes - with a few conditions.
"Raising a chicken is a whole lot easier than raising a dog," he said, adding that they can be fun and rewarding to have as pets.
"People who are interested in the idea of growing their own food and are interested in the idea of animals as pets, might find raising chickens to be a great hobby," Reese said.
This past Saturday at Gale Woods Farm, Reese taught a class about how to raise chickens in your backyard for the production of eggs. The class was filled to capacity with 24 people in attendance.
This was the second time this spring that the class was offered. A third session may be offered again in the fall. The class was offered for the first time in the spring of 2008.
Students have come from Edina, Maple Grove, North Branch, Minnetonka, Mound and Delano.
Farm staff came up with the idea to offer a class on chicken husbandry, Reese said, because many of the farm's visitors asked detailed questions about the chickens there.
"We knew the interest for this class existed," Reese said. "We haven't been surprised at all by the number of people who've signed up."
"I think the interest is part of the larger movement toward growing your own food, being connected to your food and the organic/sustainable agriculture movement," he said.
Several parents have also attended the class, bringing along their children.
"They were homeschooling families who were interested in the educational aspect of raising chickens. The learning potential is huge, everything from general biology to the responsibility of having to care for the animals daily," Reese said.
Reese teaches the class because he has direct experience raising chickens.
"I kept chickens for four years in my little urban lot in the Longfellow neighborhood of Minneapolis," he said.
Plus, since becoming supervisor of Gale Woods and moving to the site seven years ago, Reese has overseen the care of the roughly 300 chickens on the farm.
Reese teaches students how to build a chicken coop that will withstand a Minnesota winter and protect against predators like raccoons, fox, cats and dogs.
He advises students on the various chicken breeds and covers topics such as where to buy chicks, feed and supplies. He also advises students on how to keep healthy and happy animals.
One thing he does not teach is how to butcher a chicken. Meat chickens and egg chickens are two different things, he said. The class at Gale Woods only teaches students how to raise chickens for eggs.
People are often surprised to learn that chickens can be raised in urban areas. The rules differ from city to city, so anyone interested in starting a flock should check. Having chickens will probably require some paperwork to be submitted.
For example, when Reese lived in Minneapolis and kept chickens in his backyard, the city required him to collect signatures from 80 percent of his neighbors living within 100 feet.
"I had to talk to 23 neighbors," Reese said, "and only one had any objections. Once I had the chickens, I never had any complaints. In fact, all the kids used to come over to look at them."
Those who aren't familiar with chickens, Reese said, are usually surprised to learn that a hen does not need a rooster in order to produce eggs. Like a woman, a hen is born with all the eggs she will produce in her life.
"A hen will produce a couple thousand eggs in her lifetime," Reese said. "Starting at about five months, she'll produce one every 25 hours until she hits two years, then production declines."
"Without a rooster, a hen still produces eggs, they are just unfertilized," Reese said. Eggs taste the same regardless of if they have been fertilized.
Since the class began last year, Reese knows of four students who have gone on to actually purchase and raise chickens.
Karin Matchett attended the class that was held in April, but she hasn't purchased any chickens yet.
"I live in south Minneapolis," she said, "and I have to get a permit and talk to my neighbors before I can get any chickens, but I definitely want to do it. I think I'll start slow. Build the coop this summer and next year, get some chicks."
Ideally, Matchett would like to have eight hens. She'll probably start with fewer, though. She has already decided which corner of her yard will host the 5 foot by 10 foot pen she wants to construct.
Matchett is interested in raising chickens, particularly hens, because she is a vegetarian. Eggs, she said, are one of her largest sources of protein.
She is also drawn to the idea, she said, because, "I like the idea of local foods and self-sufficiency."
Even though Matchett lives in Minneapolis, she has long been aware of Gale Woods Farm. "I'm thrilled to have a working farm in the Twin Cities that does educational programs," she said.
The chicken class, she said, "was really great. We got a good sense of what a chicken coop needs to keep the animals happy and safe and so they don't freeze in the winter."
"With chickens," she said, "a lot of the work comes at the beginning. There are a lot of decisions to make up front, what kind of chickens to get, how many, what kind of coop, where to get feed. Once that is done, though, their maintenance is light. It's daily, but little."
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