Chickening out

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Jul 1, 2006 | by Elizabeth Jardina, STAFF WRITER

ALL SIX of Jody Main's "sweet, sweet girls" are named Henny.

In fact, all of the hens she's had for the past 26 years have been named Henny.

In the backyard of her Woodside home, Main's chickens cluck happily. They eat kitchen scraps, herbs from the garden and pick around in the dirt for bugs. Their waste becomes fertilizer, and they each lay an egg daily for most of the year.

The scene is bucolic -- and possible even for folks who live in a less rural setting than Woodside, Main says. She and her family had chickens when they lived on a suburban lot in the College Terrace neighborhood of Palo Alto.

"They're easy pets," she says. "You won't believe how easy."

She'll teach a class on backyard chickens next week through Common Ground Organic Garden Supply and Education Center in Palo Alto. The Berkeley Ecology Center hosts another class on backyard chickens and ducks in August.

In other words backyard chickens are hot -- no longer just for folks who live in the country.

Organic gardeners love them because they provide organic, cruelty- free eggs and nonchemical fertilizer. Families with small children love them because they illustrate the cycle of life. But mostly, chicken aficionados like the sound of clucking from the backyard.

"Chickens cheer each other on when they're laying their eggs," Main says. "They cackle."

'A-fowl' of the law?

When chicken-lovers such as Main talk about backyard chickens, they almost always mean hens.

While codes vary from city to city, few municipalities allow roosters in incorporated areas, mostly because they're noisy.

"You don't need to have roosters to have nice, luscious eggs," Main says.

The hens will lay eggs whether there's a rooster there or not.

Plus, roosters can have less-than-charming personalities.

"Roosters are very territorial," she says. "They'll guard their hens. If you have a rooster, you don't have as good access to the hens."

Hens, on the other hand, are usually legal, although some cities require you to get a permit. Check with your local planning commission to see if backyard chickens are legal.

A key factor in considering backyard chickens is how well you get along with your neighbors. If they don't mind the sound of clucking and the occasional chicken-scented breeze (although chicken coops shouldn't smell if they're maintained) you can sidestep problems down the road.

Typically, Main advises getting four chickens for a family of four.

When you buy them as chicks you have to raise them in a warm, safe place, usually with a heat lamp.You make them sweet, she says, by holding them and petting them when they're young.

$3.99 a chick

Half Moon Bay Feed and Fuel sells chicks year-round for $3.99 per chick. They say that 95 percent of the chicks they sell are female, and they'll take back young roosters if you accidentally get one.

People get really excited about fancy breeds, says store employee Robin Camozzi.

"Exotics are always fun," she says. "They're brighter colors, they're different-looking."

They sell mostly bantams, a smaller breed. Among their offerings are Polish cresteds, all-black chickens with puffy pompadours on their heads; silkies; seabrights, whose feathers are a black-and- white pattern, like netting; frizzles, whose feathers look like they're on backwards; and Ameraucanas, large reddish birds that lay blue or green eggs.

Camozzi says that they're used to giving newbie chicken owners advice. They even have a prepared sheet of recommendations about what to feed them and when.

Before you head to the feed store and pick up a six-pack of chicks, you need a place to put them.

Main keeps her hens in an 8-by-10-foot yard, with a small house for them to sleep, roost and lay in. The run is fenced in with chicken wire and has a roof. It's made of scrap plywood, but it's sturdy enough to keep out raccoons. The shingled roof keeps the birds out of the sun and rain.

Main used to let her hens run in the yard, but she's changed her mind about that. For one thing, she's worried about avian flu -- which is not in the United States, but could spread here in the next few years.

Also, she lives in semi-rural Woodside, a town where a loose chicken could easily encounter a coyote, fox, neighborhood dog or other predator.

Finally, at her last house, she had a problem with her hens roosting up in the trees at night. "The nature of chickens is that they like to be high," she says. "They jump into the nearest tree, then you can't get them out."

On the other hand, John Del Prete, whose family owns Livermore Feed and Farm Supply, says he's had no trouble letting his three chickens roam the backyard of his San Jose home. He clips their wings to make sure they stay put, and the family watches them when they go out.

You can buy a chicken coop or you can build one. At Livermore Feed and Farm, they sell a $600 setup, while at Half Moon Bay Feed and Fuel, you can pick one up for $400.

If you like the idea of cluckers in the backyard but think baby chicks seem like a lot of trouble, a Fort Bragg-based company called Little Valley Farms will come to your house and deliver three hand- raised hens, a chicken coop made of a refurbished wine barrel and one year of telephone or e-mail support for $975. Visit http:// www.littlevalleyfarms.com.