Coop Dreams

The highs and lows of raising chickens

- SID EVANS

OUR GRAND POULTRY experiment started with an unexpected visitor. My wife, Susan, had been talking about getting chickens for years, but I never thought she was serious. Then one day, I came home from work to find an exotic-looking Polish hen with a crest of yellow feathers in our front yard. The dogs were confused, not sure whether to attack or run for cover, and Susan was cracking up. There was something amusing about the hen's jerky movements, and when we picked her up, she got even cuter, trilling a bit when we petted her. After a few texts, we discovered she had escaped from our next-door neighbor's property (her name was Primrose), so sadly, we had to return her. But when our 20th wedding anniversary came around, I knew exactly what to do. Instead of jewelry or a trip to the beach, I gave Susan a chicken coop.

That was about two years ago, and we've learned a lot since then. We have half a dozen of them now, a number that tends to fluctuate (more on that later). But for us, the benefits outweigh the challenges.