Perhaps I should have titled this post "why do you want three chicken in your garden", as in January 2020, I bought 2 egg-laying hens (10 euro each) at the local market in Terceira and got the 3rd one (Cocotte, in the photo above) from a friend who was moving out. This post it's just a an occasion to share some thoughts from this 4-month experience.
The first thing about owning an animal is not about the fact that the animal may be useful for something (which is what you automatically think when it comes to chicken), it's about sharing your time with another being. Chicken can be lovely pet although certain breeds have the reputation of being more friendly than others. During this quarantine, I enjoyed their presence and spent a lot of time feeding them. The funny thing is that I never had any special thing for this animal.
A curious Giusippina.
The second thing I value the most is the feeling of independence. I understand that you cannot be considered independent from the society just because you have a chicken and a vegetable garden, but the point is that if you produce something you don't rely on everything. And because I believe that the current system is radically wrong, this is a small step in the right direction.
Connected to the previous point, raising chicken is so easy that even a former city boy like me can do it. Basically you need space (possibly a garden) with a coop where they can sleep. My coop has room for 5-6 hens and the nesting box (a fruit box), which they share. I built it with friends starting from wooden pallets that were going to be threw in the garbage. Overall, I only had to pay around 10 euros for nails, screws, and a wooden board.
My chicken eat most of my was wastes (pills of potatoes, carrots, remains of apples, bananas, pears, strawberries, bread, etc.), grasses (they love buttercup), and food pellet specific for chicken (from maize). They get a little bit of everything everyday not to get bored, and I feel glad for lessening wastes from my kitchen. Their poop can become an excellent compost.
When I got my first egg I was very excited. Breed like mine that are specialised in egg production can lay up to 300 eggs every year, which is almost 1 egg per day, and I have 3 hens! Clearly, I did not have to buy eggs anymore, and I started giving the surplus to my friends making them very happy or in exchange for something else. For example, a colleague at my university has a mushroom farm and we made a deal.
Perhaps it is just my imagination, but the yolk of my eggs look more orange and they are tastier. Surely, they are very natural and come from happy free-roaming chicken. In the egg industry, chicken are stuffed into very small places, too close to each other, and are often debeaked to avoid they hurt each other. It is really sad if you ponder about it, and considering how easy it is to get healthier, tastier, and happier egg you should really contemplate the possibility of having at least one chicken in your garden!
Understood?! (Ninuzza has a very serious looking but she is actually super sweet).
To conclude, I thank my dear friend Salvo (Totò! http://saturidinatura.it/) for convincing me to get a chicken because even a city boy like me could manage them (he did not say it clearly, but I am sure it crossed its mind). And I thank my fantastic colleagues at the University of Azores for having me helped building the coop.
Stay cool everybody (and yes, they really look like dinosaurs!).
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