Ted Parks hand feeds one of his hens.
I wanted some fresh eggs so I went down to Arizona Feeds Country Store, just off South Sixth Avenue and bought five chicks. The man said they were not more than three weeks old. One was white, two were butterscotch, and two were dark rust. The plumage is quite beautiful especially when their permanent feathers come in.
Each girl has her own personality and is quite social. They are great pets and companions, greeting me every day with clucks as they come running for treats, which for a chicken is just about anything.
I suppose a chicken must be right up there with pigs when it comes to food as they don't turn their noses up to whatever I give them. They get all my scraps except for meat but I've heard they will eat that too.
At the end of six months they were laying eggs at the clip of one a day. More eggs than I could handle. I give them away to all my neighbors, especially those whose yards they graze. These chickens can fly and will wander all about the neighborhood.
They don't cost much, about two bucks when they are little. If you give them a big enough space to run in, five chickens only go through one 50 pound bag of feed (about $18) every six weeks. The eggs are delicious. You can have chickens within the city limits but only hens - roosters are not allowed.
Fresh eggs are a great addition to any table!
