Chicken keeping is latest backyard hobby

A growing number of San Antonians are learning that yes, indeed, the chicken came first.

In the past three months, Jimmy Manger, daytime manager at Alamo Feed & Pet Supply, has sold more than

400 baby chicks.

“We're seeing a lot more people keeping four or five chickens in the backyard for eggs,” Manger says.

The reasons for keeping feathered friends as pets and producers vary. More than a year and a half ago,

Yen Diep and her parents received chickens from friends with the intentions of butchering and eating

them.

“We opened the box and inside were the scraggliest-looking chickens we'd ever seen,” Diep says. The

chickens were spared from the cutting board, and the Dieps had to figure out what to do with five

chickens.

Googling led to some makeshift coop building; a few trips to the feed store later for a cage, food and

water trays and feed, and the chickens were situated in their new home.

For Diep's parents, who grew up in Vietnam, having chickens roam the backyard was a part of life.

“My parents were used to that,” Diep said. “The meat from free-range chickens is slightly tougher, but

they prefer that, so they'll buy free-range.”

The Dieps learned about keeping chickens through trial and error. After waiting for several months for

their hens to start laying, the Dieps asked friends what steps they should take to procure eggs. They

learned hens need a special protein-packed feed to reach optimal egg-laying hormone levels.

“After we got them the feed, we had so many eggs, my mom was giving away dozens,” Diep said.

Yes, the eggs are different from the eggs sold at your local grocery store. Different chicken varieties

lay different-colored eggs: eggs with spots and flecks, bluish-green eggs, dark brown eggs, tan eggs.

Once the harder-than-average shell is cracked, the inside reveals a slightly darker and, at times, bigger

yolk.

That being said, there isn't a discernible taste difference between home-grown and store-bought eggs.

Joe Barfield, a Mahncke Park resident, has kept chickens in his backyard since 2003. Barfield has celiac

disease and cites health and nutrition as reasons for keeping hens.

“It's a challenge to try and eat whole foods every day, but we try doing it a little bit here and there,

” Barfield says. Barfield and wife, Dee, use their eggs in all their dishes, including Shirred Eggs and

Raw Egg Curry Dressing.

Barfield keeps his hens in a chicken tractor, or movable chicken coop, he built. This helps protect the

chickens from predators while providing a new plot of soil to dig and peck; moving the chickens every

other day gives the soil a chance to use the nitrogen-rich chicken waste and flourish.

Even in coops, chickens aren't always safe. Predators such as cats, dogs, raccoons, opossums and even

bees can often find a way. The Dieps lost three of their chickens to a swarm of bees.

“They were defenseless,” Diep says. “We're nursing one back to health, but we're not sure she'll make

it.”

Barfield shares his backyard hobby with neighbor and Restaurant Gwendolyn owner and chef, Michael

Sohocki.

Sohocki built a pyramid-shaped tractor that stands more than 6 feet tall. Each of his hens lays about an

egg a day into three bottomed-out plastic buckets that lay on the side closest to the coops door. The

tractor is pulled across his backyard daily to give the chickens fresh grass and nutrients to consume.

“I do this because it makes my chickens happy,” Sohocki says. “Happy, healthy chickens will give me

eggs.”

His chickens produce about six eggs a day, which he uses in everyday cooking.

Sohocki's approach to backyard chicken-keeping focuses on sustainability and awareness.

“I trust these eggs because I know where they came from,” Sohocki says. “Increasing the social

knowledge of seasonal food and benefits leads to a healthier takeaway — the only change is you.”