Yesterday had perfect weather for taking advantage of the refreshing Tour de Coops, an informally organized trip around town to see chicken coops. And so we did. Among other things, we learned that the folks who raise chickens are incredibly nice and generous with their time and knowledge.

At least this was true of the families that graciously opened their yards for a day and shared their passion for this increasingly popular backyard avocation. According to one of the organizers there are approximately 24 families in Milton raising chickens. There were 9 on yesterday’s tour and they ran the gamut from quaintly informal to very sophisticated.

The first we visited was a beautifully shingled home that had handy doored bins for reaching in and getting eggs. It housed 13 chickens that all appeared happy and plump. At the other end of the spectrum was a rather slapdash looking affair of metal posts with chicken netting that had been cast across the top. A recycled Fisher Price house was the structure that housed the chickens. The 3 chickens that called this place home were also happy and plump. Well, two were anyway. The third had a run in with another animal and, though it appeared a little lopsided, possibly because one of its eyes looked off in an odd direction, it didn’t seem worse for wear. It was happy if not quite as plump. This raised one of several issues with raising chickens.

There are other animals other than people who like chickens. “Loss is a fact of life,” commented one chicken owner. He had a bright pie plate strung over his coop. “Hawks don’t like the light reflected off the plate.” His wife added she had come running out of the house one day, hearing a terrible ruckus. “I scared a hawk off one of the hens. There were feathers everywhere but the hen looked remarkably alright. The others were all huddled under the rhododendrons.” Another owner showed us some snapshots of a hawk perched directly on his coop that were taken by a neighbor. Once an owl found its way into the coop but couldn’t get out. “We had to call the animal control officer to get the owl out.” And there are foxes, coyotes, and the neighbors dogs to worry about.

What else did we learn?

Hens love to eat. When one visitor commented, “They love to follow you around. “Yeah, that’s because they think they are going to get something to eat.” One owner demonstrated chickens love of spaghetti. “It reminds them of worms.” They also are big fans of grass.

Most owners have more than one breed; but you need to be careful. Not all breeds like to play nice. Many have Rhode Island Reds. The most interesting one we saw was something that resembled a large sponge balls with needles sticking out. It was walking around but it was a little difficult to see its head.

More than one owner acknowledged that building a coop from scratch was a lot more work than they expected. “I am not a handy guy; but I am a lot more handy now than I was before this project,” one said. But once that hurdle is cleared all expressed that keeping chickens was very low maintenance and that people in chicken community often look after others chickens when folks leave on vacation etc. Not surprisingly, these families share information and mentor folks who chose to take the plunge. The families that participated were as different from each other as their coops; but they all enjoyed being outside; smiling, welcoming, and sharing what they knew with the people who drove, walked or bicycled up to their door. They love their chickens and their chicken love them.

Here are some more photos courtesy of Lee Toma. You can find Mr. Toma’s album here.

Click on an image for a larger version.