Cathy Varnadore
asked if she could tell the difference between her hens’ eggs and store-bought ones. “I think Trey [her son] was the first one to say this, that the scrambled eggs are orange and not yellow. Trey didn’t like eggs before we got chickens. They just have a better, richer taste.” For as much good as the chickens do for those who own them, the three
women agree that they require very little. All they really have to do is let them out in the morning, close the coop door at night, watch against predators (neighborhood dogs, snakes and possums seem to be the worst offenders) and make sure they have water and food. “And really, if they’re out in the yard
they can find enough to eat,” Marci says. So the popularity of pet chickens may not be as odd as one might think. “They’re about as easy as cats and they’re pets with a purpose,” Amy says. “They’re food, insecticide and fertilizer all in one.”
concern is predators — coyotes, possums and snakes. Good thing she has dogs… and a rake. “I have a lab who doesn’t mess with them and kind of protects them,” she says. “But one time I saw a ratsnake and a didn’t have a gun or a shovel or anything with me. So I grabbed a rake and chased him, yelled at him, and he never came back.” Cathy says she and her sons currently collect eggs once or sometimes twice a day, which they label, date and keep in a separate refrigerator in the basement. Sometime soon she hopes to do more with the eggs, but, for now, having them, and the chickens, around is enough. “I love to watch them and I love to hear them,” she says. “They start up about five o’clock in the morning crowing. At first it may be a bother but you get used to it. They’re fun to watch when they’re babies and when they grow up. They’ve got a lot of personality.”
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327 Elm Street | Lincolnton, GA | 706.359.7516 NOVEMBER 2011 ELEMENTS
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