Backyard chickens can help keep

Zachary Villar For

Chickens can be a great addition to anyone’s backyard. They provide delicious, fresh eggs full of vitamin E and omega-3 fatty acids. With the rising cost of store-bought eggs, backyard chickens can help you save money. They’re fun to spend time with, pleasant to look at, and they’re great for kids. They act as pest control by eating bugs, and they can fertilize your yard.

Sarah Littlewolf of Goldendale has her backyard chickens set up with a double coop so they can fertilize her garden. She has two separate areas where she moves her flock of chickens at different times of the year. While the chickens are in one part, they are fertilizing the soil. Then she switches them to the other chicken run and tills the soil in the area where the chickens have just left. She then uses this area to plant her garden. The soil where Littlewolf lives was not naturally great for growing food. The first year she planted her garden, only

Dandy Valley Farm & Nursery

Ron a few vegetables grew. But then she tried planting the garden where the chickens had previously been kept, and the results were night and day. “We got lots and lots of vegetables off of it,” said Littlewolf.

Within Goldendale city limits you can have up to six chickens on your property, and roosters are prohibited. Those keeping backyard chickens within Goldendale city limits must file a fowl management plan permit with the city and have it approved.

Littlewolf lives outside the city limits, and she has plenty of room for her 32 chickens to run around and enjoy themselves. She built a handy sliding feeding trough with the help of her mother, Jan Morris, to make it easier to feed the chickens. She pulls the trough outside the fence and pours the food in, then slides it back in through a small door. Since chickens can get pretty excited when it’s feeding time, this makes the task easier.

Backyard chickens are becoming more popular these days. When buying chicks at local farm stores, Littlewolf recommends you get to the store first thing in the morning. “They’re selling out. As soon as they open, there’s a line out the door.” Littlewolf hatches her own chicks. She has an area where she can keep the chicks in a temperature-controlled room since warmth is important to their healthy growth.

Littlewolf’s children each have their favorite chickens. Gracie’s favorite is an orange chicken named Chickie.

Gunner’s favorite is Frigidaire, so named because it started as an egg in the refrigerator that they then put in the incubator, and it hatched a chick.

Backyard chickens are fun for the whole family. They have many uses, and they make great companions. If you take good care of your backyard chickens, they will reward you with their friendship, beauty, and utility!