“Each chicken has its own personality,” Britton adds. The two friends care for a small but growing flock, and they’re Exhibit A for Starnes’ “M&Ms theory,” which states that, like the candy, nobody can have just one chicken.
Amazing taste
For Tara Felder, it all started when she was a child. Her father explained that they couldn’t have a chicken, because the birds were too messy. Apparently, Felder wasn’t listening, because she now has a whole flock. Her dad must not have convinced himself, either, because he, too, now owns chickens, Felder says. Felder and her husband, David, live in downtown ‘ It’s not as scary as Columbia, where they renadopting a dog. ovated a dilapidated playhouse into cool digs for their And the eggs. hens. Their Wyandottes They’re amazing.’ come running for the veg— TARA FELDER, etable peels and fruit scraps BACKYARD CHICKEN KEEPER Felder saves for them and, in return, the chickens feed the family’s serious egg habit. The girls’ biggest fans are the Felders’ 3-year-old triplets: Sadie, Ruthie and Max. “They love the chickens,” Felder says. “We were definitely worried one of the chicks was going to get loved to death.” The kids run to the coop to look for eggs and have christened each hen “Caroline.” “It’s great to be able to quote-unquote farm in the city,” Felder says. “It teaches the kids responsibility and shows them where their food comes from.” And, she says, once you get past the notion that you are acquiring, you know, livestock, chickens are really little different than any other pet, and in some ways, simpler. “It’s not as scary as adopting a dog. You don’t walk them,” she says. “And the eggs—they taste different. They’re amazing, they’re fresh.” Not that it’s all been omelets and egg salad. There was that rogue rooster who slipped into the first batch of chicks the Felders ordered from a hatchery. There were the casualties of their beagle’s newfound hatred of hens. And then, there’s the manure. “If you give them the run of your yard, they are indiscriminate poopers,” Felder says. Still, she says, chicken ownership isn’t any nuttier than anything else. “Honestly,” says the mom of triplets, “in our house, they’re the easiest thing we have.”
AN EGGS-CELLENT ADVENTURE Charleston-area neighbors Bethany Britton (left) and Gretchen Sparacino joined forces to start their growing flock of chickens. The payoff? Plenty of fresh eggs and a little entertainment. “On Friday afternoon, after working all week, I’ll have a glass of wine and just watch them,” Sparacino says. “It’s like TV!”
The chicken swing
Jim Pryor has been keeping chickens for at least five years, and while the hobby may not yet qualify as an obsession, there is the little matter of the chicken swing. The Lexington resident, who lives outside of town, has a flock headed by a rooster named Winnebago. Pryor was careful to locate their spacious coop and run on the driest
BUILDING A BETTER COOP After losing a few chickens to a crafty fox, Lexington florist Jim Pryor got creative in the design and construction of his chicken enclosures. He’s since built his own hanging feeders to discourage rodents and a miniature swing set to keep his birds entertained. SCLIVING.COOP | JANUARY 2017 | SOUTH CAROLINA LIVING
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