A chick, a hen, a human: Backyard chickens are fun and practical

Backyard chickens aren't just for pastoral country settings anymore. In Cape Girardeau, a city ordinance allows for up to six female chickens on a given property, and that can make for a great setup.

Dustin and Jennifer Schroeder and their two sons, Colin, 7, and Brady, 3, of Cape Girardeau, have been raising chickens for a couple of years.

Dustin and Jennifer Schroeder each grew up having grandparents who had farms, and they wanted some of that same experience for their own sons.

Rhode Island Red chickens occupy the coop Saturday, May 30, 2020, at Andrew Bard's home in Cape Girardeau.Jacob Wiegand ~ jwiegand@semissourian.com

They took the plunge in September 2018, shortly after actor Burt Reynolds died, Dustin Schroeder said.

They started with two one-week-old chicks -- one was bossy, the other pretty laid-back, so, he said, it was a pretty natural move to name them Smokey and The Bandit.

Colin Schroeder, 7, of Cape Girardeau, poses for a portrait with his Black Sex Link chicken, Smokey, on Wednesday, June 3, 2020, at his home in Cape Girardeau.Jacob Wiegand ~ jwiegand@semissourian.com

Sadly, Bandit died earlier this year, Dustin Schroeder said, but that's part of raising animals.

Dustin Schroeder said there are many positives to owning chickens, as did Cape Girardeau resident Andrew Bard, who has a small flock of Rhode Island Red hens in his backyard coop.

Bard returned from the Philippines in mid-March and purchased his fowl the first week of April.

"I raised them in a box for a few weeks until they were big enough to come back here," Bard said.

Bard added he thinks chickens are less work than having a dog or cat.

Colin Schroeder, 7, of Cape Girardeau, displays an egg from a chicken Wednesday, June 3, 2020, at his home in Cape Girardeau.Jacob Wiegand ~ jwiegand@semissourian.com

"I go out once a morning, I feed them, clean the coop once a week and make sure they have the basics," Bard said. "They're pretty good on their own."

Bard said it's important to check chickens for disease, and for bites from buffalo gnats. Too many can cause the chicken to go into shock and die.

"Mostly for me, it's the eggs," Bard said.

And it's about self-sufficiency.

Bard has a large garden and wanted a way to produce protein as well as vegetables and fruit.

Andrew Bard of Cape Girardeau poses for a portrait with one of his Rhode Island Red chickens near the chicken coop Saturday, May 30, 2020, at his home in Cape Girardeau.Jacob Wiegand ~ jwiegand@semissourian.com

"Chickens are the easiest, simplest, fastest way (to do that)," he said. "Chickens are clean, domesticated, easy to work with. They don't destroy things."

Unless, that is, they fly over a tall fence and get into the neighbor's landscaping, pulling up plants while scratching for insects and worms to eat.

That's when he learned he needed to clip their wings, Bard said.

Most breeds of chicken are pretty quiet, too, Bard said. Hens typically will make noise if laying her first egg or an abnormally large one, or if she's being attacked, Bard said.

Another benefit of chickens is the manure, Bard said. While it needs about 6 months of mellowing time between chicken and fertilizing the garden, chicken manure is rich in nitrogen.

A Rhode Island Red chicken walks around the coop Saturday, May 30, 2020, at Andrew Bard's home in Cape Girardeau.Jacob Wiegand ~ jwiegand@semissourian.com

He never cleans the coop without watering down the manure first, though, as the dust can get in the lungs and cause an infection.

"As long as you're smart about it, you'll be fine," Bard said. "It's like anything else."

Bard said he's willing to meet with people who are thinking about getting chickens, to talk about coop designs and placement, and can be reached at bard@sjtholdings.com.