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Brittany Fischer is the proud caretaker of five chickens: Reba, Disco Chick, K, F and C.
The chickens live in a cozy coop her father built under the stairs in their barn next to their home on Dee-Mack Road in Washington.
“Reba was the only one I could catch when she was a chick, so she lets me hold her and pet her,” the 19-year-old said, holding the gold-feathered hen until it decided it had had enough and started squawking.
The hen reminded Fischer of its namesake because of the ring of bright orange feathers around its head. Disco Chick, a Buff Cochin chicken, has feathers flaring around his feet like bell-bottom pants. K, F and C are Columbian Rock chickens.
Despite their names and the occasional hugs Reba receives, Fischer said the chickens are purely utilitarian.
“The five hens lay about five eggs a day,” she said, adding that was more than enough for her, her parents and one brother. All the chickens lay large brown eggs.
Fisher, a team leader at Tractor Supply Co. in Washington, bought the chickens from the store last year during the company’s annual Chick Days.
Tractor Supply Co. in Washington received its first shipment of about 100 chicks for Chick Days Monday and will continue to get new shipments of chicks through April 25.
Last year, the store sold about 1,000 chicks.
Although the timing of Chick Days is deliberate to capitalize on the Easter holiday, customers are required to buy a minimum of six chicks in order to discourage people from giving chicks for Easter gifts or other non-agricultural reasons.
The store also sells “chicken starter kits,” which include a small chicken coop to hold up to six chickens and feed specifically designed for chicks.
When Fischer’s chickens are not in their chicken coop, they have free range of the family’s four acres.
“A bag of feed can last about three months because, most of the time, they’re out in the yard eating bugs or whatever they want,” Fischer said.
She believes the natural diet and free range of the farm make the eggs more nutritious and flavorful than the eggs sold at grocery stores from traditional sources.
“The yokes are a lot darker than the store-bought egg yokes. If you crack them next to each other, you can really tell the difference. And they taste a lot better,” she said.
Fischer said that overall, the chickens are not time-consuming.
“They pretty much take care of themselves. I feed them every once in a while, give them water every other day and clean out the coop about every other month,” she said.
Although she makes it sound easy, Fischer had a few words of advice for people thinking of keeping chickens in their back yard.
“Know what you’re getting into. Read up on the breeds so you know what to expect,” she said.
Brittany Fischer is the proud caretaker of five chickens: Reba, Disco Chick, K, F and C.
The chickens live in a cozy coop her father built under the stairs in their barn next to their home on Dee-Mack Road in Washington.
“Reba was the only one I could catch when she was a chick, so she lets me hold her and pet her,” the 19-year-old said, holding the gold-feathered hen until it decided it had had enough and started squawking.
The hen reminded Fischer of its namesake because of the ring of bright orange feathers around its head. Disco Chick, a Buff Cochin chicken, has feathers flaring around his feet like bell-bottom pants. K, F and C are Columbian Rock chickens.
Despite their names and the occasional hugs Reba receives, Fischer said the chickens are purely utilitarian.
“The five hens lay about five eggs a day,” she said, adding that was more than enough for her, her parents and one brother. All the chickens lay large brown eggs.
Fisher, a team leader at Tractor Supply Co. in Washington, bought the chickens from the store last year during the company’s annual Chick Days.
Tractor Supply Co. in Washington received its first shipment of about 100 chicks for Chick Days Monday and will continue to get new shipments of chicks through April 25.
Last year, the store sold about 1,000 chicks.
Although the timing of Chick Days is deliberate to capitalize on the Easter holiday, customers are required to buy a minimum of six chicks in order to discourage people from giving chicks for Easter gifts or other non-agricultural reasons.
The store also sells “chicken starter kits,” which include a small chicken coop to hold up to six chickens and feed specifically designed for chicks.
When Fischer’s chickens are not in their chicken coop, they have free range of the family’s four acres.
“A bag of feed can last about three months because, most of the time, they’re out in the yard eating bugs or whatever they want,” Fischer said.
She believes the natural diet and free range of the farm make the eggs more nutritious and flavorful than the eggs sold at grocery stores from traditional sources.
“The yokes are a lot darker than the store-bought egg yokes. If you crack them next to each other, you can really tell the difference. And they taste a lot better,” she said.
Fischer said that overall, the chickens are not time-consuming.
“They pretty much take care of themselves. I feed them every once in a while, give them water every other day and clean out the coop about every other month,” she said.
Although she makes it sound easy, Fischer had a few words of advice for people thinking of keeping chickens in their back yard.
“Know what you’re getting into. Read up on the breeds so you know what to expect,” she said.
