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Community Corner

Chickens In The Yard

A flock of hens could be eggs-actly what your family needs.

Some things just seem to go together. Peanut butter and jelly. Ben and Jerry. Kids and chickens.

“We began raising chickens when we moved here to this nice big yard,” said South Kingstown resident Lindsey Crowninshield describing her family’s flock of hens.

“The kids were two and five years old at the time and we thought it would be a cool experience for them,” Crowninshield explained. “My daughter would run around and catch the chickens so she could hold them on her lap as she swung on the swing set.”

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A couple miles away, Linda Stedman and husband John run Stoney Acres Farm. In addition to raising beef cattle and pigs, the Stedmans nurture a small flock of 23 Red Sex Link hens. Granddaughters Tori and Addison love feeding the hens and collecting the brown eggs.

“I got my first chickens around 15 years ago,” Linda Stedman recalled, adding that she started her current flock last July. They began laying in November and are now producing between 18 and 24 eggs each day.

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“We have four generations living on the farm,” Stedman explained. “The kids learn early a sense of responsibility and large doses of reality. They all pitch in and help from planting to picking to taking care of the animals,” she added.

Rules of the Roost

There are a few regulations with which you do need to comply if you want to raise a backyard flock in South Kingstown. The rules protect the chickens and neighborhoods where hens hunt and peck for a living.

Rhode Island Title 4, Animals and Animal Husbandry, Chapter 4-1, Cruelty to Animals, Section 4-1-8 specifies: No person shall sell or offer for sale any live chicks or ducklings under two (2) months of age in quantities of less than twelve (12).

“The State wants to prevent people from purchasing one or two chicks to put in an Easter basket and then disposing of them when the holiday passes,” explained Stephen Gillette of Gillette’s Home and Garden Center, which many locals know as the Agway store on Route 2 in Exeter.

At the town level, chicken coop location is regulated. South Kingstown Zoning Ordinance Section 501.4, Regulation of Agricultural Activities, specifies that accessory structures for animals must be at least 40 feet from all property lines.

South Kingstown Building Inspector Jeffrey T. O’Hara explained that while it might be difficult to meet the lot-line requirements for a chicken coop on a small piece of land, thereby precluding hens in your yard, homestead flocks are technically allowed in every part of South Kingstown.

Wondering if existing structures were somehow grandfathered, we asked about pre-existing sheds which do not meet the 40-foot rule. O’Hara said that such sheds cannot be used as chicken coops. “As soon as you introduce animals to an existing structure,” he said, that structure has to comply with the Town’s Section 501.4 regulation.

You will need a building permit for a chicken coop in South Kingstown, but the cost is not prohibitive; the permit fee is based on the total cost of labor and materials for the coop. O’Hara pointed out that a coop costing $1,000 would incur a fee of just $36. The minimum permit fee is only $26.

Cackling Neighbors?

Asked if he receives a lot of complaints about backyard flocks, O’Hara cited only one raucous-rooster issue in recent memory.

He then broke into a smile as he recalled a complaint he received many years ago: “One day quite a few years ago, a woman who had just moved into the area, called from Moonstone Beach Road about a rooster crowing early in the morning. ‘We gotta do something about this,’ she told me,” O’Hara recounted with a laugh.

“I’m thinking to myself,” continued O’Hara, “Good lord, lady, you moved into Chickenville and you think you’re not going to hear chickens in Matunuck?”

Reminiscent of the way Rhode Island politics works in general, several of the families we interviewed said they happily share eggs with neighbors.

Starting from Scratch

If you're ready to start a backyard flock, Gillette’s Home and Garden Center will be taking orders for Spring chicks beginning February 28, an event they call Chick Days. You can also order chicks directly from out-of-State hatcheries such as Murray McMurray Hatchery, which imposes a 25-chick minimum.

There are dozens of chicken breeds available and we recommend doing some homework before choosing. The Rhode Island Red is considered dual-purpose, a provider of eggs and meat. Ameraucana chickens are sometimes called "Easter egg chickens" because they lay eggs with green-hued shells. Gillette's will be taking orders for these two breeds as well as several others.

“People can order ‘sexed’ chickens," he said reassuringly, "meaning they choose the gender. Most people order only females because roosters can be something of a nuisance and aren’t necessary for egg-laying.”

The actual cost for chicks varies with the breed you select. “Most people mix-and-match breeds so a ballpark cost for a dozen chicks would probably be $45,” Gillette says of the chicks sold through his store.  Gillette’s Home and Garden Center sells the special mash (food) you need for chicks as well as feeders and waterers.

"Absolutely," exclaimed Gillette when asked if his staff are willing to assist first-time chicken buyers to get set up properly. Among other things, chicks need a heat lamp under which they can snuggle to stay warm until their feathers grow out.

Cheep to Keep

Lindsey Crowninshield explained that for her family, “The biggest pitfall to raising chickens has been the predators. We had many birds killed until we realized we couldn’t really free-range anymore,” she said. Now the family protects its flock in a pen that’s securely wire-fenced on all four sides and on top, as well.

Two other families we contacted for this article reportedly stopped raising backyard hens in part because of predators such as hawks, fox, fisher cats, and skunks. Keeping the vagaries of nature in perspective, most families with chickens cite several benefits:

  • Fresh eggs are flavorful and nutritious.
  • Eggs from the backyard flock save you money at the grocery store.
  • Chickens bring serenity and beauty to your yard.
  • Friends will eagerly buy any extra eggs your hens produce.
  • Chickens that stop laying can be used “in soup.”
  • Manure can be composted and later used as fertilizer for your vegetable garden.
  • Chickens eat lots of insects including harmful ones like deer ticks.

Convenience is another benefit not to be underestimated. As Lindsey Crowninshield explained, “It’s fun when I am well into a baking project only to realize I have no eggs - and then remember I can just run out back and grab some.”

Whether you are considering ways to help your children learn where omelets come from, or you are simply trying to become more food self-sufficient, this could be the year your family decides to establish a backyard flock of hens. You can enjoy watching chicks develop into serious egg-layers, cut your grocery bill, learn to garden sustainably, and keep your neighbors happy. That’s a lot to crow about.

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