Chickens

Although not considered “wildlife” by most standards, chickens are an example of an animal that can easily be taken care of by the average Wellesley resident.  Whether interested in keeping the birds as pets or producers, most people can adopt one or more chickens by simply taking into account a few fundamental elements to their care.

Before purchasing them, one must take into account existing regulations and requirements involved in owning chickens in Wellesley.  To keep chickens on a residential property in town, a homeowner must seek a $50 livestock permit from the Department of Health.  Before the permit is awarded, town officials must examine the property on which the birds will reside for its suitability and determine that there is room for the chicken coop to exist with a 100 foot setback from abutting properties.  The permit-seeker must also notify all of his/her abutters by certified mail of their intent, granting them the opportunity to contest the permit at a mandatory public trial.

The next step in obtaining chickens is deciding what breed is the most of interest.  This can often depend on the purpose that the birds will serve; some birds, such as the Leghorn Chicken, are bred for their high egg-laying productivity, while others are less productive and primarily serve as pets.  Roosters require additional permitting in Wellesley and are not preferred by residents due to their constant noise-making.  When choosing chicken breeds, one must also take into account whether the breeds will get along; some chickens are more aggressive than others.

The variety of chicken can also correspond to the color of a chicken’s egg.  The color of a chicken’s earlobe indicates the color eggs that it lays.  For example, a chicken with white earlobes will likely lay white eggs, while a chicken with a darker earlobe will lay darker-colored eggs.  Some hens, known as “Easter Eggers”, lay eggs tinted in more unusual colors: green, blue and pink.

Once one has chosen the chickens they plan to adopt, it is important to set up a proper place to keep them.  Chickens are generally kept in a coop, which can range in its design.  Some owners put chickens in a “chicken tractor”, which has an open bottom and is regularly moved around the lawn on wheels, preserving the grass.  Other coops are stationary and come in various shapes and sizes.  Most owners let their chickens roam the lawn outside of their coop under supervision as well.

Chickens require regular maintenance and care, needing daily replenishment of food and drinking water.  Most people feed their chickens with traditional chicken feed, but some also provide fresh garden greens or household leftovers.  It is also the responsibility of the owner to keep the chicken coop clean of waste; depending on how much one minds the comparatively-weak scent, excrement can be raked out on a daily or less frequent basis.  Chicken coops must also contain hay, which should be replenished as soon as it is no longer fluffy (every 10 to 14 days).  Chickens do not need to be bathed like other pets; they clean themselves in “dust baths” inside their coop.

Once chickens are introduced to a new home and one another, they establish a “pecking order”.  They accomplish this by pecking at one another’s necks until a hierarchy of superiority is established and respected amongst them.  Although this process is typical upon the introduction of any new chickens, it is important to keep watch of the birds as they complete this ritual, as chickens have severely hurt or killed one another in doing so.  If a chicken’s neck appears to be bloody or bare, an owner can set up a protector around it to shield the neck from other chickens’ pecks.  Leaving the chickens enough room to run away from one another in their coop is also healthy.

Once the chickens have gotten to know one another, they often travel together and get along well.  When let out of their coop, chickens generally prefer to stay within sight of it and sometimes will automatically return to it of their own accord.

For those interested in collecting eggs from chickens, it is important to realize that different chickens produce eggs at different rates.  Most commonly, a hen will lay one egg every 26 hours, subject to variance based on the duration of daylight (hens won’t lay eggs in the dark).  A common indicator of a newly-laid egg is the “clucking” of many chickens within the coop.  Chickens will not lay eggs when molting, which occurs approximately two times per year.

As hens grow older, their rate of egg production decreases and hens become “broody”.  This means that they are attempting to hatch a baby chicken out of an egg, which is impossible in the absence of rooster to fertilize it.  Not realizing this, a hen will often sit on one egg, either its own or another hen’s, and wait for the egg to hatch.  This can become a health concern, as a hen won’t eat or lay eggs during this process.

Many predators can also pose their own risks to chickens.  Animals that will eat chickens or their eggs can include foxes, fisher cats, opossums, raccoons, skunks and coyotes, any one of which is capable of decimating an entire flock of birds at one time.  Common in Wellesley, hawks are also prone to attack chickens, emphasizing the necessity of supervision when chickens are let out of their coop.  Many predators will also attempt to burrow underground to enter a chicken coop and will continue to work at it for hours at a time, often during the night.  Ensuring that fencing reaches deep underground is a crucial solution to this risk.

According to Melissa Wilson, a Wellesley resident and owner of four chickens, all the nuances of owning chickens are worth the effort.  “[The chickens] are fun and sweet; [ours] sit on your shoulder or your hand and are really a low-impact pet,” said Wilson.  “They’re really personal, hilarious, very interactive, and simply a blast to have.”

More information on owning chickens can be found at mypetchicken.com.

(Matthew Hornung and Olivia Gieger)