Just read this post and got a laugh or two. I've emailed the lab chicken-killers owner that I can supply her/him with a suitably fuzzy baby chicken for the neighbor. I agree with the folks above who say that a chicken won't keep ANYTHING away and they will attract all kinds of things that you hadn't thought about like skunks, raccoons, opossums and rats looking to dine on your birds their eggs and their feed grains. Besides that chickens STINK! Much more than you can possibly imagine. They will cheerfully eat bugs and your flower blossoms--mine are especially fond of impatiens blossoms. To get to the bugs, of course, they will first need to scratch all of the mulch out of your beds so that they can find the bugs. They are not too good at remembering where the lot lines are either and your neighbors mey not especially appreciate their rearrangement of their flower beds. And in order to use the manure, you really need to compost the manure first or it will burn your plants and you will not be very far ahead. I would be willing to bet that you can find a source of good organic eggs and there are usually farmers within a reasonable distance who will happily sell or give you manure to use in your garden. Some of those manures can be used directly such as goat, sheep, llama and alpaca without being composted first. Your really should compost rabbit droppings too before using them on your plants. Just had to add my 2 cents worth. I am happy to share the output of my beasties with anyone who wishes to come to the farm for it. spiderwoman

Dawn I haven't found it anywhere around here yet. The Tractor Supply store has the others you mentioned but I never found Urban Farm unless it sold out quickly. I looked again today but was in a hurry. Saw the others again. I don't go to the Wally World in Guymon unless it is an absolute necessity. Maybe 4-5 times a year. And when I do it is usually for gardening supplies and I'm in a hurry. I will be in Garden City in a few weeks so will do some looking there. I emailed them asking about a subscription last summer and the lady said as of then they were selling subscriptions. Jay

I do raise chickens and although I don't sell eggs I give them to my mother, who is nearly 80, and to my daughters who feed them to my grandchildren, including one who is 20 months old. I will also point out that the eggs in the store are not, for most part, pasteurized nor are they tested in any form for salmonella or other contaminants and they come from far larger and dirtier places than my chicken coop. That's why there are all those widely read and heard warnings about raw eggs. So, if your neighbors eat unpasteurized eggs from the store, or sunny side up eggs at the local diner, your eggs are probably healthier than that. Would I give them to a neighbor undergoing chemotherapy or someone with HIV or a child with a compromised immune system? Probably not and I'd be sure to point out that they are not pasteurized and shouldn't be eaten without cooking. I am far more comfortable with eggs from my own flock than I have ever been with eggs from the store. I'm assuming your issue with fresh eggs is salmonella? Other than that, eggs don't really spoil unless some contaminant makes it through the pores of the eggshell. That's why eggs shouldn't be washed, there is a natural coating on eggs which seals those pores and prevents the introduction of bacteria. My extension service tells me that, absent the introduction of bacteria, eggs usually don't actually spoil quickly, they just dry out. That's why old eggs float, the amount of air inside the shell increases, causing an ever growing air pocket. Annie

If you look at the orig post, you can see my ginormous egg that came from my big layer who was not the one who got carried off by a hawk (my neighbor witnessed the massacre, so no mystery there). She laid double yolks just about every week, and was so pretty and big--but like Marilyn Monroe, "her candle burnt out too quickly" and we found her just dead one morning. I am incredibly jealous of Zipdee's beautiful coop and may need to start whining to DH about our "poor chickens" and their sub-par coop and run. And I also may need to get myself a cute chicken tree like furlet! The duck thing is totally compelling and once I finish with this remodel, I might start concentrating on other things like raising ducklings! CITY FOLKS: Here is a post of the nest boxes--they have a lid that YOU lift each morning and look for eggs. The hens lay their eggs in these boxes. From Misc photos When you open the lids, there will be an egg or two or three, depending upon how many hens you have. Our hens during the winter lay about 2 eggs every 3 days. here is a picture from the inside of the coop with one brown egg. From Misc photos I have been surprised how much I love our chickens and how great they have been for our kids. We live about 30 min from San Francisco in a suburb and wouldn't really consider it the "country". Many people here have chickens, and as a previous poster recommended, you can call and ask your local city govt offices if they allow poultry. If they do and you are interested, look up www.backyardchickens.com. With the dangers of construction all around, the chickens have no free ranging abilities, but in June I hope they can scratch up the ground and eat bugs and weeds to their hearts content! Anyone have a Polish Fancy with the "hats" and plumed heads? Those make me laugh! Post your chicken pics!