Five years ago we would not have had bags of Egg-a-Day Chicken Feed in our store, but today a tidy stack is available for one of the newest fads, backyard chicken and egg raising. Yes, I said hens and rooster in your backyard. We have two families in our neighborhood tending flocks and a friend of the store raises hens in Broad Ripple. Lynne Arrowsmith began with 4 young hens. She had all the supplies to begin her hobby, a chicken coop, food and water dispenser, and an enclosed area for them to run and peck.

"My hens are a Rhode Island Red named Henna Montanna; two Golden-Laced Wyandottes, Gilda and Dora; one Barred Plymouth Rock with the moniker of Priscilla," explains Lynne. "Our hens provide eggs that are brown and just wonderful. Our neighbors who chicken sit for us get a few eggs, too!"

There are many resources to help you start backyard chicken raising. Most people begin this easy hobby because they want fresh eggs. From the Purdue Extension pamphlet, they caution beginners to consider: zoning, restrictions or permits for constructing pens and coops, selecting the type of hens, location and construction of the coop and fencing, ability to provide food, water, and shelter, and a contingency plan for chicken sitters when you travel.

Not only is the backyard chicken considered valuable for her eggs, but she also is a great recycler and provides nutrients for the soil. Some Belgium cities have given 2,000 households chickens because of the fouls' ability to recycle biodegradable garbage. Chickens are omnivores and in one month, a chicken can consume about nine pounds of kitchen garbage. The bonus is their droppings can be used for fertilizer. The remains of chicken excavations is dirt, manure, and grass. You can add a few oak leaves to help decompose the droppings, and your vegetable garden will thank the hens.

Some of the best laying breeds are Leghorn, Rhode Island Red, Black Star, Red Star, Light Sussex, Plymouth Rock, Cuckoo Maran, and Barred Rock. And these gals are not that messy. Just think, a good Leghorn hen can nearly lay an egg daily and on average produce 300 eggs per year! And did you know different breeds of hens have different colored eggs? Their needs are simple: plentiful food and water, protected shelter (raccoons and opossums are a threat), and a daily egg gathering. Their care is straightforward, and they do enjoy human interaction, especially if you want to tame your hens and make daily egg gathering less challenging. They make great pets and their antics will give you hours of entertainment and comedy.

"We got our hens a bit older, and our cats don't even bother them! It's a hoot to watch the two species interact," say Arrowsmith "plus it's relaxing to watch the hens pecking about my backyard."

So if you want a new hobby, add backyard chickens! You can get the feed locally and I am sure there are some creative carpenters out there that can make a knockout coop. Eggs will be plentiful, and you will have some new girls to name and tend.