I have two growing boys currently consuming four dozen eggs per week, on average, plus a daughter who delights in baked goods. I headed to Roche Bros. supermarket in Acton midweek to replenish my supply and suffered sticker shock when I paid $7.50 for a dozen eggs.
Egg shortages have been an issue in the U.S. for a number of years. A strain of avian influenza, also known as bird flu, in 2022 led to millions of hen deaths across the nation. Then, as the population of egg-laying flocks began to increase, truck-driver shortages and new laws, such as those imposed in Massachusetts, Colorado, California, and Rhode Island requiring all hens to be cage-free, resulted in a continuation of the egg deficit.
Arlene Genova pets Sky while Lovey (left) and Snowy (right) wait their turns. (Photo by Julie Gowel)
In 2024, a new strain of bird flu struck the U.S., taking the lives of many fowl. As a result, egg prices in supermarkets have soared, and many shelves are empty of the main ingredient used in scrambles, quiches, muffins, and a slew of other enticing eatables.
I decided to ask around town about owning chickens. Harvard is a ‘“Right to Farm”’ community, allowing residents to host livestock such as goats, pigs, alpacas, emus, and, of course, chickens on their properties. I wanted to determine if establishing my own food supply would be cost efficient.
What I learned about starting and maintaining a flock from the five chicken farmers interviewed for this story was as surprising as it was illuminating.
First, chickens are beloved creatures to their caretakers; pets with unique names and personalities who share their eggs, but more than that, provide entertainment and companionship. Second, raising chickens is not for those with nervous stomachs. Chickens die. Often. And many times in fairly violent ways, thanks to predators. Lastly, if you are looking to start your own flock of chickens in the hope of saving money on buying eggs, you will be sorely disappointed. Chicken farming is not cheap (pun intended).
Innumerable breeds
How does one enter the world of poultering? First, decide which type of chickens you would like to raise. The number of breeds is innumerable, according to the American Poultry Association. There are hundreds of large breeds, plus a separate list of bantams (smaller chickens, weighing no more than 2 pounds), as well as breeds bred by backyard farmers.
Once you’ve decided between silkies (fuzzy, funny looking birds who lay small eggs in varying colors), Easter-eggers (known for their pastel blue, pink, and green eggs), or white leghorns (extremely productive layers, producing up to 325 eggs per year), you can purchase chicks at the Great Road Farm and Garden (formerly Agway) in Littleton, or even from the internet. Online orders can be picked up from the Harvard post office.
The soft, adorable chicks turn into egg-laying hens in roughly five to six months. You will need a coop and a run, a place for the chickens to spread their wings, literally and figuratively, when the chicks are fully feathered, at about six to eight weeks old. One of the most elaborate chicken enclosures I visited was that of Arlene Genova and her husband Craig Maxey of Still River Depot Road, who affectionately named their architectural feat “Les Quatre Saisons Poulet,” or The Four Seasons for Chickens.
The couple’s chickens are treated to a five-star residence, complete with an engine room designed by Maxey, a former engineer, with solar panels powering a battery that operates a heating mechanism to keep the fowls’ water from freezing in the winter and a pad that keeps the floor of the coop warm for the chickens’ feet. Genova hung homemade curtains from her winter collection to provide the hens with privacy in their nests. She changes the curtains seasonally for both pleasing aesthetics and climate control.
“I cook for them every day. I make tuna, I make pork; I sauté and cut it up. I make beef, sometimes,”Genova said. She is a retired pharmacist who takes the health and welfare of her flock very seriously. “The medical part is still in me. I check their little feet all the time on the bottom, and I check their little nails to make sure everything’s healthy. I like to have healthy birds.”
Protecting the poultry
The Genovas have spent years tweaking the design of Les Quatre Saisons Poulet, and have solved for many predators such as hawks, voles, moles, raccoons, and weasels. Other flock owners have made similar modifications to keep their hens safe.
“We have a dog who is trained to keep the foxes out,” said Charlotte Vallaeys of South Shaker Road. “So we actually haven’t had chickens lost to a fox in a really long time, but hawks do come through every now and then.” Vallaeys moved to Harvard with her family in 2015 with the desire to have chickens. The property she purchased came with a flock of about 15 hens and throughout her 10 years of fowl farming, she has had upward of 30 chickens at a time.
A Silkie Bantam. (Courtesy photo)
Vallaeys said one of her favorite things about owning chickens is watching their behavior. “It’s so funny. Everybody has heard the expression ‘taking someone under your wing,’ but I’ve observed it in their habitat,” she said. Vallaeys recalled an instance in which her flock had suffered a brutal predator attack. “We were left with two 2-month old motherless little chickens. One evening I went into the coop and one of the other brown hens, the same breed as the little orphans, had put her wing over one of the little chickens to keep it warm.”
Julie Shoemaker of East Bare Hill Road also has a dog that helps protect her nine hens and one rooster from predators. She established her flock in 2019 and refers to them as “pandemic chickens” that she and her family got for fun. “We just like them, and the eggs are good,” she said. “We like it when they’re wandering around the yard. Their behavior and dynamics are funny. There’s intrachickenal relationships in which they split off in groups for some reason that I don’t know. They’re just interesting.”
Poultry psychology
Abby Besse of Westcott Road reiterated the sentiment about enjoying poultry psychology. “They’re just fun to watch as they’re roving through the yard, scratching and pecking,” she said. “My kids really like them and treat them like pets. They name them, and every time we get a new flock, there’s a theme. The last flock was Harry Potter themed and our current is Ted Lasso. We just lost Roy Kent and Rebecca to a hawk, which was very sad.”
“Raising chickens is not for the faint of heart,” said Jenny Candon of Oak Hill Road. “They’re very sweet as chicks. We all loved playing with the chickens when they were younger, and the more they are handled, the more friendly and docile they are. As they grow older, they can be very violent with each other. The term “pecking order” exists for a reason. We actually built a couple of coops to keep them separated when different generations were introduced to the flock.”
A peaceful retirement
The Candons have had their flock for over a decade. No longer producing many eggs, the two 12-year-old silkies and other elderly birds are peacefully enjoying the rest of their lives in the home in which they were raised as chicks.
It was clear from all the interviewees that eggs were merely a bonus to chicken farming, rather than an impetus. Factoring in the cost of a coop, feed, shavings to line the coop, and supplements required to keep a flock healthy, even at $10 a dozen, you’d still be saving money buying eggs from the supermarket. However, the rewards reaped from time spent watching the flock and bonding with family over shared chores was priceless to all the families in town who shared their experiences with the Press.
