We have become chicken people

As this is my first column for The Eagle, I thought I would give you a brief synopsis of who I am and what I do.

My family moved to rural Brazos County in 2023 after spending 15 years southwest of Houston in Rosenberg. I was born and raised in northern Colorado and have lived in Minnesota and North Carolina. I have a degree in journalism from Adams State College (now University) and have been working professionally for more than 37 years. If you count my time on student newspapers in high school and college, my experience is 44 years.

My wife Sandy and I have been married for 25 years. We have four children between us. I have a daughter from my previous marriage and Sandy has a son from her previous marriage, whom I adopted. We added two more boys for good measure, the youngest of whom will graduate in May from Texas A&M.

I have been writing a personal column off and on (more on than off) since high school. In the late 1990s I named my column Faith, Family & Fun. That title basically reflects my values – God first, family second, and fun (or life in general) third. As you come to know me you will learn that I have very eclectic interests.

Locally, we are members of A&M Church of Christ. I am a colonel in the Texas Army – an organization that reenacts the Texas Revolution. I have membership in the local chapters of the Sons of the Texas Revolution and the Sons of the American Revolution. I am an emeritus member of the Brazos Bend State Park Volunteer Organization and a former member of the Fort Bend County Historical Commission. I am the founder and former owner of the official Lone Ranger Fan Club. I and two of my sons are Eagle Scouts. I am a former Cubmaster and have a Boy Scouting career that spans from 1974 to 2021.

Chicken people

Sandy and I are working to set up a hobby farm on our 2.76 acres of land northeast of College Station. One of the things we’ve come to accept is that we are chicken people. Last year we bought a dozen chicks and built a chicken coop. Using chicken math, we have lost some and gained some, but as of this writing we have a rooster and eight hens, along with 17 chicks in a brooder box in our back bedroom. We are members of two chicken groups on Facebook – BYC (Back Yard Chickens) and Brazos Backyard Chickens.

Eventually we plan to add ducks, rabbits, and bees, but for the moment our girls are our obsession. We have daily conversations about how many eggs we collected, the oddball behavior of the chickens, how many times we’ve had to fetch them when they’ve strayed out of our yard, what predators we’ve seen, etc.

The most humorous stories center around Sampson, our rooster. We acquired him last fall to keep our neighbor’s scrawny little roo from trying to lure our girls away. It worked! Sampson now rules the roost, even if his harem doesn’t care for him. Every morning, we have our little battle of wills. When I let them out of the coop, I usually catch him, snuggle with him, and give him a few words of encouragement. Sometimes he will challenge me when I put him down, but most of the time he goes after the food and the hens (not necessarily in that order). He’s pretty determined to nail one each morning, but he’s batting below .100.

Sometimes when we are working outdoors, he will crow and Sandy will squawk back at him. That freaks him out. I have to give him credit, though, he is a good protector and will guide the girls to safety whenever a predator is nearby.

We are in the process of converting a storage shed into a second coop so we can get these 17 gangly, teenage-ish cheepers out of the house. They are cute and all when they are tiny fuzzballs, but once they start to grow and get their feathers, the noise and smells follow. It’s kind of like raising human teenagers. And the dust! You would not believe how much dust a brooder box full of chicks will make.

When you add that to all the “golden glitter” our golden retriever leaves behind it’s a wonder we haven’t broken our vacuum cleaner. We have to vacuum the carpets a lot. I hate it. But we love all of our critters, so it’s worth it.

While we no longer have to buy eggs at the store, I can tell you that raising your own is a lot more expensive. So far we have invested about $1,000 into our chicken operation and have sold about six dozen eggs. (More chicken math!) We are spoiled with farm fresh, organic, free range chicken eggs to eat. They are much healthier and far better tasting than the pale, white eggs from the supermarket.

I’ve noticed that our non-grocery shopping trends have shifted from Walmart and Target to Tractor Supply, Producers Cooperative, and Brazos Feed and Supply. I guess that’s how you know you’ve become a farmer, or homesteader, and a chicken person.