Sophomore Gabie Kloha’s backyard looks ordinary- it’s surrounded by a wire fence, and it has plenty of space for a barbeque or a small party.  The only different aspect is the coop off towards the side.  And chickens.

Kloha’s family had been talking about getting chickens for years before to be healthy.

“My family is very ‘eco’ friendly and my mum liked the idea of having fresh, untreated eggs,” Kloha said. “It was also thought that I would be able to sell the eggs to other people and keep track of the money and that it could teach me some finance things, but that never worked.”

Sophomore Leah Peipert’s family also raises chickens at their home. Peipert’s mother never liked animals, so the chickens were actually a surprise.

“One day during the summer, I came home and found that my dad had four chicks in the garage,” Peipert said. “He hadn’t asked my mom for permission, but after a few weeks, she was okay with it.”

Both Kloha and Peipert agree that a major advantage to having chickens is the aspect of getting fresh eggs.

“It is always really nice to have fresh eggs because we know that they aren’t chemically treated or anything,” Kloha said.

According to Peipert, not only do the eggs taste better and healthier, they also make good gifts for other people. “When our chickens are laying eggs consistently, we have too many eggs for us to keep, so we get excess that we can give to other people,” Peipert said.

On top of being very useful, Kloha and Peipert said that chickens are not high maintenance.

“You only have to make sure that they have food and water by checking on them once to twice a day,” Peipert said. “Their coops need cleaning about once a month if you don’t want them to smell. They are also a very green pet. You can give them almost any food scraps and they will love them. When cleaning out their coop, the remains are perfect for composting.”

However, chickens are vulnerable to predators, such as hawks and foxes. As a result, both families have to make sure the chickens do not roam around outside of the fences.

“We have to be very careful to make sure they aren’t attacked by any wild animals,” Kloha said. “We have had several owls and foxes and there are always lots of hawks around, so we need to make sure that if we see anything that might hurt them to get them into their coop.

And while they do adapt to the urban setting fairly well, Kloha said that because they are always living outside, she needs to keep in mind the weather, so they are safe.

“Sometimes we have weather problems, so in winter they need a heat lamp and a heater under their water, so it doesn’t freeze as well as insulation in the coop,” she said. “And in the summer they have a fan outside. If it gets really cold or really hot we will sometimes bring them inside and put them in a corner in our basement.”

Overall though, Kloha recommends anybody to get chickens as long as they have space in their yards.

“Again you are guaranteed that your eggs are organic and the eggs are also free to some extent,” Kloha said. “You can also make a profit off of them by selling extra eggs, and if you have young kids or neighbours or just love animals they can be fun to hold and play with.”

Peipert also recommends them because while they can be difficult sometimes, it is worth the effort to invest in them.

“They each have their own personality and it’s always fun to get to know them when you get more,” she said. “I also enjoy having an unusual pet.”