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FLOCKS A-PLENTY: A tale of three Jewish chicken coops
By Elinor Spokes
When you think about it, chickens loom large in our culture, specifically in Jewish cooking: There are chicken soup, chopped chicken liver, rendered chicken fat, roast chicken; not to mention all the wonderful dishes that can be made with eggs.
How about the number of expressions in our daily lexicon that utilize the imagery of a chicken?: hen-pecked; fly the coop; pecking order; hen house; hen party; don’t put all your eggs in one basket and don’t count your eggs before they hatch.
But the notion of raising chickens is foreign to those of us raised in suburbs in the past half-century or so. Most of us only know eggs from the supermarket refrigerator aisle and are unfamiliar with the particular variety of chicken that lays them — until recently.
As evidenced in articles in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and other prominent publications (not to mention Backyard Poultry magazine), raising backyard chickens by suburban families has become quite in-vogue.
Whether it is because these wannabe poultry purveyors are trying to get back to a simpler time, or to provide sustenance for their families in tough economic times, or to feel the thrill of gathering fresh eggs, backyard chicken coops have come to roost in Jewish Baltimore.
Trevor Feit
Owings Mills resident Trevor Feit decided he wanted to raise a fluffy brood of his own after an episode of the television show “iCarly” about chickens piqued his curiosity. The then-10-year-old took to the Internet, furiously researched the ins and outs of this endeavor, and presented the idea to his parents.
Both his parents raised numerous objections, but Trevor was determined to overcome each one. When his parents said they thought the zoning code would prohibit chickens, Trevor discovered that, in fact, Baltimore County zoning allows for chickens if you have at least an acre of land, which the Feit family had.
Then his parents told Trevor that he had to seek permission from adjacent neighbors, thinking they would object. To Trevor’s delight, each neighbor embraced the idea with the condition that they could have fresh eggs. One neighbor even offered to help build the coop.
Finally, Trevor’s mother, Holly Pearl-Feit, thought that it would be one more thing to take care of and told her son that if he got chickens, they would be his responsibility.
Fast-forward two years: Trevor, now 12, is responsible for a flock of nine chickens comprised of Black Sexlinks, Rhode Island Reds and Golden Comets. These feathery friends produce about nine eggs each day in a variety of shades and sizes.
For this Franklin Middle School sixth grader, the best thing about owning chickens is the fresh eggs. “My friends think it is cool, but they also think it is a lot of responsibility, but I don’t mind,” says Trevor. The most surprising aspect of this hobby for Trevor has been how nice the birds are, “they are so excited to see me when I come out to the coop.”
The project has also strengthened the bonds between father, Brian, and son. They designed and built the coop together. Using salvaged building materials, they constructed a hen house replete with roosts, nesting boxes for egg laying and an outdoor chicken run. “Raising chickens has taught Trevor an incredible work ethic,” reflects his dad.
Reflecting upon if there is a Jewish lesson to be learned, the Feits all agree that learning about responsibility and caring for another life is the one to be garnered. Perhaps a mitzvah project for Trevor’s bar mitzvah may arise as well.
The Hudes Family
Rick Hudes longed to raise chickens for several years, but no one else in his family was interested. That changed when his wife Nancy read Barbara Kingsolver’s book, “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life” which chronicles a year in which the author’s family committed to becoming locavores, eating only locally grown foods, which included raising chickens.
This past spring, “Rick’s folly” became a project for the entire family. From converting an old playhouse in their Owings Mills backyard into a chicken coop with a chicken run (which Rick Hudes jokes was like “Extreme Makeover: Chicken Edition”) to caring for the six newly-born chicks on a trip to New York for Passover (because baby chicks need to be kept at a constant 95 degrees, the chicks needed to come along for the ride), all four children are engaged.
Matthew, a second grader at Fort Garrison Elementary School, says the coolest thing about raising chickens is that they “are fuzzy and fun” and when he has friends visit for play dates he can say, “Hey, want to see my chickens?”
The eggs are his sister Alexis’ favorite thing. A sixth grader in the environmental science magnet program at Sudbrook Magnet Middle School, she thinks the family’s free-range eggs taste far better than any in the supermarket. Brothers Seth, a second grader at Fort Garrison, and Paul, a preschooler at Goldsmith Early Childhood Education Center, love to gather the eggs too.
The educational component is huge, comments Nancy Hudes. “The fact that we give the chickens our table scraps to the fact that we can compost their droppings — it teaches our kids to respect and appreciate the animals. They learn not to waste our food and resources.”
She also relates the notion of sustainability and making less of an impact on the planet to Tikun Olam, repairing the world, and feels quite passionately that the lifestyle choices their family makes by way of their food chain is an extension of their Jewish values.
The lessons go beyond their home. While on vacation in Vermont this summer, the Hudes family visited a farm where the kids knew many of the answers posed to them in a question-and-answer session with the farmers. Nancy Hudes adds, “It is ridiculous that more people don’t raise their own chickens. It is such a great experience.”
The Lermans
Brian Lerman would agree. Raising chickens in his Owings Mills backyard for four years now, Lerman was initially amazed at how easy it was. He also has been thrilled with how raising a flock has become such a positive focus for his family. Even though his wife Caryn doesn’t particularly care for the chickens, she does love the fact that it brings her kids, all students at Krieger Schechter Day School, closer to nature.
She recalls a sleep-over party for 12-year-old son Isaac and his friends. Upon waking up in the morning, the boys chose, rather than playing with video games, to walk out to the coop to watch the chickens laying eggs. They then gathered the eggs and brought them to the kitchen to make breakfast.
“For this generation of video gamers, it was amazing to watch the boys stand still at the coop, absolutely fascinated, and quietly wait for eggs,” she says.
For daughter Abigail, 9, chickens will be the subject of an independent research project this year. For the Lerman’s youngest son Nathaniel, 6, chasing the chickens around the yard and digging worms for them has become a favorite pastime.
Housed in a coop made from a Victorian playhouse, with pretty window boxes full of blooming flowers, the Lerman’s eight chickens produce an egg each daily. Fascinated by the variety of the color and shape of eggs, all three children say that they can taste a difference in their fresh eggs when compared to store-bought ones.
Brian Lerman also feels that raising chickens seamlessly incorporates Jewish values. He finds that Jewish ritual connects the physical to the spiritual and that farming, such as raising his own chickens and growing organic vegetables, which he also does, connects one directly to God.
“This experience plugs you right into nature. It has been great to spend time with my kids, teaching them about life cycles. This is the stuff they can’t be taught in school,” he says.
RAISE YOUR OWN…
Resources for raising backyard chickens:
Web sites:
• mypetchicken.com
• backyardchickens.com
• omlet.co.uk
• randallburkey.com
Books/Publications:
• Backyard Poultry magazine
• “Keep Chickens! Tending Small Flocks in Cities, Suburbs, and Other Small Spaces” by Barbara Kilarski (Storey Publishing, LLC, 2003)
Area Stores:
• Bowman’s Pet and Feed Store
• The Mill
• Tractor Supply Company
