Iowans flock to chicken raising

Around the country, egg prices have continued to rise. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average price of a dozen eggs in December 2022 had reached $4.25. The December previously, the average price for a dozen eggs was $1.79. This drastic change in egg prices, partly caused by cases of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, has caused some Iowans to consider raising chickens just for their eggs.

Gibson Memorial Library Director Gabriel Chrisman and his wife Sarah started their own flock of chickens in March 2022.

“The eggs hadn’t started to increase in cost quite as much back then, but we liked the idea of growing our own,” Gabriel Chrisman said. “I grew up with chickens and I’ve had them a few different times.”

Wanting variation in their eggs, the Chrismans decided to get Easter Egger Bantam and Iowa Blue chickens. Easter Egger Bantam hens lay eggs of a variety of colors, including green, blue, and the occasional pink. Iowa Blue hens lay blue eggs.

Chrisman said the yield so far has been great.

“We were getting six or seven eggs a day in the fall,” Chrisman said. “They were still young, so that was fine. With 20 hens or so, we’re getting over a dozen eggs a day in the depths of winter, which is great.”

Living in Garden Grove, there are many less regulations regarding chickens than in larger towns like Creston. There, the Chrismans are able to keep roosters along with their hens.

“The hope is to keep a sort of continual flock going by letting them hatch some of their eggs every year,” Chrisman explained.

They are especially focusing on the Iowa Blue for breeding.

“They’re actually an heirloom variety that was bred a little more than 100 years ago in Iowa, but they’ve dwindled down to just a few farms,” Chrisman said. “We’re trying to get them going again.”

Bridgewater resident Phyllis Eshelman has also recently restarted her chicken journey. Though once raising over 100 chickens at once for meat, she hadn’t done so in years. After her recent retirement, Eshelman decided to go back to chickens.

“I just decided I wanted my own eggs,” Eshelman said. “I decided it would be neat to have a few chickens again.”

A ‘few’ ended up becoming almost 40 chickens, including three roosters. Her flock has Easter Egger, Rock Island Red and Production Red chickens, laying approximately 3 dozen eggs a day.

“Right now I’ve been selling eggs $3 a dozen,” Eshelman said. “People are happy, they tell me they love them. It’s nice, because there’s no way we could eat them all.”

Eshelman said that taking care of such a large flock can be a lot of work, both financially and physically. However, if you only want a few chickens, it’s definitely manageable.

“They’re a lot of fun,” Eshelman said. “The Easter Eggers are real friends, you could make them easily into a pet. I have the other hens pretty much tamed, even the roster.”

Chrisman agrees with this sentiment.

“When I raised just a small number, it was really great,” Chrisman said. “I would encourage everyone to try, especially now with the cost of eggs. They’re nice pets and they provide good food.”

When first starting a flock, one needs to have a safe coop with outdoor area to roam. Generally people have this area fenced in to protect from predators. According to Chrisman, one should also train their chickens to stay in the coop at night.

“I’ve learned from when I was growing up that there are a lot of things that like to eat chickens and most of them come out at night,” Chrisman said. You’ve got to have a good coop that you can secure, and you’ve got to train them to go into the coop every night. For most chickens, this is very easy. You put them in the first couple of nights and they get the idea.”

In addition to safe housing, chickens have a variety of nutrition needs.

“You do have to feed them even if they have forage out there in the yard,” Chrisman said. “They always need some sort of layer crumble. When they’re young, they need some sort of starter growing mix. We also feed them kitchen scraps.”

Aside from food, he also recommends getting water heaters so the water doesn’t freeze in the winter. With these three things in mind, Chrisman said that caring for chickens is worth the effort.

“I think they’re a great pet,” Chrisman said. “There’s really a fun range of chickens, you could pick a chicken to match any style.”

In Creston, a permit is required to raise chickens. Residents are limited to six hens at a time, with no roosters allowed. Permission is required from neighbors in order for the city to accept the application. Applications can be found at crestoniowa.gov.