The down side of having chickens, ofcourse, is preditors. Found another beheaded chicken, 2nd day in a row, despite setting traps.

I have been interested in owning chickens. But, the predator issue has always been a big deterrent. That, and the lack of time.

I enjoyed my former neighbor's chickens while he lived behind us. I enjoyed listening to his rooster crow.

I do keep bees, which I find very enjoyable.

My mom (who considers herself a city gal) had the bright idea to buy chickens some years back. She thought it would be fun to have eggs and she also got a few chickens to... er, raise for eating. Well, let's just say she got totally attached to them and thought of them as pets. And finally, when it was time to butcher the chickens that were for eating, she cried her eyes out. She felt guilty for weeks and weeks and gave up eating chicken for awhile. She has since told all her "wannabe farmer" friends to leave this to the experts.

One of my initial interests was to raise the chickens for meat. I had no problem with butchering them, but the meat was so tough that it was inedible. We keep the birds (chickens, ducks geese and a turkey) as 'pets' now. They do lay eggs, which are delicious. (The geese lay softball size eggs in the spring.)

I've always been interested in keeping bees. How did you get started?

I have a preditor now, which is proving to be very elusive.

By the time you buy chicks and feed you can buy them cheaper in store. Your tough birds were possibly older. Use the older ones for stew. Fry the younger ones. Get you some Leghorn chicks and keep them for egg laying you might come out better, or at least good tasting eggs. Also they need to be penned away from predators.

I apologize for not getting back to you sooner. The Inquiring Eye was sick with the flu.

I will buy some chickens this summer and cook up a young one when it is big enough. I believe that I had tried to cook young ones in the past, yet they were still quite tough.

Yes, at $0.49 per pound, you cant argue with the price. I keep chickens for a variety of reasons. Sometimes I like to eat the egg yolks raw, and I like knowing what I am eating. Sometimes I like to do artwork with the eggs. Bantams lay very small eggs and geese, quite large. One reason I do not keep chickens is to save money. I guess you could call it more of a 'quality of life' issue.

Preditors are a fact of life, whether the chickens are penned up or not. As I've been sick, I am not quite sure whhat my preditor status is...other than that it exsists. I'll get back to you on this.