Hi, My name is Mary and I am a chicken owner. Starting back in March 2010, I approached my city council to allow backyard chickens. A few of the council members laughed until they realized I was serious. I live in Palo, Iowa, a small town of 900 that was devasted by the floods of 2008. Of the 400+ homes, only 9 did not receive any damage. The mayor was against changing the ordinance, stating he wanted to focus on greater problems from the flood, but I was lucky to have council members who were open to the idea. On May 27th, we brought the girls home. I am now know as the Palo Chicken Lady. The following day after bringing the girls home, our local paper ran a story about me on the front page stating "Chickens already roosting in Palo". My husband and I buildt our chicken tractor using the plans in our heads. We are happy with the results and even happier with the decision to raise chickens. The only downfall is that they have to be caged at all times, so no free ranging. We will be making another pen for them to use to move around in the garden when fall comes around. Our main reason for raising layers is to know where our food is coming from. I have an acre garden the most goes into the freezer or gets canned. Along with that, both my husband and I deer hunt. I have been bow hunting now for 5 years and can't get enough of it. We try to only eat what we harvest and now having egg layers completes the circle. View my BYC page for photos of our chicken tractor and our new girls.
