Childhood visits to my grandparent’s farm served to foreshadow raising chickens of my own. Tossing seed corn, herding a mean rooster to the coop, and reaching under a hen to gather a warm egg were ...

Mata’s husband built the coop himself using wooden pallets. It now houses two hens and one rooster who co-mingle with her three house dogs. Although initially her husband's idea, she keeps the ...