Daviess County resident Ray Lee stands between his coop and his chicken tractor as he holds one of his backyard hens. Lee began raising chickens a year ago for the eggs and other benefits they offer.

Daviess County resident Ray Lee holds the eggs his backyard chickens laid for the day.

Daviess County resident Ray Lee stands between his coop and his chicken tractor as he holds one of his backyard hens. Lee began raising chickens a year ago for the eggs and other benefits they offer.

Daviess County resident Ray Lee holds the eggs his backyard chickens laid for the day.

Daviess County resident Ray Lee wasn’t sure what he was getting himself into when he purchased a handful of chicks from Rural King about a year ago.

It was the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and encouragement from his granddaughter Gracie Roberts that convinced Lee to give backyard chickens a try.

“They’ve been a lot of fun; they all have really good personalities, too,” Lee said. “…My granddaughter named several of them and they seem to even know their own names.”

Since retiring five years ago from Alcoa after being there nearly three decades, Lee, 67, has a little more time for raising chickens. He does work two days a week for the city of Owensboro.

Initially, Lee’s flock included a banty rooster that he realized he couldn’t keep.

“You don’t know when you buy your chicks from Rural King if they’re hens or roosters,” Lee said. “…He was a pretty rooster but he started crowing all the time. So I found a friend of mine … and he took it. But then the rooster got to be too much for him so he found a family with chickens that wanted him.”

So far, Lee has had no regrets investing in his feathered friends as well as the necessary chicken coop, feed and a chicken tractor — a wheeled device covered with thin wire designed to keep the chickens corralled while being pulled to a different area of the yard when they’re not in the coop.

Prior to the past 12 months, Lee had no experience with raising chickens.

Lee said he’s used online resources to help with the dos and don’ts of backyard poultry.

“…When I was little, my grandparents had chickens but I’ve learned a lot about raising chickens from watching YouTube videos,” he said.

For example, he said it’s unnecessary to add a heat lamp during the winter months because the chickens will roost together and produce enough heat.

“When it gets extremely cold and rainy, I do put a tarp up and it seems like they do well,” Lee said. “And I haven’t lost a chicken since I got them.”

The fresh eggs are the main perk from having backyard chickens.

According to motherearthnews.com, backyard eggs have approximately 25% more vitamin E, 75% more beta carotene, and as much as 20 times the amount of omega-3 fatty acids as do factory-farmed eggs. And backyard eggs contain only about half as much cholesterol as factory-farmed eggs.

Along with their nutritional value, chickens are also beneficial because they will eat mosquitoes, flies and other insects.

Lee’s flock will produce an average of seven to eight eggs per day. And contrary to most grocery store eggs that are white, his vary in color and are often referred to as “Easter eggs.”

During the winter, hens tend to lay fewer eggs because of the decreased daylight.

“Some people even add artificial light in the wintertime to produce more eggs but all that will do is shorten their lives,” Lee said. “The best thing to do is do everything natural.”

Lee said his hens are now generating enough eggs to feed him and his wife as well as friends and neighbors.

And he’s finding that his friends are even saving their used cartons for his eggs.

“I’ve never had to buy any egg cartons,” Lee said.

At about 6 or 7 years old, hens will slow down their egg production and will eventually stop laying altogether.

And when that happens, that leads some to turn their chickens into dinner.

“They’re like part of the family so I can’t ever see doing that,” Lee said. “I guess I’ll cross that road when I get to it.”

Don Wilkins, dwilkins@messenger-inquirer.com, 270-691-7299

Don Wilkins, dwilkins@messenger-inquirer.com, 270-691-7299

Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.

Your comment has been submitted.

There was a problem reporting this.

Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.

We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on!