From Tractor Supply Company

 

As families look to eat more natural, homegrown food, the farm-to-table trend is popping up in backyards. For families embracing the backyard-to-table movement, chickens are a key element, according to Tractor Supply Company, the nation’s largest rural-lifestyle retailer.

During its springtime Chick Days event, Tractor Supply serves as a one-stop resource for families who want to get started raising backyard poultry. Through April, baby chicks and ducklings are available at most Tractor Supply stores nationwide, including the Washington-area location.

More and more, Americans are looking to their backyards for more control over their food supply and fresh, nutritious food for their families. Daily access to nutritionally superior eggs and organic garden fertilizer makes chickens a smart addition to backyards, according to Kathy Shea Mormino, a backyard chicken contributor for Tractor Supply’s “Know How Central” and author of the popular backyard chicken website “The Chicken Chick.”

“Breakfast from the backyard is just the beginning — the joys and benefits of raising chickens are endless,” said Mormino. “Beyond eggs, another enormous perk of keeping chickens is garden fertilizer; there is no more valuable amendment to garden soil than nitrogen-rich chicken manure.”

Growing food is nothing new for many American families but raising chickens has led many to have more fun in the kitchen — trying their hand at breakfast burritos and frittatas to more challenging dinner entrees like handmade pasta with garden-fresh basil pesto.

“When the hens begin producing eggs and the garden flourishes, families really begin to appreciate what their flocks can help them create in the kitchen. The coop to garden to table connection is so rewarding,” Mormino said. “What often begins as a hobby quickly becomes a gratifying and healthy way of life for the entire family.”

During Chick Days, Tractor Supply stores feature all the items needed to start a backyard flock, including chicks and ducklings, starter kits, feeders, bedding, heat bulbs and lamps, coops and more. Beyond Chick Days, Tractor Supply stores are stocked year round with the items needed to properly raise and care for backyard poultry. Enthusiasts can also visit tractorsupply.com for an expanded selection and year-round availability of poultry products.