Chickens in the Desert

The House of Food Flock consists of three Welsummer hens. Welsummers are a breed originating during the 1900s in the village of Welsum, located in the Netherlands. The breed was created by mixing the genetics of breeds such as the partridge Wyandotte, partridge Leghorn, and the Rhode Island Red. The partridge pattern carried through and it can be seen in the Welsummer particularly around their necks.

They are a dual-purpose breed, which makes them ideal here at the House of Food because they provide enough eggs to support our baking needs and they help keep insects out of the garden. Their eggs are brown with darker brown spots and each chicken can be identified according to the pattern on each egg. The spots are applied by a gland with a finite amount of colorant, so eggs from young chickens have more egg color than after they age.

The flock is well protected from predators inside a coop and run. Their coop contains an upper section made of wood with a removable floor, two nesting boxes, a perch, permanent ventilation holes, a sliding ventilation door, a large door used for cleaning access, and a ladder to the ground. The base supports the top, is totally enclosed by hardware cloth, and has an awkwardly-placed access door for cleaning. The coop rests on a home-made rolling frame with the space between the floor and the frame blocked with bricks.

The run sits on a concrete slab finished with a wood grain for added traction. The slab protects the hens from predators, like coyotes, from digging in and pets from digging out when the run used to protect canines. The walls of the run are made of metal pipes welded into rectangles and covered with chain link fencing. Corrugated metal sheets attached to a wooden frame form the roof.

The hens are also protected from the sun and wind. The south and west sides of the coop are bordered by a garden bed with grape and honeysuckle vines, two citrus trees, canna lilies, Dutch iris, bearded iris, daffodils, and ice plant and peppermint as groundcovers. The vines provide summer shade and the trees' year-round foliage add a windbreak feature.