Backyard chickens are growing in popularity but it might be hard to find someone who loves their chickens more than Jane Claar.

“I just wanted to be able to have pets and they’re good company,” she said.

Claar has four hens: Buffy, who is an Orpington chicken; Blackie, who is a barred rock chicken; Dopey and Rusty, who are red star chickens; plus a curious cat, who is more afraid of the chickens than they are of her. 

“My cat just loves them,” Claar said, though she added with a laugh that “they go after the cat.”

Claar has had her hens for one year and had previously owned hens many years ago. Her daughter Kera Wenzel and son-in-law Jim Wenzel have also owned a backyard brood for several years.

Claar admittedly doesn’t know much about chicken breeds, so she asked a worker at Murdoch’s Ranch and Home Supply to pick out four chicks that lay brown eggs; according to Claar, brown eggs are the best for baking.

The tricky part was that “you never know if you’re getting a [female] chick,” Claar explained, and roosters are prohibited within Powell city limits; Claar would have had to get rid of any male chicks the employee mistakenly chose. Fortunately, “this guy from Murdoch’s picked me out four [female] chicks,” Claar said.

Her hens — which need 12 hours of sunlight a day — had just laid three eggs the day she spoke to the Tribune.

While Claar does eat the eggs, she mainly enjoys the company that pets provide and the added benefit of being able to live more sustainably. Claar feeds the chickens sunflower seeds and fruits from her garden as well as food scraps, “so you don’t waste as much this way.”

The egg shells and other byproducts of the hens are used as compost in the garden. In the summer, when the garden is ready, Claar lets the hens walk around in it from time to time.

The chickens stay outside in all seasons in a coop assembled by Claar’s grandson, Tyler Wenzel, while her son-in-law Jim Wenzel put up a fence and supervised.

“I wouldn’t be able to do all this without my family,” Claar said.

In really cold or hot conditions, she said the chickens dig holes in the dirt to sit in, which regulates their body temperatures. Claar also keeps a heated water bowl for them outside.

When there are plenty of eggs, Claar shares with her neighbors, but she primarily uses them for baking treats for her grandchildren and for Easter eggs come spring. Claar started saving her lightest colored eggs for dyeing earlier this month.