Tag Archives: friends

Backyard Chickens



My friend’s chickens live next to her house. There are two hens (female chickens) and one rooster (male chicken). Right now, she also has some chicks (baby chickens). They are so cute! They like to move around a lot, so it was hard to take a picture of them.

Fuzzy little chicks!
Fuzzy little chicks!

I got to hold one little chick in my hand. It was so cute and small.

My friend gave us four eggs. Two of the eggs were a soft blue-green color, and two were brown. Some of these chickens are a type that comes from South America. This type of chicken lays bluish (kind of blue) eggs. We have already eaten the eggs, and they were really delicious. The yolks were a deep orange color. The color was much stronger than supermarket eggs.

Chickens who eat and live naturally are able to lay eggs with a deeper color. Most people think these natural eggs are also more nutritious and have a stronger flavor. That’s one reason why “backyard chickens” have become popular recently. (There’s even a magazine!)

Where do you get your eggs?
In a supermarket? At a small grocery store? At a farmers’ market? From your own chickens?

“got to hold”: The reason I wrote “I got to hold” is to add the meaning of “my friend let me” — “I was able to” — “I did something fun and special.” It means I had a chance to do something or an opportunity to do something, and I did it. This verb pattern is very common in English, so watch for it.

Fuzzy” is an adjective. One meaning is “like short hair or fur.” Yarn can be fuzzy. Flowers can be fuzzy. (Click for Flickr photos.)

Lay” is the verb that we use when a chicken makes an egg. For example, “Our chickens laid six eggs yesterday.” “How many eggs will your hens lay this week?”

Nutritious” is an adjective that means “full of the things you need to be healthy.” It doesn’t mean the same thing as “healthy,” because “healthy” is about the total healthfulness of the food (nutrition + calories + fat, etc.). For example, “Brown rice is more nutritious than white rice.” “A fruit tart is more nutritious than a chocolate bar, but neither one is very healthy.”