Upon my dad's official retirement at the age of 82 from being a Boat Captain, he became a "Chicken Guy" and the primary care taker of the "FarmGirl Chicks".  First he built them an awesome chicken coop by repurposing my old metal carport, added a large fenced in run and they can also be let out to free range. Currently we have 26 Hens and 2 Roosters. The chicken flock consist of 12 Golden Comets, and the rest are a mix of Buff Orpington, Barred Rock, Brahma, Lavenders and Easter Egg Layers.  My dad's favorite chicken is the Lavender Hen and my favorite is the Lavender Rooster as he is so very handsome. My mom's favorite chicken is the one that doesn't scratch up mulch around her landscape plants!  My Dad loves those chickens!... and he is dedicated to their comfort, happiness and healthy egg production.  He feeds them healthy chicken feed, treats them with black solder fly larva, they get lots of treats when the gardens are weeded and kitchen scraps from me and my Mother.  The FarmGirl Homestead is a Family Affair!  I collect our household's egg shells to use as slug deterrents around plants.  I also use the egg shells that I have processed in the food processor as a Calcium supplement in the Tomato garden beds and to add to the chicken feed every month.  We use the popped up wood shavings in the chicken coop as garden bed fertilizer.  And I use their dropped feathers in fresh and dried arrangements. And of course we sale all the eggs we don't eat up ourselves for $6/dozen.