Staff Spotlight: The Community Coop Keeper
What’s better than locally sourced eggs? Locally sourced eggs on demand from the donation-based coop just down the road. Are you asking yourself, does this dream world actually exist? Thanks to this Loan Underwriter by day and chicken lover by night, it sure does. Meet Kelcey!While she’s always been an animal lover, Kelcey was not the type to like anything with claws and beaks. But when she and her husband moved to Piedmont, SD, that all changed. The owners of the home they planned to purchase ran a donation-based coop with free-roaming chickens. In the tight-knit community of Piedmont, these chickens were very well known and loved. When the home officially became theirs, they couldn’t let the tradition end.
They’ve come a long way from those first five hens. Kelcey’s coop now boasts 26 chickens. Over the years, she’s gone from uninterested in beaks to emotionally connected with her girls. The flock includes several long-term residents who Kelcey lovingly refers to as retired, letting them run with all their sisters even when their egg production slows. With the yearlings Kelcey purchased as babies last year, the flock has a full mix of ages.“I didn’t hold my first chicken until the night we brought our first five girls home,” Kelcey shared. “Unloading them was an experience; they are surprisingly very squirmy.”
So, how does it all work? Kelcey’s coop is behind two fences separating the coop and run from the road, keeping the hens safe and happy. Community members can enter the coop at their leisure and gather eggs from the nesting boxes. And, of course, there’s a donation jar for anyone who is able or wants to donate toward feed costs for the hens. Kelcey is active in the Southern Foothills Facebook group, so everyone knows where the ‘chicken house’ is.
Kelcey really has become a chicken lady through and through. When one of her chickens was accidentally stepped on, Kelcey splinted her broken leg with two sporks and a bandage for three months, allowing it to fully heal. And, when there’s inevitably an egg-bound hen, Kelcey will massage around the egg in their belly for 45 minutes. If that doesn’t work, inside they go for an Epson salt bath in the sink. Most recently, one of her chickens had to undergo surgery after tearing her skin and exposing her crop (Kelcey tells us that’s basically her tummy!) The good news is that she made a full recovery! When Kelcey says she loves her chickens, she means it.“It’s been really amazing to see how the surrounding areas around Piedmont all visit the coop and have come to love the girls as much as I do,” Kelcey said. “They live a very pampered life with constant human contact from all their friends.”
Maintaining the coop involves a lot of heavy lifting, especially in the winter months. Kelcey and her husband spend time making sure the hens are warm enough, the coop is clean, dry, and comfortable, and there is enough light to keep up their egg production. So, if ever you find yourself in Piedmont and spot the ‘FREE EGG’ sign, you’ll now know the love and support that goes into making it all happen.
“I spend so much time with them that I’ve grown special bonds with each of my girls,” Kelcey shared with a smile.
The Community Coop Keeper
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