If there were any room for a coop in my small Ballard yard and I thought that our two dogs could co-habitate with yummy-looking poultry, I would not hesitate to have a couple or three.

And a visit with Amy Snover’s chickens didn’t change my mind. Snover has had chickens for much of her adult life and isn’t fazed about having them in the city.

The two chickens in residence were both named by Snover’s five year old son, Aaron, and now go by “Record” (like a record player), who is a Barred Rock, and “White Ranger," a Delaware.

I was hoping to find out that it was just way too much trouble and I wouldn’t want them anyway. Unfortunately, the Snover family loves their chickens.

“They’re really funny, not smart, but can surprise you by seeming smart sometimes” she said. “And the eggs are totally different [from storebought], the freshness is hard to describe. The yolk is really yellow, stands up really proud, like a ball almost."

But surely chickens must be terribly expensive to house and feed and keep entertained.

Snover explains their financial research: “Money wise, we did the math one time a long time ago, buying Safeway eggs versus feeding chickens. The feed was $20 for a sack that lasts 3 months for 2 chickens. So we felt it was very economical.”

Of course, that doesn’t include the coop, which must have cost a bundle … oh wait, they used recycled wood and scraps to build it. Of course, with raccoons in the neighborhood (and living very close by) the Snovers built with security in mind and buried a four-by-four into the ground around the coop.

But often, their chickens are in the garden, doing one of their jobs of eating slug eggs and other insects and looking pretty cute. Snover fences off anything she doesn’t want pecked at or eaten (apparently they love lettuce).

I was hoping to come up with some real dirt on chickens but instead just got some charming photos.

“They’re fun, they make nice noises and are interested in what you do," said Snover, “we just love our chickens."

Rhonda lives in Ballard and is the Urban Crop Circle Project Leader for Sustainable Ballard. Questions, Comments, Ideas? You can reach her at Rhonda@sustainableballard.org.