The Urban Farm Chicken Program was hatched in the mind of Mercer Elementary School teacher Erinn Cox.
Grants were awarded, generous donations given, and the collaborative effort between students and faculty at Mercer Elementary and Turpin High School eventually brought six chicks and their specially built housing to the Farm.
A flock of volunteers assists in the daily care of the chickens. Now that the hens are old enough, the volunteers are paid with fresh eggs! There has been so much interest in our feathered friends that we have purchased a larger coop for them.
The additional space allowed addition of five more chicks. The poultry have become part of the Mercer curriculum as the Farm is often used as an outdoor classroom. Visitors to the Farm love to interact with the flock, and our gardeners will eventually be able to incorporate organic chicken “amendments” into their plots if they choose.