Childhood visits to my grandparent’s farm served to foreshadow raising chickens of my own. Tossing seed corn, herding a mean rooster to the coop, and reaching under a hen to gather a warm egg were ...

I hadn’t kept bantams until, about six years ago, a friend gave me two Lavender Pekins. Quickly named Pam and Betty, after my beloved Bolton aunt and granny, they proved as feisty and formidable ...