Grasshoppers a good diet for chickens

We called her Grandma, a name she earned over the years.

When we first moved to the Enterprise area of east Redding many years ago, we were told we could not raise a garden because of the grasshoppers.

We planted a big garden in our backyard anyway.

Sure enough, grasshoppers moved in just as predicted.

The Enterprise Fire Department burned away the dry grass in vacant lots next to ours. The smoke and flames drove a huge cloud of grasshoppers ahead of the fire and right into our garden and yard.

We were given poison bran to control the hoppers, but I wouldn't - couldn't - use it.

Our home-grown solution came about somewhat unexpectedly.

I saw an ad for three bantam chicks that someone wanted to be rid of. We brought home a tiny pullet and two roosters and turned them loose in the yard.

When they saw the grasshoppers, their attitude was, 'Oh, joy!" as they took off in pursuit. It wasn't long before the decrease in the numbers of hoppers was noticeable.

The garden throve and so did the chicks as they grew to adulthood.

We harvested vegetables all summer long and well into the fall.

The little pullet quickly became a hen and began laying an egg a day. The roosters grew up with a bit of "Old Nick" in them and tackled us as we walked across the yard, so I eventually traded one off.

When we gave the hen a dozen eggs to set, she hatched and raised thirteen chicks, doing this over and over after laying another egg in the nest until we had a nice flock of banties. We also enjoyed fresh-cooked eggs and the occasional culled rooster in the cook pan.

We also continued growing plenty of fresh eatables in our vegetable garden, too.

After several years, the hen became our well-loved 'Grandma.'

When her setting nest was moved - eggs and all - to anywhere we wanted, Grandma always stayed and hatched them. She would patiently wait, setting after setting, never deserting the place we had placed her.

She was a wonderful little mother hen.

We really missed her when, at age 11, a dog killed her.