I just saw an article about the demise of chicken houses across the country in this week's Wall Street Journal. It reminded me of my Granddaddy Anderson who by day made his living making feed for my great-uncle's company, Bayshore Foods in Easton, Maryland. They made feed for Frank Perdue, coming up with a proprietary feed mix that made chicken skin "yellower" which they marketed as healtier. Granddaddy saw the huge potential of Perdue's company, and so invested in four chicken houses where he raised chicks for Frank. I remember chasing the chicks around inside the chicken house when I was a little kid, which infuriated Granddaddy because he was worried that when the chicks all stacked up in a corner that his investment would suffocate. I just loved seeing all the feathers kicking up all over the place and the chicks squawking by the thousands.
Now chicken houses are going out of business, not because of disturbing little kids like me, but because of this disturbing economy. My granddaddy had put all of his nest egg in one basket, and won. This is not the case now. The chicken farmers are getting left with an empty nest of bankruptcy. ---John Anderson
If you've never been in a chicken house, here's a virtual tour:
