AUSTIN — It's not uncommon in Central Texas to have a backyard chicken coop. If you have your own fresh farm eggs there's no need to buy them at the grocery store.
But raising a healthy flock takes work.
That's where Mary Ann Fordyce comes in. She runs Blue Star Ranch off Hudson Bend Road.
I kicked off my heels, pulled up my bootstraps and joined her for this week's Take This Job.
At Blue Star Ranch you'll meet Mary Ann Fordyce, the self-proclaimed "Chicken Lady."
It's feeding time for her feathered friends.
"You get a bucket. I get a bucket. Sounds like a plan?" asked Fordyce.
Mary Ann keeps busy raising thousands of chickens and all but she still has time for jokes.
"I have 17 attack roosters. Wait, hold on, hold on. Do you have attack roosters? Yeah but you've got your boots on. Ok, I'm kidding," she added.
On Blue Star Ranch, the chickens are cage free and fed high-quality food -- meaning non-GMO, no hormones or antibiotics.
"I think all the chickens should be treated very well, and a happy chicken is a chicken that's going to lay eggs," added Fordyce.
Mary Ann services a lot of feed stores and small businesses.
To some people, its just chickens. But to her, the job has a real purpose.
She also educates individuals and families about raising healthy chickens and fixing chicken pens.
We spent the morning feeding her flock, cleaning the nest boxes and tending to baby chicks.
It was a full day in the chicken coop.
Again Blue Star Ranch is located off Hudson Bend Road in Austin.
To learn more about what the ranch offers, CLICK HERE.
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