Every night he walks out to the little coop to check on his chickens. He feeds them and gathers the freshly produced eggs to take inside. Then when morning comes, he cracks open each shell and drops the yolks in the pan. Each bite is a cherished reward of a proud decision made years ago.

Junior Tyler Snell has been raising chickens from his home for the past four years.

“It wasn’t my family’s idea; it was mine,” Snell said. “I was just flipping through a Lowe’s magazine, and I saw this chicken coop. Then this idea came to me that I might try to raise chickens.”

Snell doesn’t harvest his chickens for their meat. Instead, he collects the eggs and hatches chicks of his own.

“You get farm fresh eggs everyday, and they are the best things on this earth, especially my eggs,” Snell said. “I’ve hatched some of the eggs and got little baby chicks, and it’s a really cool experience.” 

Raising the chickens from birth has created a bond between Snell and his birds. He loves his chickens and doesn’t mind the difficult task of caring for them.

“You have to be ready to care for them and be dedicated enough to take them food and water every single day,” Snell said. “They can be really nasty, too. It’s not like I go out there and snuggle with them, but sometimes I’ll go out and talk to them which is kind of weird but whatever.”

All it took was one coop to change Snell’s life forever. He has found a new passion, one he has no plans of quitting.

“It’s very rewarding,” Snell said. “I think once I get out of college and get a house I want to take it up again because I love doing it so much. Chickens are awesome.”