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Gerald and Janice Smith run a business with hundreds of thousands of employees. The husband-and-wife team provide room, board, vaccinations and medicine to all of them.

The "employees" are chickens. The Smiths became contract poultry growers when they built their first chicken house in rural Delaware over 20 years ago.

"The most pleasurable aspect of poultry farming is having your own business and being your own boss," says Janice. "If you're well-suited to the job, you'll probably discover that you have ample time to take care of your chickens and have extra time for your family."

Each year, the Smiths raise about 64,100 chicks in each of the five 50-day growing cycles. It takes about 50 days to grow a chicken to its market size. Then about two weeks of layout -- housecleaning -- time is allowed to remove litter, clean fans and heaters, make repairs and set up the house for the next flock.

Once a year, a three-week layout provides the extra time to completely remove manure, wash everything down and place new litter in one of the houses. Gerald says that if they take a two-week vacation, they can place 5.359 flocks per year. If no time off is taken, about 5.578 flocks can be grown.

But despite their best efforts, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, thousands of the little workers die each year. That is a normal part of poultry farming -- a recent flock lost 597 chicks the first week and 184 the second.

Gerald has a not-so-pleasant memory from a hot July day that shows the unpredictability of farming. It was only a few days before the chickens were to be moved to market.

"I lost around 5,000 chickens when the temperature reached 102 degrees Fahrenheit," he recalls. "There was nothing anyone could have done. But people from the company that I grow for came out looking for things that I had done wrong."

The company provides Smith with chickens, feed, fuel, litter, medication, vaccinations, necessary supplies and accounting services. The grower, usually an independent contractor, basically agrees to raise the chickens until removed, and account for and properly dispose of all dead chickens in accordance with all local, state and federal regulations.

On the farm's eight acres, the Smiths also have their home, an electric generator to provide power to the three chicken houses during outages, a manure storage shed, a dead chicken composter, an equipment shed and a mobile home. The mobile home is either rented or used as a tenant home for extra help with the chickens.

Poultry farming as a career definitely has its benefits, says Janice Smith.

"Although you may sometimes feel that you are unable to get away from the alarm system, you should be able to arrange your schedule to fit in trips to Little League games, car pooling the kids to various places, food shopping and other activities. You'll be there for your kids when they get home from school.

"And last but not least, a poultry farm can provide a decent income," she says. "If properly maintained, it should also be a source of retirement income. You should be able to continue leasing or renting the farm when you no longer wish to actively participate."

Raising fancy poultry, or show poultry, is a growing hobby in the U.S. "I love working with poultry," says Rico Sebastianelli. "It's a hobby which led to raising funny [fancy] poultry. Then I studied to become a judge, which I do as a sideline."

And what will a chicken do if it really likes you?

"It'll try to preen your hair," says Dennis Hawkins, who currently raises chickens both part time and as a hobby. "Chickens vary greatly in their intelligence and other attributes. They each have distinct personalities."

But it may lead to a career, says Hawkins, who lives in Palm Beach County, Florida. "Raising chickens is a constant learning experience for me. Every day, the birds are teaching me new tricks."

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