Ruffled Feathers in the Mazza Yard

I make my way down a set of splintered wooden steps and into Anthony and Catherin Mazza’s backyard, their two dogs quite literally on my heels as I reach the stout little gate that separates the energetic pups from their feathery rivals.

Mr. Mazza, a retired firefighter and a long-time resident of Westfield, follows me into the enclosure and refills the pan of seeds, which is then bombarded by hungry chickens who, at the sight of me, soon trot away into their coop.

“[Mr. Mazza] thought [the chickens] were a joke,” Mrs. Mazza explained. “We built the house in 1965, a year later he brought home six chicks for the kids, thinking they would die soon, or whatever . . . but the eggs just kept hatching!”

Even after the chickens were twice slaughtered by a neighborhood dog, the Mazzas just had to replace them.

And now, almost 50 years later, the most recent generation of chickens still lives happily in the backyard, much to the delight of passing school children who love to stop and watch them running around, according to Mrs. Mazza.

“It’s amazing to see the little ones who run over a say, ‘Are they out yet?’ . . . it’s something different than a dog or a cat,” she said.

Stay-at-home-mom Ms. Jamie Andreski told Patch how much her kids love the Mazza’s chickens: “One day we decided to [take a] walk . . . Imagine our surprise when on the way we spot a bunch of pure white chickens with the craziest feathers you’ve ever seen strutting around someone’s backyard!”

She explained that now, bike rides and walks always entail a stop at the Mazza’s house, even though they have never met the couple. “My kids have spent lots of time watching their chickens . . . I know I’m going to hear, ‘Mom, can we go see if the chickens are out?’”

Mrs. Mazza also said that when her daughter was in second grade at Tamaques Elementary, her teacher asked if they could hatch some of the eggs in class as part of a science project. After that, the Mazzas donated the eggs and then took the chicks back every year for 15 years. “We got all these letters from the kids, and they had so much fun!” she said.

Although at first the Mazzas said that they could not bring themselves to eat the eggs and instead gave them to a friend, after their children were born they began baking with them and having them for breakfast.

As well as having dogs and chickens, Mr. Mazza, who expressed his love of farm life, also raised a baby bull for 14 months until it was too large and he gave it to a farm. 

“It’s nice to have [the animals,]” he said. “I enjoy them.”