|
backyard chickens 
Wed Mar 23, 2011 at 18:35:15 PM PDT
|
|
Welcome to the four newest members of our coop!
I got four unsexed chicks from a local breeder today: Black, blue, and lavender Ameraucanas (one of each color) and a Silver-Laced Wyandotte. They are all nameless thus far, particularly because my roommate is talking more about eating any that turn out to be roosters.
The new girls (well, we hope)
|
|
There's More...
:: (23
Comments, 542 words in story)
|
|
Tue Feb 15, 2011 at 06:00:00 AM PST
|
|
William crowed. Yesterday. I wasn't around to hear it, but my roommate was. Today, he's going to his new home, a nearby organic nursery. I plan to drop him off with instructions that he be pampered like the little prince that he is. It would be very sad for William to live out his life among people who think he's just some ordinary chicken.
William, with Diana
As I've said before, I thought I was prepared to give up my roosters when I got into raising backyard chickens. I didn't expect that my favorite chicken would turn out to be a boy.
I am guessing that the remaining three chickens are about four months old, and that Diana may be a little younger than that. William's probably about six months old. It's fully possible that my other "girls" are roosters as well, although so far nobody is growing any combs or wattles. Here's a recent picture of William with either Elizabeth or Victoria... there's no real way to tell those two apart.
Diana. If she's a rooster, I'll be really crushed.
Now that we're down to three chickens, that means we can get some more chickens. I'd like to get two more, at least one of which is a Rhode Island Red. It depends on which breeds are available, but also on whether I opt for more eggs or more cuteness and docility. I've asked my roommate's older daughter if we should get hens or chicks, and she's asked for chicks. So chicks it is!
|
|
Discuss
:: (13
Comments)
|
|
Sat Feb 05, 2011 at 11:13:12 AM PST
|
|
I've now had my small flock of backyard chickens for 2 full months, and I am no closer to having any clue whether I've got hens or roosters. Or, more accurately, pullets or cockerels, since none of them are mature yet.
A few weeks ago, I could have sworn I heard a cock-a-doodle-doo. I dismissed it, as if it was a normal noise to hear around here, and then I heard it again. And... it hit me. If a rooster is crowing around here, my little flock of "hens" is the only possible source. As much as I wanted to delude myself that maybe it was some other rooster, I don't think that's likely.
The next day, my whole family heard a rooster crow. I warned the kids that we might need to find a new home for the culprit, but resolved that I would not get rid of any of my chickens until I caught them in the act of crowing. This is probably a little crazy, because if you look at a picture of our chickens, well... who do you think is most likely a rooster?
Uh, yeah. Exactly. My favorite chicken - then one we're now calling "Kate." (She'll be "William" if she's a boy.) I don't care if Elizabeth and Victoria wind up in someone's stew pot, but Kate and Diana are my little pets and I'm determined that they will both live long, pampered lives. Even if they turn out to be roosters.
When getting into raising chickens, I told myself I wouldn't be sentimental. I'll be like a real farmer. If we have a problematic chicken, or we end up with a rooster, they're dinner. Maybe not my dinner, since I don't really like chicken, but it would be ridiculous if every person in the whole city who accidentally got a rooster went about looking for happy homes for the roosters to live out long, happy lives. Unless someone's running a cock-fighting operation, what would they do with all of those roosters? You only need so many for breeding. About one rooster per 8 to 10 hens, if I'm not mistaken.
Fortunately, I haven't heard anyone crow for a few weeks now. Kate is still safe, thank goodness. I do have a good home where we can visit her lined up, just in case.
Chicken closeup. Here's "Kate" in a photo taken today. Our pampered ladies spent their morning eating pancakes out of my hands.
|
|
Discuss
:: (8
Comments)
|
|
Tue Jan 11, 2011 at 11:57:19 AM PST
|
|
There's a little bit to report about my chickens this week. First off, I think my girls are in the process of establishing their pecking order. Kate, the oldest, has been quite aggressive to the others, although I haven't seen her actually hurt any of them or draw blood. A week or two after she started acting like that, a few of the others caught on and joined her. I think the birds are probably going through a rather normal phase of establishing their pecking order. Kate also went after my poor cat, who was out in the yard prowling around. I can't believe I was worried that the cat would attack the chickens and not the other way around!
Second, it seems that my girls are molting - particularly Kate. She looks like some of her feathers are about to fall off, and I've been finding feathers all over the place in our yard and in the coop. I looked it up and it seems that pullets go through several partial molts before they are mature enough to lay eggs. I don't know how old Kate is but I hope she's close to laying eggs!
Also, I've heard from a friend that he put some golf balls and easter eggs in his hens' nests and all of a sudden they went from not laying to giving him 3 dozen eggs in a week. So I got a wooden egg and stuck it in my girls' nest. If nothing else, it'll teach anyone who tries to taste it that eggs aren't good eatin'. And, when they are ready to lay, it'll show them that they should do so in the nesting box.
And last, I've come up with an idea to solve one of my problems. When I let my chickens out, they eat my crops and poop in places that they shouldn't (and then the dog eats it). Keeping the coop door open for the chickens to go in and out also allows the dog to get into the coop, where he tries to eat the chickens' food and poop and makes a stinky mess of himself (today I'm giving him his second bath this week). But when I keep the chickens in, they don't get to eat grass and bugs!
This week, I used scrap wood leftover from the coop to make a few small trays that I filled with potting soil and planted with grass seed. This way, I'll be able to keep the chickens in their coop and still let them eat grass. I expect I'll still have to let them out some, but this might buy me a bit of time while I try to figure out how to keep the chickens out of the crops. They've already wrecked the pea vines, and I'm not willing to let them take out the strawberries I just planted.
|
|
Discuss
:: (9
Comments)
|
|
Wed Jan 05, 2011 at 12:59:38 PM PST
|
|
I've got two new articles out today. The first, How to Get Your City to Allow Backyard Chickens is up at Grist. And, you'll notice, there isn't any silver bullet that I was able to find to get chickens made legal. But there is an awful lot I've learned during my own efforts that can help people get started.
A few notes I wasn't able to fit into the article:
1. In some cities, one complaint raised was that no nearby vet would be able to care for chickens. This is, quite honestly, doubtful. I checked with my vet where my cats go, and he was able to care for my chickens just fine. In asking around, I even found a nearby vet that specializes in birds, including chickens! And don't forget any feed stores that are in the area. That was a surprise for me when I got my chickens, that I could go to a feed store to get chicken meds... but it's true!
2. In Vancouver's debate over chickens, the Humane Society came out AGAINST chickens. If you live in the U.S. this will not be a problem for you. I've contacted the Humane Society of the United States and they are OK with backyard chickens. If you want a letter of support from them to send to your city, get in touch with them.
3. Disease was a major question I excluded from my article. What about diseases, like avian flu? All I can say to this is that when that's been assessed by cities looking to legalize chickens (I think Vancouver's the example I'm thinking of) they found that it was not a problem. Factory farms breed disease. Backyard coops, not so much. And I can say from my own experience that because I have 4 chickens and not 400,000, I notice every single sneeze, every instance of diarrhea, or any other potential health problem nearly immediately, so it's pretty simple to take care of problems quickly if they arise.
My second piece, on Alternet, is called "Do We Have to Live Like Peasants to be Truly Sustainable?" While I think I misused the word peasant (as it is defined by self-sufficiency, not poverty), this article is based on some thoughts I had after my last trip to Mexico. Here in the U.S., I do NOT like camping. I hate it, actually. So when I was thrust into a situation of living that resembled camping among poor peasants in Mexico and Bolivia... oh boy was I uncomfortable! More than uncomfortable, really. I froze up. I suppose it shows you how lucky we are in the U.S. that my biggest fear was what I would smell like after 4 days without a hot shower (and I had no interest in taking a cold one). When I came back, I wondered if true sustainability means living like the people I met in Mexico... and then I wrote this article.
|
|
Discuss
:: (12
Comments)
|
|
Sun Jan 02, 2011 at 15:50:44 PM PST
|
|
After my last post, a friend emailed me a picture of her friend's Buff Orpington hen... and she (the hen) looked JUST LIKE my "William." Hmm. Could it be? Since William is perhaps my favorite, it would be great news if "he" was a girl. So I looked at some pictures of Buff Orp hens and roosters on MyPetChicken.com and sure enough... all the hens look just like "William." Or, I should say, just like Kate (as we now call her).
"William"/Kate
|
|
There's More...
:: (13
Comments, 852 words in story)
|
|
Tue Dec 28, 2010 at 20:58:32 PM PST
|
|
A few weeks ago, a friend told me the San Diego Reader printed a nasty article about backyard chickens that named me by name. Really? This was quite shocking since I haven't been doing much lately to call attention to the issue. And why would they wish to call out a private citizen by name as the face of an issue like this?
UPDATE: Turns out it was a spoof! OK, in that case it's funny!
Tonight I met up with my friend, and he gave me the article, which he had cut out and saved for me:
San Diego Reader article, from Dec 9, p. 11:
Choking the Chicken Ordinance
Following [my city] crazy person Jill Richardson's attempt to get the city council to reconsider its extremely prudent ban on backyard chickens, Mayor [our mayor] has called for the implementation of Operation Clustercluck, a countywide crackdown on illegal backyard egg production. "You know what else is produced in East County backyards?" asked Madrid at a recent press conference. "Methamphetamine." The San Diego Union Tribune, which came out in a December 2009 editorial, applauded the move, noting that "Ew, chickens poop!" However, results have been somewhat limited, possibly due to the fact that, of all San Diego County governments, only Coronado shares in [my city]'s comprehensive ban on the fetid fowls.
There is a photo with the article showing a dozen eggs of various shades of brown and a few green eggs, with the caption: Contraband seized during Operation Clustercluck. Note the presence of infamous "green eggs."
|
|
Discuss
:: (4
Comments)
|
|
Sat Dec 25, 2010 at 13:08:18 PM PST
|
|
My chickens have now totally moved into their new digs. I've got details on building the coop below.
William, scoping out our house for chicken food.
A very muddy rooster
Dust bath, guys, NOT mud bath!
|
|
There's More...
:: (22
Comments, 557 words in story)
|
|
Sun Dec 19, 2010 at 12:36:45 PM PST
|
|
It's been an eventful week for our little chickees. This weekend, a friend helped me build a coop. I had never built anything before so it was an interesting experience, to say the least. It's not done yet, but it's done enough that the chickens can go in it. I'm very proud of myself :)
Also, I took Nevada Republican Senate candidate Sue Lowden's advice and took a chicken to the doctor. He checked her out, prescribed an antibiotic, and charged me $70.
More below, with pictures.
|
|
There's More...
:: (32
Comments, 1258 words in story)
|
|
Sun Dec 12, 2010 at 23:04:37 PM PST
|
|
We've now had our girls(?) for a full week. They are very happy, spoiled chickens, and I just love them. However, I've learned quite a bit about chicken-keeping in the past week that I figured I'd share. Although most of my experiences have just been confirmations of every single thing I've ever heard about chickens.
|
|
There's More...
:: (12
Comments, 711 words in story)
|
|
Tue Dec 07, 2010 at 16:13:54 PM PST
|
|
We did it. We got our chickens. Four buff orpington "pullets" (i.e. birds that we hope are female but are too young to lay eggs yet). I went to a local farm to get them this Sunday. And no, they aren't legal. The city has known for a year that I want to have a small number of hens for eggs and that I don't want to break the law. They have not changed the law. And I'm not waiting any longer.
Chickens, one of whom has a dirty beak
Time to look for bugs!
|
|
There's More...
:: (23
Comments, 537 words in story)
|
|
Wed Jun 16, 2010 at 17:07:35 PM PDT
|
In my latest efforts to get my city to legalize backyard chickens, I've now heard from all four members of City Council plus the Mayor. I've previously posted two responses here - one asking for the downsides to urban chickens and one asking for model policies from other cities. The other three emails arrived after I posted that. Most notably, I received the following two emails from the Mayor, who is clearly anti-chicken:
Ms. Richardson, since I've been out of town for the past three weeks, I only had an opportunity to review your e-mail today, 6/16, and want to correct a misunderstanding you may have with the council decision at our December 8 meeting regarding your request. I am quoting from those minutes wherein [the city planner] spoke regarding your request and he explained the process and costs involved with a zoning ordinance amendment to allow for chickens, hens, in residential zones and he said staff recommended the council table the request and not initiate a zoning ordinance amendment at this time. Council discussion ensued and voted 5/0 to approve staff recommendation.
When an item is "tabled" it is tantamount to denying any further discussion or action. No mention was made to bring the item up in the latter part of 2010 as you indicate. The city is currently going through a general plan amendment, and this item could be discussed when the recommendations are made, but it is not scheduled to be completed in 2010 and there is no certainty that this specific amendment will be included.
And his second email:
Ms. Richardson, although I had almost completed responding to your 6/8/10 e mail, I pressed the send button before completing my response. I just wanted to conclude by saying that farm animals in a highly urbanized community are not compatible with homes that have small yards and where houses are clustered so close to each other.
The rest of the email exchange is below.
|
|
There's More...
:: (27
Comments, 566 words in story)
|
|
Tue Jun 08, 2010 at 23:26:57 PM PDT
|
Today was a big day for chicken news. It began with an email from a resident of my city who also wants chickens. His dad is on the city council of another California city and he had asked his dad for advice about our chicken situation. Here's what he wrote me about his dad's advice:
He VERY strongly suggested doing everything possible to not let them tell you they are going to attach this to the general plan. He says that this is essentially a cop-out by the staff, and that you are more or less being stonewalled when they come back with this suggestion. Staff is almost always the force you need to overcome, before even telling him details about your experience, he said "they will almost always make a point of communicating the large number of dollars it is going to require in order for the staff to spend the time they need for studies and research on the topic". The issue of chickens needs no reinvention of the wheel. There are plenty of examples in San Diego county.
He made the obvious suggestion of emails en masse, as well as repeated visits to city council meetings with as many supporters as possible. Additionally, and somewhat surprisingly, he said that petitions are also very effective.
REALLY. I've been waiting patiently for six months and all for nothing in that case. Time to do something. More below.
|
|
There's More...
:: (30
Comments, 2464 words in story)
|
|
Thu Jun 03, 2010 at 20:01:57 PM PDT
|
|
Well, the sad day came and our chickens have a new home. If you recall, I've wanted chickens for a long time, and when I began dating a man with two kids, he and the kids decided they wanted chickens too. We've got all of our plans in place - the only problem is that chickens are illegal in our city. So we're trying to change the law. Meanwhile - and totally unrelated to our chicken efforts - my boyfriend is running for city council. Thus, he doesn't want to get caught with illegal chickens.
This past week, I received an email that a few chickens were found in the street and they needed a home immediately. I picked them up Tuesday night. One was a naked neck and I don't know the breed of the other. They were small, clearly not full grown yet (unless they were bantams), but not baby chicks either. We rigged up a makeshift chicken coop in the yard and the girls settled in happily. One of them - the one we ended up calling Elizabeth - became so used to me bringing her big, fat worms to eat (from the compost bin) that she would try to nibble my fingers every time I put my hands in the chicken coop, even if I was trying to pick her up or change her water and I had no worms.
Our kids met the chickens on Wednesday and immediately fell in love with them. Our smaller daughter named the Naked Neck "Anika" (I have no idea where she comes up with these things, but it's a name I've always liked, even if I never would have considered it for a chicken). Our older daughter named the other one "Elizabeth." The chickens spent most of the day scratching and pecking around the yard, eating bugs and pooping. I've never been so excited to see any living being poop. I felt like thanking the chicken for fertilizing my plants every time I saw her go #2.
After the first full day of chicken ownership, I asked my boyfriend when we had to get rid of them. He said he'd think about it. Today he said they had to go. After a few chicken escapes from their coop, he was afraid of what might happen unless we made them a more permanent home. I made the necessary arrangements and a man who lives nearby with a flock of 20 chickens came to get the girls this evening. Our youngest daughter cried crocodile tears, and although I secretly wished her dad would give her her way. But he didn't. So off the chickens went to a new home, and - as part of the arrangement - we'll be able to ask for them back once the law changes or we decide to break it, whichever comes first.
The other development is that our city's fiscal year begins and ends on July 1, so I am hopeful that their update of the General Plan, including reviewing their chicken laws, will happen soon after the new fiscal year begins.
Previous installments of The Chicken Project:
Part 1: Initial Planning for Chickens
Part 2: Oops, it's not legal
Part 3: My public comment at City Council
Part 4: My letter to the city
Part 5: Bad News
Part 6: City Council Tables the Issue
Part 7: We Made the Local Paper!
Part 8: The San Diego Paper's Anti-Chicken Editorial
Part 9: San Diego Responds to the Union Tribune
Part 10: San Diego Paper Prints Our Letters
Part 11: We Foster Rescued Chickens
|
|
Discuss
:: (0
Comments)
|
|
Thu Feb 11, 2010 at 15:20:40 PM PST
|
|
There's a lot of urban chicken news this week:
In Calgary, it's a crime to be a "henvironmentalist." The president of CLUCK (the Calgary Liberated Urban Chicken Club) was charged with "Keeping Livestock." Isn't it sad, that doing the right thing gets you in trouble? Someone should tell that cop to go spend his time catching rapists and murderers instead of busting chicken owners.
Meanwhile, Cambridge, MA residents are fighting to save their ducks (and chickens). This week they had a public hearing to determine whether keeping poultry is "not an acceptable accessory use of our residential property."
Residents of Dunwoody, GA are also trying to legalize chickens. Their city council is split but the planning commission just voted unanimously in favor of chickens. One Dunwoody resident says:
In my opinion, the chicken thing is just one small piece of an important puzzle for making our city more economically, environmentally, and socially resilient in a changing world. To me, allowing chickens is a clear sign as to how ready a community is for a real discussion about long-term food security.
|
|
Discuss
:: (10
Comments)
|
|
|
|
|
|
