Green at 50

Greenhouse greens during the winter

Last Christmas I received a book by Eliot Coleman called Four-Season Harvest that talks about how they grow vegetables all year around using plastic greenhouses (hoophouses) and a single layer of floating row cover in the coldest months. Eliot and his wife, Barbara Damrosch, live in Maine in zone 5 which is the same zone as in Cedar Rapids, so I was compelled to do my own four-seasons experiment in my backyard this winter. I started with a small greenhouse (6x8) that I bought at Menard's in March that was on sale from the previous season. It was $89 with a simple metal tubing/plastic construction that didn't take my husband long to put up at all. We erected the greenhouse over the existing garden in a location that receives the most sunlight during the winter in late September after the pole beans and tomatoes were removed. We planted some mesclun mix lettuce, spinach and mache to see how they would do.

We harvested the lettuces early in the season and they supplied us until about November. In early December, we thinned out the spinach which was baby spinach size. Unfortunately, the growth in the spinach stopped and now we are left with spinach too small to harvest. But it is still green and unfrozen! A tremendous thing since the temperatures have already dropped below zero degrees on many occasions. The mache or corn salad seems to enjoy the cool temperatures and I swear is still growing.  So far, so good. Hopefully, the small spinach will begin to grow again in early spring and we'll have spinach salad in March. Note to self for next year: Plant earlier so plants are bigger before the temperatures dip into the 20s.

Peace Corps Recruits Small Farmers

My recent article in Hobby Farms - For farmers ready to take their agriculture skills to the next level, the U.S. Peace Corps offers the opportunity to teach farming in developing countries.

(Gary Slaats, a senior recruitment specialist from the Peace Corps, contacted me and wants to use the article as recruitment material. How cool! Thanks, Gary, and all those farmers who spend time sharing their skills and promoting peace in other countries.)

http://www.hobbyfarms.com/farm-industry-news/2010/09/21/peace-corps-recruits-small-farmers.aspx

Keeping you backyard flock salmonella-free

Sorry that I haven't had much time to write here folks. I've working on my 7th article for Urban Farm and Hobby Farms magazines in the last two months. Very fun and challenging but doesn't leave me much free time. Here's the latest about keeping your backyard eggs safe from salmonella.

http://www.urbanfarmonline.com/urban-farm-news/2010/09/03/salmonella-free-eggs.aspx

 

Brad Pitt builds green homes in the 9th Ward of New Orleans



Thanks to Brad Pitt and his associates at the Make It Right Foundation for helping to rebuild a devasted portion of New Orleans in a green and sustainable way. Perhaps after this project, he can come to Cedar Rapids to help us rebuild flood ravaged areas of our city.

http://landing.newsinc.com/shared/video.htmlfreewheel=69016&sitesection=ndnsubss&VID=94225

 

Mobile Processing for Backyard Chickens

With slaughterhouses rare in urban locations, mobile poultry processing units may be the backyard-chicken raiser’s answer to fresh meat. See my article on Mobile Poultry Processing Units or MPPUs on UrbanFarmOnline.com.

Arsenic and kid's pee...now I'm tweaked

Poor research by journalists really tweaks me. Such was the case with an article written by Judy Fahys for the Salt Lake City Tribune Utah Study Points to Arsenic in Backyard Chickens. She reported that a Utah family had elevated arsenic levels in their children's urine. Supposedly, the Utah toxicologist, Christina McNaughton, determined that since the water and soil on the family's yard wasn't contaminated, then the culprit must be the eggs from the backyard coop. She claims that arsenic is added to chicken feed on a regular basis and that backyard chicken farmers should beware. My response is look a little deeper, sweetheart.

If arsenic in layer feed is a problem then ALL children in this country are at risk. No one is a bigger consumer of commercial chicken feed than the COMMERICAL CHICKEN FARMER. In truth, chemicals such as arsenic are included in other animal feeds (in its supposedly less toxic, "organic" form) to reduce the incidence of disease. Don't get me wrong, I'm against adding toxic chemicals to any animal feed, but arsenic is not added to layer feed of any kind. In addition, most backyard chickens are fed a varied diet of bugs, weeds and kitchen scraps reducing their need for feed and any associated unwanted chemicals. Finally, most of us backyard chicken raisers use organic chicken feed which further reduces the chances that the hens or those of us who eat their eggs will become contaminated. The article later explains it's position on arsenic laced animal feed, but at first blush it appears to be a slam on backyard coops and labels them as an "issue."

To add insult to injury, Grist published their comments on the article with the title Arsenic found in Utah kids’ pee traced to their pet chickens’ feed. Now you tell me, how credible is an article that uses the word "pee" to describe the poor Utah kids' urine? What are we, in second grade? Haven't the foodies progressed to using big people words? Fellow food advocates, let's not hang ourselves out to dry before we get a chance to implement some much needed changes to how Americans produce and consume their food. Do the research and talk like a grownup. Otherwise, you're just adding fuel to the factory farm machine and looking pretty stupid in the process.

Eating where I live

I was reading an article urbanfarmonline.com about edible landscapes and realized, geez, I have made a lot of progress integrating edibles into my landscape....and it's pretty tricky here. I have lots of wildlife, including herds of deer that like to munch on anything that will stand still long enough to let them. I have a small, privacy-fenced-in courtyard, about 30x30, with my house taking a good size chunk out of it. It's the only space I have that is protected from the bunnies and deer...in it I have my chicken coop, pond, vegetable garden and perennials. It's my annual challenge to use it as productively as possible and still make it beautiful. Lately, I've been pretty happy with the results.

I've always planted 3-4 cucumber plants in a large pot and let the vine spill over the edges of the pot and onto the ground. It's lovely but with the excessive rains we've been having in this part of the country, I've noticed that the cucumbers are more likely to rot on the ground and develop disease. This year, I tried using a tomato cage as a trellis. I bought one in a fashionable shade of sea foam blue and have been winding the cucumber vine around the sides and up toward the top as it has been growing. The vine is looking very healthy and is kept dry because of the trellis. The monarda planted next to the deck keeps plenty of bees around for pollinating so I'm getting some nice fruit coming on....and it's kind of artsy looking in an architectural sort of way :-)

In the bed in front of the new coop (the metal roof is coming this weekend) I planted some red cabbage in among the hosta. It adds a nice blue color to the bed and makes the cabbage worms handy to throw to the chickens. I've planted new grapevines this year to train up the metal arbor and we dug out the fire pit and replaced it with a circular strawberry bed planted with ever-bearing strawberries. I'll know more in a couple of years if this planting plan will be a success with the fruit. The beds are planted on a slight slope which helps with drainage. The strawberry bed is bordered by broken flagstone from the fire pit. I am adding organic acidifier to the strawberries to counteract the limestone which likes to increase the pH. This year I pinched off the strawberry blooms and runners. How painful! Next year, I'm hoping for a bountiful harvest as a reward for my patience.

A hen's worst day...

I've decided to thin the flock (I need to comply with the 6 hen maximum that the city of Cedar Rapids will allow when the ordinance passes later this month. Never mind that I've been illegal for the last 18 months...it's complicated.) So I sent 3 of my pullets and one of my non-laying hens off to live at the farm of a friend and put Lola and Lucy (my laying RI hens) into the new coop with two of the remaining Barred Rock pullets. OMG, the very gates of hell broke loose right in my backyard. Taking on new room mates must rank right up there with 30 degree below temperatures, no food and a fox in the hen house...combined. Lucy refused to go into the coop to lay her egg and proceeded to drop it in the run. In the back, of course, so I had to do a handstand to retrieve it. Lola insisted on laying her egg in the coop, but fussed for an hour because she didn't want to walk past "those" girls. The pullets were petrified by the older aunties and huddled in the corner of the coop (which was more closely related to a hot box) refusing to venture outside for food and water. I thought we were going to have baked chicken in the coop and scrambled eggs in the run. And the noise! I've been telling the city council for months how quiet hens are...augh. If my neighborhood didn't know that I had hens before, they for sure do now.And the drama continues. I've had to put food and water in the coop for the pullets and I'm still picking Lucy's egg out of the pine chips in the run. I am bracing for the drama yet to ensue when I introduce two more pullets in August. I have a Black Copper  Maran and a Blue Americana reserved to spruce up the color selection of my eggs. Now I'm wondering if the fuss will be worth it. It's like having 6 teenage girls in the house...everyday is an adventure here on the farm:-)

No rain, yes Japanese beetles

We have finally received a reprieve from the rain here in Iowa. After 3 years of torrential and steamy Junes I've decided that we'll have to work it into the planting plans for next year...i.e. all transplanting/planting must be done by Memorial Day weekend (at least they'll be no worries about watering), rain barrels must be cleaned and EMPTY and add supports for droopy plants (hydrangeas mostly for me...they are loaded but mostly on the ground.) Phew! The low brick wall around the vegetable garden has worked well preventing the run-off of the soil and the paths in between the beds helps to keep the plants drained of excess moisture. I'm growing tomatoes and pole beans onto 7 ft. supports which seems (crossed fingers) to keep the fungus down so I think I'll add another support next year. I hear there are some varieties of zucchini and spinach that will climb...who knew?

The green Japanese beetles are back. I found a few on the wild grape vines and the pole beans so I dug out the soap bucket. It will be interesting to see if we have fewer bugs since we built the new chicken coop right where most of them were last year. Hopefully, the chicks have eaten most of the grubs so we'll have fewer bugs this year. It's a nice theory, anyway. The chickens don't seem to have any interest in the actual beetle which is a great disappointment.

I was fertilizing my garden yesterday with fish emulsion and picking beetles off the plants thinking...what a different life I have now compared to 5 years ago in corporate America...no high-powered stuffed-suits spewing acronyms here! Just me and the chickens...bawk!

Dates for chicken ordinance readings in Cedar Rapids

Wahoo! We are almost there my little chicks. The city of Cedar Rapids has set dates for the reading of the backyard hen ordinance. First reading is next Tuesday so all you CLUCers be there in your yellow shirts!

I received the following email from Sandi Fowler, the city assistant manager today:

"Here is an update on the timeline for adoption of the Urban Chicken Ordinance.

We will have the first reading of the Ordinance on the June 22, 2010 Council agenda.  It is at the end of (a rather long) agenda.   We will also have a motion setting a public hearing to make the necessary changes to the Zoning Ordinance. 

The public hearing will be held at the next Council meeting on July 13.  Also at that meeting will be the 2^nd and 3^rd readings of the Urban Chicken Ordinance.  Finally, all three readings are set to occur that night for the Zoning Ordinance changes. 

The Zoning changes will also be on the City Planning Commission agenda for June 22. "

Chicken ordinance drafted

We finally received the draft ordinance from the city of Cedar Rapids. We are very happy with the 6 hens, no roosters ordinance. Unfortunately, we will have to wait until zoning changes are made to accommodate chicken coops before we can move forward with approving the ordinance. I received the following in an email from Sandi Fowler, the assistant city manager.

"I am not able to definitely give you the time line for adoption of this ordinance.  Unfortunately, we have concluded that there are specific prohibitions in the Zoning Ordinance which will conflict with this ordinance.  The Zoning Ordinance has specific requirements that the City Planning Commission review any changes, that a public hearing be held prior to changes, and then the three readings (which may be held concurrently) of the ordinance.  Due to these state law requirements, the time line for adoption of the zoning changes will not be able to occur until the July 27 City Council meeting."

So, we are still waiting but are hopeful that the city can rush this through so that folks can still get chicks this summer. Time is running out, however.

Download Urban Chicken Ordinance (June 16 2010)

Download Urban Chicken Ordinance Matrix 06 22 2010

Pimp my coop

Pimp your Coop! Pimp my ride, make way for pimp my coop! Here are some great ideas for fun and innovative coop design. Take these pictures to your next city council meeting! Mine will be pimp-worthy soon, but right now half of it is still in the garage. Augh! Pimping done right takes time.

Cherry picking...or not

It's cherry picking time. The little globes of iridescent red look like light is emitting from the inside out when the sun shines. Unfortunately, the sun hasn't shined much since the first glow of pink turned to brilliant red. I've been able to reach the low fruit but the ground is so soft the standing on a ladder ends up throwing me over the fence as the ladder mires itself in my sandy loam up to the the third rung. Yuck. Of course the shimmering spheres will not go to waste. They are delicacy for every robin, cardinal, blue jay, sparrow, squirrel, chipmunk and anyone else that can maneuver the branches. Maybe this afternoon I can work on getting the left overs...

Summer salads are here

Yesterday was the first pickup for Abbe Hills Farm CSA. We drove out to the farm and parked in the grass. We checked out the new chicken tractor coop, said hi to the hens and gawked at the new ducks. In the shed we loaded up on fresh lettuces, spinach, turnips and some not-so familiar vegis that will stretch my culinary skills this summer...The big pay-off was a dinner last night. Such a tasty salad we had! Can't get flavor like that when it's shipped 1,500 miles. It's gonna be a great summer.

Join the "Million Gallon Challenge" and help stop flooding in Iowa

State Senator Rob Hogg, Chair of the Senate Rebuild Iowa Committee, and Jean Wiedenheft, Margaret Wolter, and Don Johnson of the Indian Creek Nature Center participated in a press conference yesterday to discuss individual and state actions that can reduce future flood damage. Join the challenge by purchasing a 65 gallon rain barrel from the Indian Creek Nature Center...or two or three! It will help reduce the amount of water going into the water shed this spring and reduce the chances of flooding.
 

 

Other things you can do:  Watch where rain collects on your property during a storm. Anywhere the water pools is an opportunity to decrease runoff.

1. Install a rain barrel

- Rain barrels reduce runoff, reduce pressure on aquifers for watering a garden, and they can reduce a water usage bill or electric usage bill (city or well).

2. Plant a rain garden

- Rain gardens reduce runoff, provide beauty and wildlife, and ensure less lawn area to mow.

3. Install permeable paving (grasspave, gravelpave, concrete, asphalt, pavers)

- Permeable paving depends on a clean rock subbase to retain the water under the pavement, where water can percolate slowly into the surrounding soil.

4. Plant native wildflowers and shrubs

- Native plants have deep roots that decrease watering needs and increase an area’s natural beauty, interest, and wildlife habitat. Plating wildlife also leads to less area to mow and reduced energy usage.

5. Plant low-mow lawns

- Low-mow lawns have deeper root systems that hold water well and therefore require less watering.

Winter Neverland

It's this time of year when I am pretty certain that summer will never come again. It's been gloomy and cloudy for about 2 weeks straight and just when we get the driveway cleared off it snows again. When I'm convinced that I am going to permanently see black and white out of my front window I am rescued by the arrival of the seed and hatchery catalogs! Two sure signs of spring...tomato seedlings on the window sill and baby chicks peeping in the garage. I don't know about you, but it takes every ounce of restraint not to buy at least one of everything from my favorite seed catalog (http://www.seedsavers.org). If only I had more sun and less hill I could make a serious dent in their inventory. But alas, I have only a small vegetable plot strategically positioned to capture the best sunlight my wooded lot can offer...which isn't great. I keep threatening to pot up the driveway since it gets the best sun...Now is the time for plotting and scheming. Which vegetables will do best? Can I rotate through more greens? How can I extend my growing season? How many hens can I have before the city figures it out and hauls them away...and maybe me, too? Best not to think about that. Focus on the warm breezes over the cool earth...it will happen. I think. At least the cardinal outside my window thinks so. He's singing up a storm!

The joy of eggs

Who knew how exciting the first eggs from your very own food generating chickens could be? After months of fussing and worrying the small protein packages just appear one day. One of my hens is a real over-achiever and began laying at 16 weeks! I was not prepared and the poor thing laid her first egg on the ground. I felt like I'd let her down not having the nest boxes prepared with carpet bottoms and golf ball decoys. We quickly remedied that and now she regularly lays an egg a day in the nest. Today, another of her sisters caught on and laid an egg of her own. There was rejoicing in the household...we're such geeks. Still, it is a wonder that a 5 pound hen can take my grass, weeds and kitchen scraps and turn things that I would have thrown away into a neat package of perfect food. The yolks are orange and make the most beautiful (and tasty) yellow omelets. And, these eggs are much better for us than the factory farm raised kind. According the Mother Earth News, you can feel good about the nutrient punch that you get from your home raised eggs:

1⁄3 less cholesterol
1⁄4 less saturated fat
2⁄3 more vitamin A
2 times more omega-3 fatty acids
3 times more vitamin E
7 times more beta carotene
4-6 times more vitamin D

I'm surprised that we as an urban society ever gave up on backyard chickens. They require so little from us and the benefits are great. My chickens work hard for me in the garden eating weeds and bug pests. They'll prepare the garden soil for planting by scratching in the dirt in early spring. They provide hours of entertainment for the family (and the cat) and completely fascinate our grandson. In return, they need fresh water, chicken feed and protection from predators. A healthy symbiotic relationship...it's a good life for both of us.

Iowa City and Cedar Rapids chicken lovers unite!

I am pleased to say that Iowa City Friends of Urban Chickens and the Cedar Rapids Chicken Chat groups are both bringing the film "Mad City Chickens" to their respective areas next month. Please mark your calendars and tell your friends. It's important that the council members from both communities see that there is genuine and enthusiastic support for raising hens in our urban gardens.

Mad City Chickensis a sometimes serious, sometimes whimsical look at the people who keep urban chickens in their backyards. From chicken experts and authors to a rescued landfill hen or an inexperienced family that decides to take the poultry plunge—and even a mad scientist and giant hen taking to the streets—it’s a humorous and heartfelt trip through the world of backyard chickendom.

You can view movie trailers and find out more about the film's producers at http://www.tarazod.com/filmsmadchicks.html.

For Iowa City folks:

IC Friends of Urban Chickens and Iowa City Environmental Film Festival presents
Mad City Chickens
Saturday, June 27, 2009
2 p.m screening with film maker Q&A to follow
Robert A Lee Recreation Center
220 S Gilbert St Iowa City (downtown)

www.iowacityurbanchickens.ning.com

For Cedar Rapids folks:

Indian Creek Nature Center presents
Mad City Chickens
Sunday, June 28, 2009
2 p.m. screening with film maker Q&A to follow
Indian Creek Nature Center
6665 Otis Road S.E. 52403
Cedar Rapids, Iowa

To join our little group in Cedar Rapids, email me at greenat50@yahoo.com.

 

Chickens in Cedar Rapids

It has begun. The movement to allow a few laying hens in urban communities has arrived in Cedar Rapids. A few weeks ago, the Indian Creek Nature Center held a class called "Raising Chickens in your Backyard" and a surprising 29 people attended...all interested in raising a few hens for eggs in their backyards. So, the Cedar Rapids ChickenChat group was formed. We had our first meeting Saturday night and we formed an action plan to request an ordinance change from the city council. It is our hope that Cedar Rapids will soon become one of the progressive communities, like New York, Seattle and Madison, WI that allows folks to raise a few hens at home. In these difficult economic times, it's comforting to have some control over our food source and know that it is healthy for our families. We know that raising chickens isn't for everyone, but for those that have the time and desire, it's a matter of personal choice and freedom.

To join our little group to help raise awareness and interest in raising urban chickens, send me an email at rebecca@greenat50.com.

Chicken cha-ching

The chicks are no longer the soft downy cuddle-balls that they were a few weeks ago. At four weeks, I think it is safe to say they are now in full adolescence. They have big feet, squawky voices and the feather/down combination looks like a bad haircut. The weather was nice over the weekend, so they spent quite a bit of time in our courtyard, scratching and pecking away at a whole new world. It was peaceful drinking coffee in the warm afternoon sun while my own little flock explored yet another aspect of what it means to be Chicken.

Of course, raising chickens does cost money...and being the budget conscious one in the family, I try to balance the costs with the benefits of any new project. Some of the benefits of chickens are hard to attach a dollar amount to...like eating more heathfully and being more self-sufficient. Other things are more concrete. Below I've taken a stab at a figuring the cost/benefit of raising chickens at my house:

COSTS: $346 for first year

Chicken tractor:    $140 for wood, hardware and wire (You could do this for much less, or much more. We wanted something that we could move around the yard while still keeping the chickens confined. I also wanted something that looked good in the yard.)

Chickens:             $35 for 5 female Red Star chicks and shipping from Connecticut. (Next time I hope to be able to go in with several folks to buy chicks locally so that we don't have to pay for shipping. Most hatcheries will only sell chicks if you buy a 25 chick minimum.)

Supplies:              $40 for chick and chicken feeders/waterers (This includes the small mason jar screw-on feeder and waterer for the chicks and two-gallon size for the grown chickens.)

Bedding:              $50/year for wood shavings/straw. I am going to try shredded newspaper to save money.

Feed:                   $9/40 lb. bag. According to Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens, a laying hen eats a little under two pounds/week. Multiply that times 5 chickens and subtract about 30% that they'll get from free-ranging and kitchen scraps and that's about 9-40 lb. bags per year or $81/year.

BENEFITS: $338/year

Eggs:                    $208/year of large brown eggs after they begin laying (200 eggs/year/chicken at $2.50/dozen in value - somewhere between the cost of commercially grown and organic brown eggs)

Manure:                $30/year savings over purchasing commercial compost/manure. A laying hen produces about 45 pounds of manure a  year.

Grass care:           $100/year in aeration, fertilizing and pest consumption. We are hoping that they only chemical application we have to make to our grass this summer is some lime and/or gypsum.

After figuring in the 4-5 months that it will take the hens to begin laying, we should break even in about 1-1/2 years...after that the cost of replacement chicks, feed and bedding will be our only expenses. I'm not in this to save money, it's really about having more control over what we eat and creating a more self-sustaining lifestyle. What has your experience with chickens been like? Have you had cost savings that you hadn't considered?

To be or not to be....

The chicks are growing like weeds. I had no idea how quickly they grew and developed, or how independent they are. Chick seems to indistinctly know how to peck, scratch, preen and fly...they amaze and delight me every day. I'm starting to relax with them now. The first few days were nerve wracking. This is a different adventure than I've ever tried before and I was sure they were all going to die. Somehow after 3 weeks they are still alive and we are developing a daily routine. Raising chicks is a lot of fun and a lot of work. I'm glad that I did my research before I started this venture...I would highly recommend it to anyone who thinks that they might like to keep urban chickens. Like anything else, there are pros and cons to raising your own food. Here's the list my husband and I made during the "pre-chicken planning process."

PROS:

1. Fresh, healthy eggs from happy chickens. Not from chickens that are raised in a small cage with processed food and artificial light.
2. Fertilize/aerate the yard in the summer by using a chicken tractor (a chicken tractor is a portable coop/run that is moved around the yard.) The tractor confines the chickens while still allowing them to forage for some of their own food. Good for the yard and good for reducing feed costs.
3. Bug control: chickens love bugs, worms and grubs. We have plenty in our yard.
4. Garden aeration in the spring. The chickens will "fluff up" the soil in the garden before it is planted so we don't have to. We'll have to wait until next spring to see how this works out for us.
5. Kitchen scraps turned into food. When the chicks are older, they will eat a good share of our kitchen scraps, reducing what goes into the garbage and our feed costs.
6. Fertilizer for our garden. We have several beds in the yard for flowers and fresh vegetables. Chicken manure is super rich in nitrogen and excellent for the garden - after it is composted. Chicken manure is so high in nitrogen that it will burn growing plants. Composting not only transforms the nitrogen into a form that can be used by the plants, but it also destroys any bacteria, viruses or parasite eggs that might be present.

CONS:

1. Chickens require daily care. They must be locked in their coops at night to prevent predators from picking off a free meal while the chooks snooze. The chicken tractor will need to be moved to allow for new foraging ground and they'll need to be kept in feed and fresh clean water. I'm lucky that my daughter who lives in town likes the chicks and wants to help take care of them. She will be my "chicken sitter" when my husband and I need a little vacation.
2. Not all cities allow chickens. And, don't rely on your city website for good information. Cedar Rapids doesn't mention chickens at all on the animal ordinances web page, but there is a law prohibiting livestock. I hope to work with others interested in raising chickens to persuade the city to get the ordinance changed as so many cities have done across the country (even New York city allows chickens!) We are fortunate that we are pretty isolated on our acre lot. We have neighbors with several acres on either side of us so only 2 or 3 people will ever even have the opportunity to notice we have chickens. We plan to keep them very clean and have an attractive home for them to minimize the opportunity for neighbor complaints.
3. Chickens are messy. An adult hen will produce about 45 pounds of manure every year...and they don't care where they doo it. The chicks produce an amazing number of droppings and I clean their cage out every day. If you can't handle a little (or a lot) of chicken manure, then better stick to buying eggs from someone who can.
4. Raising chickens costs money. I've found that we've had to be pretty careful during our planning process so that we don't spend more on our chickens than we can ever recover. There are some pretty fancy dancy coops our there for several hundred to over one thousand dollars. We are making our own chicken tractor using new materials because we wanted it to be attractive enough to not irritate our neighbors. To save money, you could build the coop out of recycled wood or purchase something used. We figured that we will recoup our expenses, including the coop and the equipment costs in about 2 years. After that we'll just need to take into consideration the cost of replacement chicks, feed and bedding.

Add more green with backyard chickens

  Keeping chickens in an urban setting isn't a new thing. When I visited the early American settlement in Plymouth a couple of summers ago they had a garden and a chicken house in every yard...OK, that was a while ago...and they didn't have a handy grocery store just around the corner. However, it does demonstrate  that Americans started keeping chickens at home a long time ago.  Fast forward to the late 1990s. The movement to keep chickens in the city was revived in London largely because of an ingenious chicken house design called the eglu that was produced and promoted by the Omlet company. The movement rapidly spread to west coast cities in the U.S. like Seattle and Portland, where keeping chickens in the city was already legal. In the last five years, keeping backyard chickens has continued to become popular across the country...including my backyard here in Iowa. Actually, it's in my garage right now...5 adorable 2-week old chicks that hopefully will grow up to keep my immediate and extended family in eggs for quite a while. We are making our own coop (I can hear my husband drilling as we speak) and plan to have them in the yard in another 4 weeks or so...provided it warms up around here (sounds like snow tomorrow...augh!)  I think that raising pet chickens appeals to me because it makes so much sense from an environmental and health perspective. The chickens will be moved around the yard in a portable coop while fertilizing the yard and eating pesky bugs and grubs. Manure that accumulates during the winter will be composted into the garden to produce as many vegetables that I can produce...ensuring a healthy food supply that is locally grown. And eggs are a superior source of protein...and I like 'em! Now that's a whole lot more than I get from my cat...sorry, Maggie. I'll give you the blow-by-blow as we go through this adventure including the costs/savings involved...happy clucking!

The buzz about bees...

Last year we learned that there was a loss of about 35% of bees across the United States due to Colony Collapse Disorder.  The sudden death of millions of bee colonies caused great concern because of the implications to agriculture since bees are in large part responsible for the pollination of crops. Last May (2007), Congress said that the situation is urgent and agreed that they needed to step in with funds to research Colony Collapse Disorder...funds that are still tied up in red tape. Enter the private sector to save the day. In addition to the beekeepers organizations, (The National Honey Board, Project Apis, The California Bee Breeders, The California Beekeepers, The California Almond Board, the Montana Beekeepers and the Montana Department of Agriculture) many private businesses have stepped to to help save the bees. Isn't that just the American way?  Companies including Haagen Dazs, Dundee Brewing and Burt's Bees have stepped to help save the little guys that are responsible for their success...wahoo!

I've always thought that keeping a few bees would be a fun and environmentally smart thing to do...I have a lovely flower garden and can always use a few more of these guys to keep things growing and blooming.  The family that owns Catawba Convertible Coops thinks so, too. They not only make convertible chicken coops for city dwellers, but they also make small, backyard bee hives. Just think of it...sweet honey and a home that keeps on buzzin'...Mmmm.

Chicken poo for you

I happen to be a big fan of chickens. I visited the Iowa State Fair a couple of weeks ago and my favorite exhibit was in the chicken house…a little noisy with all those roosters in one place (not much different from a bunch of guys in a bar during a big game) but a fascinating assortment of perfect protein producing machines, nonetheless. In fact, I am giving serious consideration to getting my own mini-urban flock for fun and free eggs. It’s been all the rage in Europe now for a while and I’ve been surprised to find out how many Americans are also enjoying raising a few chickens in the city. On a bigger scale, a Bejing chicken farm operation has begun recycling the chicken poo for electricity and using the heat generated by the process to heat the chickens during the winter…pretty cool, huh?

     “Manure is handy for helping out with alternative energy and fuels, and this plant will be pretty significant in terms of getting power from poo. The revamped plant is the Dequingyuan Chicken Farm Waste Utilization Plant, and will reduce CO2 emissions by 95,000 tons a year while producing 14,600 MWh of electricity annually.”  EcoGeek.org

I’m hoping to get eggs, yard fertilizer and bug control from any future chicken stock…it’s nice to know that the huge factory farms are beginning to try and reverse some of the damage that they are inflicting on the environment.