"Today is my first day as a chicken farmer!" crows Lily Kesselman, who is cradling a speckled hen in a lush garden where rows of bell peppers, collard greens and string beans are flourishing on a late Indian summer afternoon.
Behind her, 14 more biddies scratch the dirt in their freshly dug run and explore their coop built by Kesselman and her peeps just the week before.
Neighbors rotate through the hen house to coo over their new feathered friends before signing up for shifts to feed the birds and clean the coop.
Pretty bucolic for the South Bronx, no?
It gets better:
The 4½-month-old hens, a crossbreed of Rhode Island Red and White Leghorn, were hatched from eggs tended by public school students as part of the Queens County Farm Museum's 21-Day Eggs-periment program.
The farm then reared the chicks before donating them to the Friends of Brook Park in Mott Haven, where community members and "chicken deputies" from local schools will now take over caring for the flock.
"These are New York birds, through and through," says Owen Taylor from the Just Food organization's City Chickens Project.
Taylor launched the City Chickens Project in 2005. It provides training, materials and chickens to help make fresh, locally grown food accessible to New Yorkers.
They've set up 14 chicken coops from Bedford Stuyvesant to East Harlem over the past six years as chicken-rearing has become an increasingly popular part of the urban farm movement. More than 530 members have also joined the New York City Chicken Keepers Meet-up group online.
"Raising chickens in New York City is not unusual," says Taylor. "It's legal, it's sanitary, and if anything, we're going back to normal, to the city's agricultural roots, when everyone used to own their own chickens."
Kesselman first hatched the idea for a backyard chicken run more than a year ago as she became more involved in the Brook Park community garden.
"I am very dedicated to my neighborhood," she says, "and I started thinking that this could be a fun project for the garden."
As she read up on the benefits of owning chickens - the birds aerate and fertilize garden soil, compost kitchen scraps and control the bug population - she realized they could be a great educational tool for kids hooked on sugary drinks and processed foods.
"It's a great way to get neighborhood kids into healthier food by getting them to meet the chickens, interact with them and understand where [our] food comes from," she says.
Together, Taylor and Kesselman scored a $700 grant from the Citizens Committee for New York City to pay for their coop. Kesselman raised another $750 by launching a sponsorship program online, where neighbors and classrooms paid $50 to name a chicken. The money goes toward feed, the project's biggest expense. The 15 birds will run through a 50-pound bag of feed (about $20 apiece) every month.
The sponsors also get a glossy 4-by-6 photo of their hen provided by Kesselman, a professional photographer.
The community is already fussing over the new chicks on the block, which they hope will provide up to 4,300 eggs per year (to be doled out on the honor system) once the hens begin laying in the next month or so.
"Oh my goodness, I'm holding a chicken!" laughs high school sophomore Amanda Johnson, 15, who is using her service hours in the park for a class volunteer project. "It's just so funny. The only time you ever see chickens in the Bronx is on a menu."
2011年9月28日星期三
Bees, chicken rules still up in the air
It may not be until early next year before Corte Madera lands regulations about beekeeping and having chicken coops within town limits.
The Planning Commission hosted a second workshop on Sept. 13 and will not address the topic again until Oct. 11.
“The Planning Commission asked for more information and analysis,” said Corte Madera Planning Director Dan Bell. “We will also redraft a set of standards.”
Even if any new regulations move forward with relatively few obstacles, it could be well into November before the Town Council addresses the matter. With public hearings and the council needing a second reading to adopt such amendments, the issue could linger into January.
“The [Sept. 13] workshop was again well attended,” Bell wrote in a report to the Town Council.
“The public and Planning Commission responded to a draft set of regulations/standards for keeping of bees and chickens. The general tenor of the public testimony and Planning Commission response was that regulations/standards should be minimal and if there are future complaints about backyard operations they should be dealt with pursuant to the nuisance ordinance.”
Not everyone agreed. “In stark contrast, the original complainant … argues strongly that backyard keeping of bees and chickens is not appropriate in residential neighborhoods,” Bell added.
Bell said one of the first things he did upon realizing that the issue would be heading to Town Hall was to take a look at how neighboring municipalities are dealing with residents keen on having bees or chickens.
“Generally speaking, there are more-established standards for backyard keeping of chickens than there are for backyard keeping of bees,” a Corte Madera Planning Department staff report stated.
“There appear to be ample local examples of standards for keeping of chickens, if it is decided to amend Corte Madera’s current zoning ordinance. These standards generally allow a maximum number of chickens (not roosters), with additional standards for location and maintenance of chicken coops.”
Several Marin municipalities (Mill Valley, Novato, Ross, San Anselmo and the county) have no regulations whatsoever regarding beekeeping, while others require that residents obtain a permit to keep bees.
Only San Anselmo fails to regulate the keeping of chickens, as the rest of the county places limits on quantity (no more than a dozen chickens is the most lenient rule) and location — typically nowhere near public access or neighbors.
“Staff has reviewed numerous regulatory standards from other local, statewide and nationwide jurisdictions pertaining to the noncommercial (backyard) keeping of bees and chickens,” a staff report read.
“Corte Madera residents have assisted staff by providing documents and Web links on the subject. Not surprisingly, regulatory standards range from complete prohibition to strict regulatory standards to unregulated. The draft standards, as currently written by staff, would effectively prohibit keeping of bees and chickens on small-size parcels that could not meet the proposed lot size or proposed setback standards … Property owners that can provide evidence that the keeping of bees and chickens have operated on their property before March 1978 are ‘grandfathered’ and may continue to operate, since they would pre-date regulatory controls that were enacted by the comprehensive March 1978 Zoning Ordinance Amendment.”
The Planning Commission hosted a second workshop on Sept. 13 and will not address the topic again until Oct. 11.
“The Planning Commission asked for more information and analysis,” said Corte Madera Planning Director Dan Bell. “We will also redraft a set of standards.”
Even if any new regulations move forward with relatively few obstacles, it could be well into November before the Town Council addresses the matter. With public hearings and the council needing a second reading to adopt such amendments, the issue could linger into January.
“The [Sept. 13] workshop was again well attended,” Bell wrote in a report to the Town Council.
“The public and Planning Commission responded to a draft set of regulations/standards for keeping of bees and chickens. The general tenor of the public testimony and Planning Commission response was that regulations/standards should be minimal and if there are future complaints about backyard operations they should be dealt with pursuant to the nuisance ordinance.”
Not everyone agreed. “In stark contrast, the original complainant … argues strongly that backyard keeping of bees and chickens is not appropriate in residential neighborhoods,” Bell added.
Bell said one of the first things he did upon realizing that the issue would be heading to Town Hall was to take a look at how neighboring municipalities are dealing with residents keen on having bees or chickens.
“Generally speaking, there are more-established standards for backyard keeping of chickens than there are for backyard keeping of bees,” a Corte Madera Planning Department staff report stated.
“There appear to be ample local examples of standards for keeping of chickens, if it is decided to amend Corte Madera’s current zoning ordinance. These standards generally allow a maximum number of chickens (not roosters), with additional standards for location and maintenance of chicken coops.”
Several Marin municipalities (Mill Valley, Novato, Ross, San Anselmo and the county) have no regulations whatsoever regarding beekeeping, while others require that residents obtain a permit to keep bees.
Only San Anselmo fails to regulate the keeping of chickens, as the rest of the county places limits on quantity (no more than a dozen chickens is the most lenient rule) and location — typically nowhere near public access or neighbors.
“Staff has reviewed numerous regulatory standards from other local, statewide and nationwide jurisdictions pertaining to the noncommercial (backyard) keeping of bees and chickens,” a staff report read.
“Corte Madera residents have assisted staff by providing documents and Web links on the subject. Not surprisingly, regulatory standards range from complete prohibition to strict regulatory standards to unregulated. The draft standards, as currently written by staff, would effectively prohibit keeping of bees and chickens on small-size parcels that could not meet the proposed lot size or proposed setback standards … Property owners that can provide evidence that the keeping of bees and chickens have operated on their property before March 1978 are ‘grandfathered’ and may continue to operate, since they would pre-date regulatory controls that were enacted by the comprehensive March 1978 Zoning Ordinance Amendment.”
2011年9月27日星期二
She'd prefer poultry as pets
Carisa, though, isn't counting her chickens quite yet. And her grandfather, Stephen Fogt, who offered to build her a coop , isn't zipping over to the lumber yard any time soon.
The new zoning law must be drafted, reviewed by the Planning Commission and sent back to the board for final approval, said Fogt, who twice has addressed the township on behalf of his granddaughter.
"We want to do it the right way," said Fogt, of Bethlehem, who knows it could take months before they get the official green light. "Carisa has wanted chickens for a long time, and there weren't provisions to deal with a couple of hens."
Carisa's wish to house two small hens clashes with a decades-old ordinance aimed at preventing commercial chicken farms from sprouting up in residential neighborhoods. The Fogts live on half an acre in Orefield, and under the current zoning law, she would need at least 5 acres to meet the zoning requirements to have even one chicken.
"You could see this is not Winchester Heights," said Fogt, referring to a local upscale development, then motioning to the garages and sheds that surround his daughter Julie's rural lot.
After their initial request was denied by the zoning board, the Fogts returned to the township, asking commissioners to rewrite the ordinance, keeping residents like Carisa in mind.
"We listened to her story and thought it might be possible to change our ordinance to include hens as pets," Ellesworth said. "Everyone seems to want to find a way to accommodate them."
Townships and cities across the state are finding ways to make room for backyard poultry.
Philip Clauer, instructor for Penn State's 4-H Youth and Specialty Poultry program, said the trend of changing ordinances to allow raising of poultry in urban areas has been popular since 2007.
"Some people feel better producing their own food, and chickens are small, inexpensive and easy to raise," Clauer said. "I also see more people getting back to doing family projects with their extra time instead of traveling or more expensive activities with the family."
The issue was explored in a recent online forum, hosted by the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors. Some townships adjusted ordinances to allow for chickens, with laws varying to consider lot sizes and the nature of the community.
Brian Moyer, program assistant with Lehigh County's Penn State Cooperative Extension office, said the struggle is familiar and a growing number of residents are "adamant about having these ordinances changed."
Not all townships bend their rules, though.
Clauer, based in State College, Centre County, said about half of the townships in his area accepted proposed changes and the other half refused revisions.
And in recent years, he said, some chicken owners who helped spark the poultry trend have backed out.
"Interesting thing is many people that started raising urban chickens three to five years ago no longer have their chickens," he said. "It is a neat idea until people realize they need daily care and are different than pets."
Carisa has been fascinated with chickens since she was a toddler, and can rattle off the names of more than a dozen chickens at her grandmother's Bucks County house, including Cookie, Sparkle and Thelma, the boss of the bunch.
"I want to collect my own eggs and have my own chickens — just two little hens," Carisa said.
Carisa plans to keep them in acoop , which would be at least 100 feet from the nearest neighbor — a plan that got the preliminary nod of the township earlier this month.
The new zoning law must be drafted, reviewed by the Planning Commission and sent back to the board for final approval, said Fogt, who twice has addressed the township on behalf of his granddaughter.
"We want to do it the right way," said Fogt, of Bethlehem, who knows it could take months before they get the official green light. "Carisa has wanted chickens for a long time, and there weren't provisions to deal with a couple of hens."
Carisa's wish to house two small hens clashes with a decades-old ordinance aimed at preventing commercial chicken farms from sprouting up in residential neighborhoods. The Fogts live on half an acre in Orefield, and under the current zoning law, she would need at least 5 acres to meet the zoning requirements to have even one chicken.
"You could see this is not Winchester Heights," said Fogt, referring to a local upscale development, then motioning to the garages and sheds that surround his daughter Julie's rural lot.
After their initial request was denied by the zoning board, the Fogts returned to the township, asking commissioners to rewrite the ordinance, keeping residents like Carisa in mind.
"We listened to her story and thought it might be possible to change our ordinance to include hens as pets," Ellesworth said. "Everyone seems to want to find a way to accommodate them."
Townships and cities across the state are finding ways to make room for backyard poultry.
Philip Clauer, instructor for Penn State's 4-H Youth and Specialty Poultry program, said the trend of changing ordinances to allow raising of poultry in urban areas has been popular since 2007.
"Some people feel better producing their own food, and chickens are small, inexpensive and easy to raise," Clauer said. "I also see more people getting back to doing family projects with their extra time instead of traveling or more expensive activities with the family."
The issue was explored in a recent online forum, hosted by the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors. Some townships adjusted ordinances to allow for chickens, with laws varying to consider lot sizes and the nature of the community.
Brian Moyer, program assistant with Lehigh County's Penn State Cooperative Extension office, said the struggle is familiar and a growing number of residents are "adamant about having these ordinances changed."
Not all townships bend their rules, though.
Clauer, based in State College, Centre County, said about half of the townships in his area accepted proposed changes and the other half refused revisions.
And in recent years, he said, some chicken owners who helped spark the poultry trend have backed out.
"Interesting thing is many people that started raising urban chickens three to five years ago no longer have their chickens," he said. "It is a neat idea until people realize they need daily care and are different than pets."
Carisa has been fascinated with chickens since she was a toddler, and can rattle off the names of more than a dozen chickens at her grandmother's Bucks County house, including Cookie, Sparkle and Thelma, the boss of the bunch.
"I want to collect my own eggs and have my own chickens — just two little hens," Carisa said.
Carisa plans to keep them in a
2011年9月26日星期一
Umno's non-stop political games go into overdrive
And there are many who think that Dr M has thrown a fox into the chicken coop or set a cat among the canaries by
bringing up the Hudud issue to throw Pakatan into disarray and break the momentum of public support for Pakatan.
Dr M is sharp but not sharp enough. For the Pakatan leaders are now alert to his cunning ways and mind-bending schemes
and know that his main motive is to destabilise Pakatan.
With this in mind, no one in Pakatan is going to embark on any foolish move as all Pakatan leaders can read his ploy
and will not do anything silly to jeopardise the good working relationship and co-operation between all three Pakatan
component parties.
Therefore, the raising of the Hudud issue will not break-up Pakatan. Fullstop. It is just a storm in a teacup.
Another reason for Dr M to raise the Hudud issue is to assist in the revival of MCA as this issue presents an excellent
opportunity for MCA to be a Chinese hero by voicing out the so-called Chinese fears of Hudud.
The Chinese, for that matter is not so perturbed over Hudud as logic dictates that it is only a law affecting the
Muslims and has nothing whatsoever to do with the Chinese. Of course if the Chinese is a Muslim, then it is his
religious duty and religious obligation to support Hudud.
Thus, the raising of the Hudud issue is only a shadow-play to woo the Chinese vote, the last bastion of votes which so
far have eluded Umno's grasp and continues to be as elusive as ever.
The Chinese are not concerned with Hudud as with the issue of the rising cost of living especially the price of basic
necessities and foodstuffs. Housewives in the wet market are complaining that the price of everything have gone up by
leaps and bounds and that the Ringgit is getting increasingly smaller these days.
The Hudud issue is non-existent in the minds of the Chinese. Therefore, the myth that the Chinese are very afraid of
Hudud is only just that – a myth. What the Chinese are afraid of is the prices of goods continuously rising higher
and higher by the week and this shrinks the money in their pocket.
Be that as it may, the attempt to drive a wedge between DAP and PAS via the Hudud issue is a good ploy by Dr M, good
but not brilliant. It is to be commended of course, from the strategy point of view, coming so dangerously close to
the general election.
But in the era of new politics, the citizens are not as gullible as during the old days. Umno has to realise this and
while it can be said that they never tire of throwing spanners in the works of Pakatan, their actions are futile as the
citizens can detect Umno's never-ending games while the management and administration of the nation is running on
autopilot.
Although the mainstream media tries to play-up the non-existent feud between PAS and DAP over the Hudud issue, their
efforts will prove to be in vain as many readers of the mainstream media take the news with a pinch of salt.
Of course the rural folks will be deceived but in the end truth will prevail as the issues raised by Umno die out one
by one. A case in point is the issue pertaining to the Christian Prime Minister because till to-date, there is no
Christian Prime Minister or even the semblance of one forthcoming. And so this issue has died a natural death as it
has run its course and outlived its usefulness.
In the end, there is only one way for Umno to win the general election: via the power of money. Umno has no other way
except to buy their way through and enlist the aid of foreign workers.
This then is the hallmark of a dying regime trying to extend its lifeline on the seat of power. Week in, week out,
there will be issues raised by Umno to attack Pakatan. They go into overdrive and work overtime trying to topple
Pakatan and so the management of the economy goes on the back-burner. All these came about due to the political
tsunami of 2008.
Why is this so? A Chinese saying comes to mind: When you kill your enemy, make sure he dies properly. This is so that
he does not recover to cause chaos later. This then is what happened in 2008.
If Umno was annihilated in 2008, there would not be these problems today. But Umno was not wiped out and so they have
recovered to cause trouble for the Opposition. This means that the sorry state of affairs today is due in no small
part to the Malaysian voters who did not annihilate Umno totally in 2008.
bringing up the Hudud issue to throw Pakatan into disarray and break the momentum of public support for Pakatan.
Dr M is sharp but not sharp enough. For the Pakatan leaders are now alert to his cunning ways and mind-bending schemes
and know that his main motive is to destabilise Pakatan.
With this in mind, no one in Pakatan is going to embark on any foolish move as all Pakatan leaders can read his ploy
and will not do anything silly to jeopardise the good working relationship and co-operation between all three Pakatan
component parties.
Therefore, the raising of the Hudud issue will not break-up Pakatan. Fullstop. It is just a storm in a teacup.
Another reason for Dr M to raise the Hudud issue is to assist in the revival of MCA as this issue presents an excellent
opportunity for MCA to be a Chinese hero by voicing out the so-called Chinese fears of Hudud.
The Chinese, for that matter is not so perturbed over Hudud as logic dictates that it is only a law affecting the
Muslims and has nothing whatsoever to do with the Chinese. Of course if the Chinese is a Muslim, then it is his
religious duty and religious obligation to support Hudud.
Thus, the raising of the Hudud issue is only a shadow-play to woo the Chinese vote, the last bastion of votes which so
far have eluded Umno's grasp and continues to be as elusive as ever.
The Chinese are not concerned with Hudud as with the issue of the rising cost of living especially the price of basic
necessities and foodstuffs. Housewives in the wet market are complaining that the price of everything have gone up by
leaps and bounds and that the Ringgit is getting increasingly smaller these days.
The Hudud issue is non-existent in the minds of the Chinese. Therefore, the myth that the Chinese are very afraid of
Hudud is only just that – a myth. What the Chinese are afraid of is the prices of goods continuously rising higher
and higher by the week and this shrinks the money in their pocket.
Be that as it may, the attempt to drive a wedge between DAP and PAS via the Hudud issue is a good ploy by Dr M, good
but not brilliant. It is to be commended of course, from the strategy point of view, coming so dangerously close to
the general election.
But in the era of new politics, the citizens are not as gullible as during the old days. Umno has to realise this and
while it can be said that they never tire of throwing spanners in the works of Pakatan, their actions are futile as the
citizens can detect Umno's never-ending games while the management and administration of the nation is running on
autopilot.
Although the mainstream media tries to play-up the non-existent feud between PAS and DAP over the Hudud issue, their
efforts will prove to be in vain as many readers of the mainstream media take the news with a pinch of salt.
Of course the rural folks will be deceived but in the end truth will prevail as the issues raised by Umno die out one
by one. A case in point is the issue pertaining to the Christian Prime Minister because till to-date, there is no
Christian Prime Minister or even the semblance of one forthcoming. And so this issue has died a natural death as it
has run its course and outlived its usefulness.
In the end, there is only one way for Umno to win the general election: via the power of money. Umno has no other way
except to buy their way through and enlist the aid of foreign workers.
This then is the hallmark of a dying regime trying to extend its lifeline on the seat of power. Week in, week out,
there will be issues raised by Umno to attack Pakatan. They go into overdrive and work overtime trying to topple
Pakatan and so the management of the economy goes on the back-burner. All these came about due to the political
tsunami of 2008.
Why is this so? A Chinese saying comes to mind: When you kill your enemy, make sure he dies properly. This is so that
he does not recover to cause chaos later. This then is what happened in 2008.
If Umno was annihilated in 2008, there would not be these problems today. But Umno was not wiped out and so they have
recovered to cause trouble for the Opposition. This means that the sorry state of affairs today is due in no small
part to the Malaysian voters who did not annihilate Umno totally in 2008.
2011年9月25日星期日
City council to deal with fowl play
Will the chickens come home to roost in local backyards, or will the city maintain its prohibition against fowl within city limits?
That question will come before the Glenwood Springs City Council on Oct. 20 in a staff report laying out the pros and cons of the idea of letting residents keep chickens in their backyards.
There appears to be considerable support on the side of backyard chicken coops and the birds that live in them.
For one thing, every other town in Garfield County permits residents to keep chickens on their private property, under a variety of conditions. And many other towns and cities around the county, including Denver and New York City, permit chickens to be kept on private property.
“I support letting people raise chickens,” said Mary Russell of Glenwood Springs. “I want people to eat locally.”
Russell said she buys eggs from someone keeping chickens in Carbondale, but would prefer to get her eggs closer to home.
“If people are allowed to have dogs in their yards, they should certainly be allowed to have chickens,” said Roxanne Bank, a Carbondale resident who once lived in Glenwood Springs. She recently spoke before the Glenwood Springs City council in favor of revising the city's chicken policy. Her message, speaking from experience, is that living next door to backyard chickens is no problem at all.
Jennifer Vanian, a Glenwood Springs resident recently ticketed for raising chickens in her backyard, also has asked the council to change the law and let the chickens roost here.
“I've raised them since I was 16 years old, and never really had any problems,” she said, arguing that it is better for people to eat locally produced foods that are fresh and come from a known source.
Chickens offer other advantages to the community, she said.
They offer a job for kids that teaches them about food production, which has more meaning than, say, keeping their rooms clean, Vanian said.
“I think it creates character, responsibility, compassion, as well as a feeling of being needed,” she said of the task of raising chickens. “And I think it goes a long way toward creating food security within a town.”
For instance, she recalled a time some years ago when an avalanche closed I-70 to Denver for three days. Grocery deliveries were interrupted, local supplies ran low and speculation was rife concerning serious shortages.
In addition, chicken waste is productive, she said.
“It creates great soil,” she said, and can be tilled into a backyard garden, forging another link in the local food chain.
Rules for keeping chickens
Vanian has proposed rules that would permit up to six hens per household, but no roosters.
The chickens would have to be kept in covered outdoor pens, with fencing buried six inches into the ground to prevent escapes and keep out predators, among other proposed guidelines.
Her ideas are already in use in other towns around Garfield County. Most communities permit hens but no roosters, and place limits on the numbers of birds allowed.
While chickens have their ardent supporters, Glenwood Springs Police Chief Terry Wilson said some object to chickens being kept by their neighbors. The worries center on odors, noise, and the possibility that a chicken coop could attract predators to the neighborhood.
Complaints about under-the-radar chicken keeping in Glenwood Springs have been “very sporadic, and very widespread” since he has been chief.
“The best one was, we had someone that had quite a flock of them at his house a number of years ago,” the chief recalled with a laugh. The very young chicks somehow got out of their coop.
“We had literally hundreds of these little chicks running rampant,” he continued, still chuckling.
“It was a terrible situation, absolutely horrible,” he concluded, tongue firmly in cheek.
More seriously, he said, residents have complained about the noise and odors emanating from chicken coops in a neighbor's yard.
Vanian, who acknowledged that she was cited recently by police for having chickens, said her campaign to get the city law changed grew out of that encounter.
“My experience has been positive, with the police, and I've worked on it with the code enforcement officer,” she explained. “I'm trying to do this in a way that everybody wins.”
Glenwood Springs development director Andrew McGregor said his office is putting together “a white paper, if you will,” to be presented to the council at its meeting on Oct. 20.
“We see in our own professional literature that it's happening all over the country,” said McGregor. The question for this community is whether there are “unique characteristics in Glenwood Springs that might make it problematic.”
One could be predators such as mountain lions, foxes and coyotes that might be drawn to a chicken coop.
“I think the devil is in the details,” McGregor continued, saying he will be checking with state wildlife officials, the county health department and other government entities as he puts his report together for the council.
That question will come before the Glenwood Springs City Council on Oct. 20 in a staff report laying out the pros and cons of the idea of letting residents keep chickens in their backyards.
There appears to be considerable support on the side of backyard chicken coops and the birds that live in them.
For one thing, every other town in Garfield County permits residents to keep chickens on their private property, under a variety of conditions. And many other towns and cities around the county, including Denver and New York City, permit chickens to be kept on private property.
“I support letting people raise chickens,” said Mary Russell of Glenwood Springs. “I want people to eat locally.”
Russell said she buys eggs from someone keeping chickens in Carbondale, but would prefer to get her eggs closer to home.
“If people are allowed to have dogs in their yards, they should certainly be allowed to have chickens,” said Roxanne Bank, a Carbondale resident who once lived in Glenwood Springs. She recently spoke before the Glenwood Springs City council in favor of revising the city's chicken policy. Her message, speaking from experience, is that living next door to backyard chickens is no problem at all.
Jennifer Vanian, a Glenwood Springs resident recently ticketed for raising chickens in her backyard, also has asked the council to change the law and let the chickens roost here.
“I've raised them since I was 16 years old, and never really had any problems,” she said, arguing that it is better for people to eat locally produced foods that are fresh and come from a known source.
Chickens offer other advantages to the community, she said.
They offer a job for kids that teaches them about food production, which has more meaning than, say, keeping their rooms clean, Vanian said.
“I think it creates character, responsibility, compassion, as well as a feeling of being needed,” she said of the task of raising chickens. “And I think it goes a long way toward creating food security within a town.”
For instance, she recalled a time some years ago when an avalanche closed I-70 to Denver for three days. Grocery deliveries were interrupted, local supplies ran low and speculation was rife concerning serious shortages.
In addition, chicken waste is productive, she said.
“It creates great soil,” she said, and can be tilled into a backyard garden, forging another link in the local food chain.
Rules for keeping chickens
Vanian has proposed rules that would permit up to six hens per household, but no roosters.
The chickens would have to be kept in covered outdoor pens, with fencing buried six inches into the ground to prevent escapes and keep out predators, among other proposed guidelines.
Her ideas are already in use in other towns around Garfield County. Most communities permit hens but no roosters, and place limits on the numbers of birds allowed.
While chickens have their ardent supporters, Glenwood Springs Police Chief Terry Wilson said some object to chickens being kept by their neighbors. The worries center on odors, noise, and the possibility that a chicken coop could attract predators to the neighborhood.
Complaints about under-the-radar chicken keeping in Glenwood Springs have been “very sporadic, and very widespread” since he has been chief.
“The best one was, we had someone that had quite a flock of them at his house a number of years ago,” the chief recalled with a laugh. The very young chicks somehow got out of their coop.
“We had literally hundreds of these little chicks running rampant,” he continued, still chuckling.
“It was a terrible situation, absolutely horrible,” he concluded, tongue firmly in cheek.
More seriously, he said, residents have complained about the noise and odors emanating from chicken coops in a neighbor's yard.
Vanian, who acknowledged that she was cited recently by police for having chickens, said her campaign to get the city law changed grew out of that encounter.
“My experience has been positive, with the police, and I've worked on it with the code enforcement officer,” she explained. “I'm trying to do this in a way that everybody wins.”
Glenwood Springs development director Andrew McGregor said his office is putting together “a white paper, if you will,” to be presented to the council at its meeting on Oct. 20.
“We see in our own professional literature that it's happening all over the country,” said McGregor. The question for this community is whether there are “unique characteristics in Glenwood Springs that might make it problematic.”
One could be predators such as mountain lions, foxes and coyotes that might be drawn to a chicken coop.
“I think the devil is in the details,” McGregor continued, saying he will be checking with state wildlife officials, the county health department and other government entities as he puts his report together for the council.
2011年9月22日星期四
Tiny, tiny egg makes big claim
He has at least one very, very, very tiny egg.
Like, world record tiny.
"No pun intended, but I will say when you have the world's smallest chicken egg you can also have the world's smallest omelet," said Russell, a Raleigh County farmer who preaches at Rock Creek Community Church.
The little egg made its public debut Thursday at an event in state Agriculture Commissioner Gus Douglass' office.
Russell produced a small medicine bottle and a basket. In that basket, a dozen eggs were placed.
From the medicine bottle, a tiny miracle was extracted and placed next to its larger counterparts. Dwarfed by the 12 other others in the basket, there was no doubt that the tiny egg was some sort of record.
"At times it's amazing what you can find in these hills of West Virginia," Douglass proclaimed after seeing the world's smallest egg on his desk.
Russell collected the egg, which is hardly bigger than a dime, on July 28 in the chicken coop on his Rock Creek farm in Raleigh County with his wife, Karen.
"We were both looking at it with our mouths open. It's something that took every word from us," he said.
He knew he had something special, so he took it to the state Department of Agriculture to be weighed on scientific scales in the Regulatory and Environmental Affairs Division dairy laboratory.
The egg weighed in on Aug. 9 at .122 ounces, .82 inches long and .66 inches wide.
That's tiny enough to be designated as the world's smallest chicken egg by the World Records Academy. A certificate proclaiming it as such was given to Russell on Thursday.
Like, world record tiny.
"No pun intended, but I will say when you have the world's smallest chicken egg you can also have the world's smallest omelet," said Russell, a Raleigh County farmer who preaches at Rock Creek Community Church.
The little egg made its public debut Thursday at an event in state Agriculture Commissioner Gus Douglass' office.
Russell produced a small medicine bottle and a basket. In that basket, a dozen eggs were placed.
From the medicine bottle, a tiny miracle was extracted and placed next to its larger counterparts. Dwarfed by the 12 other others in the basket, there was no doubt that the tiny egg was some sort of record.
"At times it's amazing what you can find in these hills of West Virginia," Douglass proclaimed after seeing the world's smallest egg on his desk.
Russell collected the egg, which is hardly bigger than a dime, on July 28 in the chicken coop on his Rock Creek farm in Raleigh County with his wife, Karen.
"We were both looking at it with our mouths open. It's something that took every word from us," he said.
He knew he had something special, so he took it to the state Department of Agriculture to be weighed on scientific scales in the Regulatory and Environmental Affairs Division dairy laboratory.
The egg weighed in on Aug. 9 at .122 ounces, .82 inches long and .66 inches wide.
That's tiny enough to be designated as the world's smallest chicken egg by the World Records Academy. A certificate proclaiming it as such was given to Russell on Thursday.
2011年9月21日星期三
Chicken Chatter Will Continue
"Don't think we don't listen to you. You've already changed the thinking about this, no matter what happens," said Deputy Mayor Fred Profeta tonight to the many local residents who showed at Town Hall to protest the pending introduction of an ordinance allowing for raising backyard chickens in Maplewood.
More than a dozen residents had spoken during public comments against such an ordinance, citing issues such as rats, guano, noise and negatively impacted property values.
A few others spoke in favor, touting the benefits of locally grown food and education — as well as the charms of chickens as pets.
Those in favor included Reesa Salomon who chaired the Green Team Committee that recommended the pilot program and new resident Helen Donaldson, who raised three hens in her small backyard in Australia.
Salomon restated the positive aspects she had spoken about at an earlier Township Commitee meeting — raising food locally and educating children — and added that "if there were major issues, these other town would have shut down" their chicken ordinances. She also argued that the majority of rats were drawn by food left out to feed birds or feral cats.
Jason Hackett offered sometimes conflicting testimony — saying that raising chickens in a suburban environment ought not be attempted, but also adding that, if allowed, butchering chickens should be a part of the ordinance to show the full "circle of life."
Other opponents were simpler and clearer in their opposition.
"I have rats," said Susan Stone of Summit Avenue. "It's very embarrassing." Stone said she could not go in her back yard or have friends over for a barbeque on her deck. "If you add chickens, it's worse. It's disgusting."
Marli Craig of Summit Avenue presented an online petition against the chicken coop ordinance. It had been signed by 84 residents online and three more at the meeting. In response to a change introduced by Profeta that coops and runs would be required to be raised with trays below to capture feces, Craig asked, "Where will those trays be washed and drained?" She said she was worried for the health of her child.
Joan Crystal felt that "the town does not have the greatest record when it comes to enforcing ordinances." She offered the examples of sidewalks and illegal renters. "We leave it to citizens to report."
Jim LoStuto of Summit Avenue wondered who would test the birds to ensure that they were disease-free. He also argued that the schools provide field trips and bring farmers markets into the schools (at least at Tuscan Elementary) to educate children about farming and nutrition. LoStuto also worried about the cost to the town for enforcement.
New resident Michael Goldstein of Midland Boulevard said he and his wife "would emphatically not have purchased a home with a chicken coop adjacent."
Catherine Racette of Midland Boulevard said, "This ordinance doesn't solve anything," noting that there was no shortage of eggs or chickens.
Ultimately, the Township Committee voted 3-2 to allow for an amended ordinance to be introduced on October 4 at the next Township Committee meeting. The second reading of the ordinance and public hearing would take place on October 18.
The ordinance was amended per suggestion of Mayor Vic DeLuca, in deference to public comments, to require that each permit applicant gain approval from neighbors. The ordinance would allow for 15 households throughout town to pilot the program over the course of one year. Also, as Profeta stated, coops and runs would be raised with trays underneath to catch guano; plus, food would be required to be kept indoors overnight so as not to attract rats.
Profeta felt strongly that "market value is about perception." Profeta thought that, although many residents now feel that chicken coops would lower property values, in time, prospective residents would prefer to locate in a town that allowed backyard chickens. In addition, the requirement to gain neighbors' approval would ensure that those opposed would not have to deal with nearby chicken coops.
"Do you think there's a snowball's chance that anybody is going to raise chickens in your neighborhood?" Profeta asked the many residents of the Midland Boulevard and Summit Avenue neighborhood present. "It ain't happening."
DeLuca said he understood that a number of residents who came out to protest the proposed ordinance at this meeting and the last might be frustrated by the continuation of the ordinance, but he said "that's the process." DeLuca said that there may be many more people for or against the pilot program — "we may have barely scratched the surface" — but he said, "I'm of the mind to introduce the ordinance and through the process we will find out."
More than a dozen residents had spoken during public comments against such an ordinance, citing issues such as rats, guano, noise and negatively impacted property values.
A few others spoke in favor, touting the benefits of locally grown food and education — as well as the charms of chickens as pets.
Those in favor included Reesa Salomon who chaired the Green Team Committee that recommended the pilot program and new resident Helen Donaldson, who raised three hens in her small backyard in Australia.
Salomon restated the positive aspects she had spoken about at an earlier Township Commitee meeting — raising food locally and educating children — and added that "if there were major issues, these other town would have shut down" their chicken ordinances. She also argued that the majority of rats were drawn by food left out to feed birds or feral cats.
Jason Hackett offered sometimes conflicting testimony — saying that raising chickens in a suburban environment ought not be attempted, but also adding that, if allowed, butchering chickens should be a part of the ordinance to show the full "circle of life."
Other opponents were simpler and clearer in their opposition.
"I have rats," said Susan Stone of Summit Avenue. "It's very embarrassing." Stone said she could not go in her back yard or have friends over for a barbeque on her deck. "If you add chickens, it's worse. It's disgusting."
Marli Craig of Summit Avenue presented an online petition against the chicken coop ordinance. It had been signed by 84 residents online and three more at the meeting. In response to a change introduced by Profeta that coops and runs would be required to be raised with trays below to capture feces, Craig asked, "Where will those trays be washed and drained?" She said she was worried for the health of her child.
Joan Crystal felt that "the town does not have the greatest record when it comes to enforcing ordinances." She offered the examples of sidewalks and illegal renters. "We leave it to citizens to report."
Jim LoStuto of Summit Avenue wondered who would test the birds to ensure that they were disease-free. He also argued that the schools provide field trips and bring farmers markets into the schools (at least at Tuscan Elementary) to educate children about farming and nutrition. LoStuto also worried about the cost to the town for enforcement.
New resident Michael Goldstein of Midland Boulevard said he and his wife "would emphatically not have purchased a home with a chicken coop adjacent."
Catherine Racette of Midland Boulevard said, "This ordinance doesn't solve anything," noting that there was no shortage of eggs or chickens.
Ultimately, the Township Committee voted 3-2 to allow for an amended ordinance to be introduced on October 4 at the next Township Committee meeting. The second reading of the ordinance and public hearing would take place on October 18.
The ordinance was amended per suggestion of Mayor Vic DeLuca, in deference to public comments, to require that each permit applicant gain approval from neighbors. The ordinance would allow for 15 households throughout town to pilot the program over the course of one year. Also, as Profeta stated, coops and runs would be raised with trays underneath to catch guano; plus, food would be required to be kept indoors overnight so as not to attract rats.
Profeta felt strongly that "market value is about perception." Profeta thought that, although many residents now feel that chicken coops would lower property values, in time, prospective residents would prefer to locate in a town that allowed backyard chickens. In addition, the requirement to gain neighbors' approval would ensure that those opposed would not have to deal with nearby chicken coops.
"Do you think there's a snowball's chance that anybody is going to raise chickens in your neighborhood?" Profeta asked the many residents of the Midland Boulevard and Summit Avenue neighborhood present. "It ain't happening."
DeLuca said he understood that a number of residents who came out to protest the proposed ordinance at this meeting and the last might be frustrated by the continuation of the ordinance, but he said "that's the process." DeLuca said that there may be many more people for or against the pilot program — "we may have barely scratched the surface" — but he said, "I'm of the mind to introduce the ordinance and through the process we will find out."
2011年9月20日星期二
Havelock may allow chickens at school
It may just turn out that the chicken comes before the egg — at least at Havelock High School.
Havelock commissioners agreed to hold a hearing on Sept. 26 on a request to allow chickens at the high school for educational purposes.
City rules now prohibit barnyard animals within city limits.
“It’s very important for students to have real live specimens to work with in the classroom,” Kayla Harris, Havelock’s new agriculture education teacher, told commissioners Monday night. “We live in a world now where a lot of things are virtual, but in career and technical education, especially agriculture education, it’s important for those students to understand the life cycles of a chicken, or the life cycles of a cow — how they reproduce and how they produce more products for us to consume and to use on a daily basis.
“Our goal is to get our students ready for careers in agriculture and any other industry that they can enter. More and more jobs related to poultry production are coming to North Carolina.”
Harris pointed to the Sanderson Farms poultry production facility in Kinston.
“They are looking for skilled students to come and work in their companies, and I feel it’s our responsibility in Craven County and at Havelock High School to have our students ready to take over those careers,” she said. “There’s a huge opportunity for them to make great money, wonderful benefits and retirement packages.”
Harris proposed that the school be allowed to have 20 chickens, all hens and no roosters. Havelock Principal Jeff Murphy told commissioners that the school had a horticultural compound that would be modified to house the birds.
“We’re going to have it in an orderly fashion at the high school. We’re going to house it in the right way. We’re going to build the right structure so that it’s the right way for chickens,” Murphy said. “We’re going to do it on a trial basis also. We’re going to see how it benefits students. And we’re going to make sure that it works with our educational environment, and if it doesn’t, then we’ll do away with it. If it does, then we’ll keep doing it. Whatever the laws are, we’re going to stick to that as close as possible.”
Commissioner Danny Walsh pointed out that the board had previously turned down a request from resident Janet Hatfield to keep three chickens in a backyard coop.
Havelock Mayor Jimmy Sanders suggested an exception be made for schools and that the birds not be allowed within 400 feet of a residence.
Sanders said the high school is isolated and well away from homes, and Commissioner Will Lewis pointed out the differences between the two requests.
“Two main reasons why we said no to chickens in the city of Havelock was proximity and property values,” he said. “Those were our major sticking points. It seems like both of those can be dealt with in this situation.”
Though there was no vote taken, it appeared that there was a 3-2 split on the board in favor of allowing the chickens at the school.
Havelock commissioners agreed to hold a hearing on Sept. 26 on a request to allow chickens at the high school for educational purposes.
City rules now prohibit barnyard animals within city limits.
“It’s very important for students to have real live specimens to work with in the classroom,” Kayla Harris, Havelock’s new agriculture education teacher, told commissioners Monday night. “We live in a world now where a lot of things are virtual, but in career and technical education, especially agriculture education, it’s important for those students to understand the life cycles of a chicken, or the life cycles of a cow — how they reproduce and how they produce more products for us to consume and to use on a daily basis.
“Our goal is to get our students ready for careers in agriculture and any other industry that they can enter. More and more jobs related to poultry production are coming to North Carolina.”
Harris pointed to the Sanderson Farms poultry production facility in Kinston.
“They are looking for skilled students to come and work in their companies, and I feel it’s our responsibility in Craven County and at Havelock High School to have our students ready to take over those careers,” she said. “There’s a huge opportunity for them to make great money, wonderful benefits and retirement packages.”
Harris proposed that the school be allowed to have 20 chickens, all hens and no roosters. Havelock Principal Jeff Murphy told commissioners that the school had a horticultural compound that would be modified to house the birds.
“We’re going to have it in an orderly fashion at the high school. We’re going to house it in the right way. We’re going to build the right structure so that it’s the right way for chickens,” Murphy said. “We’re going to do it on a trial basis also. We’re going to see how it benefits students. And we’re going to make sure that it works with our educational environment, and if it doesn’t, then we’ll do away with it. If it does, then we’ll keep doing it. Whatever the laws are, we’re going to stick to that as close as possible.”
Commissioner Danny Walsh pointed out that the board had previously turned down a request from resident Janet Hatfield to keep three chickens in a backyard coop.
Havelock Mayor Jimmy Sanders suggested an exception be made for schools and that the birds not be allowed within 400 feet of a residence.
Sanders said the high school is isolated and well away from homes, and Commissioner Will Lewis pointed out the differences between the two requests.
“Two main reasons why we said no to chickens in the city of Havelock was proximity and property values,” he said. “Those were our major sticking points. It seems like both of those can be dealt with in this situation.”
Though there was no vote taken, it appeared that there was a 3-2 split on the board in favor of allowing the chickens at the school.
2011年9月19日星期一
News Releases By Date
Cleanup of household appliances, contaminated soil, drums filled with toxic waste and other hazardous materials was completed recently by the US Environmental Protection Agency at an abandoned one-acre residential parcel in Hillsborough, N.H. The cleanup of the Davison Property site at 471 Second NH Turnpike (Route 31) began in January and cost about $763,000.
Hazardous substances, including arsenic, lead, chromium, mercury, zinc and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon compounds were found in soil samples taken earlier this year. These substances were being released into the environment through leaching, erosion and runoff, posing a potential public health threat.
The cleanup involved the removal of contaminated soil, construction and demolition debris, electronic equipment and other recyclable materials. It also involved taking numerous soil samples, demolishing unsafe structures such as sheds and chicken coops and restoring the disturbed areas.
In all, EPA removed 145 tons of construction and demolition debris, 437 tons of soils and debris, 40,620 pounds of scrap steel, 80 pounds of household chemicals, a 325-pounds box of lab-packed waste, a drum of pesticide and flammable aerosols, a drum of waste corrosive, 44,136 pounds of CRT monitors and electronic waste as well as mercury-containing light bulbs, two refrigerators, four air conditioners, eight propane tanks, a washing machine and a mercury thermometer and a 55-gallon drum of hazardous blue colored solid that contained high levels of leachable lead.
Shortly after the completion of soil removal, the town funded an asbestos abatement and demolished the residence.
The Davison property included a condemned 200-year-old house, two sheds, remnants of a third shed and a cinderblock building, a former chicken coop, a trailer and many piles of electronic equipment, metal and wood debris as well as numerous containers.
This site was referred to EPA in late May 2010 by the NH Department of Environmental Services following a state inspection earlier that month.
Hazardous substances, including arsenic, lead, chromium, mercury, zinc and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon compounds were found in soil samples taken earlier this year. These substances were being released into the environment through leaching, erosion and runoff, posing a potential public health threat.
The cleanup involved the removal of contaminated soil, construction and demolition debris, electronic equipment and other recyclable materials. It also involved taking numerous soil samples, demolishing unsafe structures such as sheds and chicken coops and restoring the disturbed areas.
In all, EPA removed 145 tons of construction and demolition debris, 437 tons of soils and debris, 40,620 pounds of scrap steel, 80 pounds of household chemicals, a 325-pounds box of lab-packed waste, a drum of pesticide and flammable aerosols, a drum of waste corrosive, 44,136 pounds of CRT monitors and electronic waste as well as mercury-containing light bulbs, two refrigerators, four air conditioners, eight propane tanks, a washing machine and a mercury thermometer and a 55-gallon drum of hazardous blue colored solid that contained high levels of leachable lead.
Shortly after the completion of soil removal, the town funded an asbestos abatement and demolished the residence.
The Davison property included a condemned 200-year-old house, two sheds, remnants of a third shed and a cinderblock building, a former chicken coop, a trailer and many piles of electronic equipment, metal and wood debris as well as numerous containers.
This site was referred to EPA in late May 2010 by the NH Department of Environmental Services following a state inspection earlier that month.
Wally's Chicken Coop Comes to Storrs
Wally’s Chicken Coop is not your normal sit down and eat restaurant. Instead of tables and chairs, Wally’s is decorated with a long wooden bench where customers can sit down and eat chicken bits and French fries out of a paper bag. But with handful of chicken restaurants around the Storrs area, one might wonder what makes this new joint special.
“It’s all homemade,” says Mike Natale, co-owner of Wally’s. Specializing in “chicken bits,” which Natale describes as handcrafted chicken nuggets cut from whole breast chicken and made fresh daily, Wally’s Chicken Coop offers a variety of chicken sandwiches, meal combos that include their house-made chicken bits and a side of French fries as well as breakfast sandwiches.
With the average price of each meal around $6 or $7, “it’s fairly priced,” says Matt Jerrild, a UConn student as well as a first-time customer to Wally’s Chicken Coop, who ordered The Mongo, described as a large order of chicken bits with a large order of fries and a can of soda.
The Coop attracts UConn students looking for an affordable, tasty bite, and with the restaurant just a little over one week old, the line of students speaks volumes to the quality of the food.
“[Business] is going pretty good,” says Natale. “It’s fun, it’s fun with the kids, they have a good time. We have a good atmosphere here.”
In response to their feelings towards past failures of other restaurants that have tried to stay alive in the same location, the brothers don’t seem too worried. “It doesn’t scare us at all,” says Natale. “We’re hard working guys and we just want to make a dollar for our kids and have some fun while we’re doing it.”
Although Natale along with his twin brother, Jeff Natale are co-owners of Wally’s Chicken Coop, the actual Wally is a 120 lb Bernese mountain dog who has been in the Natale family for three years.
“It’s all homemade,” says Mike Natale, co-owner of Wally’s. Specializing in “chicken bits,” which Natale describes as handcrafted chicken nuggets cut from whole breast chicken and made fresh daily, Wally’s Chicken Coop offers a variety of chicken sandwiches, meal combos that include their house-made chicken bits and a side of French fries as well as breakfast sandwiches.
With the average price of each meal around $6 or $7, “it’s fairly priced,” says Matt Jerrild, a UConn student as well as a first-time customer to Wally’s Chicken Coop, who ordered The Mongo, described as a large order of chicken bits with a large order of fries and a can of soda.
The Coop attracts UConn students looking for an affordable, tasty bite, and with the restaurant just a little over one week old, the line of students speaks volumes to the quality of the food.
“[Business] is going pretty good,” says Natale. “It’s fun, it’s fun with the kids, they have a good time. We have a good atmosphere here.”
In response to their feelings towards past failures of other restaurants that have tried to stay alive in the same location, the brothers don’t seem too worried. “It doesn’t scare us at all,” says Natale. “We’re hard working guys and we just want to make a dollar for our kids and have some fun while we’re doing it.”
Although Natale along with his twin brother, Jeff Natale are co-owners of Wally’s Chicken Coop, the actual Wally is a 120 lb Bernese mountain dog who has been in the Natale family for three years.
2011年9月15日星期四
Life is sunnyside up for Indianapolis chicken owners
Indianapolis may be behind other cities in new trends, but sometimes we catch up.
Food trucks, bike paths -- they took a while, but . . . check.
Now Indy's neighborhoods are becoming hamlets for urban chickens, flocks of a half-dozen or so birds that hunt and peck within the city limits, in areas with sidewalks and stoplights.
It's like "Green Acres" -- only inverted.
One would be hard-pressed to find a greener hobby: The backyard chicken is the pet equivalent of the Toyota Prius.
The chickens sleep on "roosts" in "coops" built in backyards, next to driveways; they give up uneven, all-natural eggs to their sustainability-happy owners.
It's impossible to say how many such folk there are here, but their numbers clearly are growing. On Sunday, Indianapolis will host its first organized tour of backyard chicken coops, a sort of benchmark. More than 100 people have signed up.
Backyard chickens -- mail-order chicks can be obtained in small quantities for the price of a decent hamburger -- are free to walk around and take dust baths at will, as opposed to enduring the caged-up squalor of industrial chicken farms. Their manure makes for great composting; and their eggs couldn't possibly be any more local -- zero fossil fuel is required to transport them from backyard through kitchen door.
Besides, "chickens are fun," says Maggie Goeglein, who has an NPR sticker on the rear window of her subcompact Honda and is working on a degree in Earth literacy from Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College. "They're not the brightest animals, but they have personality."
Goeglein has four, and as she enters her backyard in the Rocky Ripple neighborhood, they rush her. She smiles. She gives the chickens a fresh tomato and greets them by name.
"If I had a meat flock, I wouldn't name them," she says.
Betty, Roxanne, Ramona and Fern, like most backyard chickens, are being kept for their eggs, which, unlike the uniform supermarket eggs, come in various sizes and shades. Hens lay about one a day. Goeglein and her fiance, Jason Hanna, either eat the eggs or give them away to impressed friends and neighbors.
"The yokes are orange, not yellow," Goeglein notes, "and the egg white has more consistency. They just taste really eggy."
Backyard chickens go back to the Great Depression but petered out with prosperity. The current trend surfaced, as part of the global sustainability movement, five or six years ago, said Paul Shapiro of the Humane Society of the United States.
Today there are backyard chickens even in New York. (Had urban chickens been in vogue in the 1960s, is it possible Oliver Wendell Douglas would have elected not to drag that dingbat wife of his out to the country? Discuss.)
World chaos may have something to do with the backyard chicken escalation. "Whenever the economy is bad, people look more to self-reliance," says Elaine Belanger, editor of Backyard Poultry Magazine. (When Belanger's father-in-law discontinued the bi-monthly journal, in 1982, it had 4,000 subscribers; Belanger re-launched it in 2006, and today its circulation is 85,000).
Madison, Wis., was an early hotbed. Madison, the college town's college town, may have hosted the first Chicken Coop Tour, which is like a garden tour except for chicken coops. That was in 2005.
A coop tour is a sign a city has arrived, backyard chicken-wise. Seattle has one, as does Bend, Ore., and Portland.
But so do Salt Lake City, Pittsburgh and many other not-that-cool cities.
Food trucks, bike paths -- they took a while, but . . . check.
Now Indy's neighborhoods are becoming hamlets for urban chickens, flocks of a half-dozen or so birds that hunt and peck within the city limits, in areas with sidewalks and stoplights.
It's like "Green Acres" -- only inverted.
One would be hard-pressed to find a greener hobby: The backyard chicken is the pet equivalent of the Toyota Prius.
The chickens sleep on "roosts" in "coops" built in backyards, next to driveways; they give up uneven, all-natural eggs to their sustainability-happy owners.
It's impossible to say how many such folk there are here, but their numbers clearly are growing. On Sunday, Indianapolis will host its first organized tour of backyard chicken coops, a sort of benchmark. More than 100 people have signed up.
Backyard chickens -- mail-order chicks can be obtained in small quantities for the price of a decent hamburger -- are free to walk around and take dust baths at will, as opposed to enduring the caged-up squalor of industrial chicken farms. Their manure makes for great composting; and their eggs couldn't possibly be any more local -- zero fossil fuel is required to transport them from backyard through kitchen door.
Besides, "chickens are fun," says Maggie Goeglein, who has an NPR sticker on the rear window of her subcompact Honda and is working on a degree in Earth literacy from Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College. "They're not the brightest animals, but they have personality."
Goeglein has four, and as she enters her backyard in the Rocky Ripple neighborhood, they rush her. She smiles. She gives the chickens a fresh tomato and greets them by name.
"If I had a meat flock, I wouldn't name them," she says.
Betty, Roxanne, Ramona and Fern, like most backyard chickens, are being kept for their eggs, which, unlike the uniform supermarket eggs, come in various sizes and shades. Hens lay about one a day. Goeglein and her fiance, Jason Hanna, either eat the eggs or give them away to impressed friends and neighbors.
"The yokes are orange, not yellow," Goeglein notes, "and the egg white has more consistency. They just taste really eggy."
Backyard chickens go back to the Great Depression but petered out with prosperity. The current trend surfaced, as part of the global sustainability movement, five or six years ago, said Paul Shapiro of the Humane Society of the United States.
Today there are backyard chickens even in New York. (Had urban chickens been in vogue in the 1960s, is it possible Oliver Wendell Douglas would have elected not to drag that dingbat wife of his out to the country? Discuss.)
World chaos may have something to do with the backyard chicken escalation. "Whenever the economy is bad, people look more to self-reliance," says Elaine Belanger, editor of Backyard Poultry Magazine. (When Belanger's father-in-law discontinued the bi-monthly journal, in 1982, it had 4,000 subscribers; Belanger re-launched it in 2006, and today its circulation is 85,000).
Madison, Wis., was an early hotbed. Madison, the college town's college town, may have hosted the first Chicken Coop Tour, which is like a garden tour except for chicken coops. That was in 2005.
A coop tour is a sign a city has arrived, backyard chicken-wise. Seattle has one, as does Bend, Ore., and Portland.
But so do Salt Lake City, Pittsburgh and many other not-that-cool cities.
2011年9月14日星期三
Talking chickens: choosing a house
With the huge increase in poultry keeping there has been an equally big rise in the range of poultry paraphernalia on sale. Poultry housing is a case in point. It's also a classic example of the good old bandwagon being jumped on as various would-be poultry housing experts peddle an array of accommodation claiming to be the ideal solution to your chicken housing needs.
Often the price looks attractive, the house looks attractive, heck even the clean-wellied family standing there feeding the chickens look attractive. Surely they know a quality chicken house when they see one? There are many cheap and nasty coops flooding the market. I know this as I've tested a number of them in the field, and seen a ewe run straight through one when the feed bucket appeared. The result was nothing but an expensive pile of firewood and a small flock of bemused and now homeless bantams.
More often than not these mass produced models are constructed of fast grown timber - come the first drop of rain they swell, leaving you either barricading a door that won't close, or ripping the door furniture off in a vain attempt to release the squawking inhabitants. The first warm day means the timber dries and cracks, the felt roof bubbles and boils, and come nightfall the hens refuse to go in. This is not due to their disappointment at the decline of their once attractive property but because the hovel is now a haven for, and probably crawling with, the poultry keeper's nemesis, red mite. Add on the fact that it said on the blurb that it would suit four large hens when that stocking density was based on the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and what are you left with? A couple of hinges and some kindling.
A decent coop for thee to four birds should cost you in the region of £300 though this can depend on whether you elect for a free standing house or one with a run attached. Assuming you are ranging your birds in a large space and the pop hole door is big enough for the breed you keep, then the main requirements of housing boil down to three points which will define the number of birds the house will hold; perches, nest boxes and ventilation.
Most breeds of chicken will perch when they go to roost at night, this perch should ideally be 5-8cm wide with smoothed off edges so the foot sits comfortably on it. The perch should be higher than the nest box entry as chickens will also naturally look for the highest point to perch. A perch lower than that will have the birds roosting in the nest box overnight (which is incidentally when they produce the most poo) leading to soiled eggs the following day. They shouldn't however be so high off the floor of the house that leg injuries could occur when the bird gets down in the morning. Chickens need about 20cm of perch each (in small breeds this is obviously less), plus if more than one perch is installed in the house they should be more than 30cm apart. They will hunker up with their neighbours but are not that keen on roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird in front.
Ideally the house should have a least one nest box for every three birds and these should be off the ground and in the darkest area of the house. The house should have adequate ventilation: without it then condensation will build up every night, even in the coldest of weather. Be aware, ventilation works on the principle of warm air leaving through a high gap drawing cooler air in from a lower gap - it's not a set of holes on opposite walls of the house and at the same level, this is what's known as a draught.
If you have a house with a run attached then the points above are still true, but you should also consider the run size. The EU maximum legal stocking density for a free range bird is (and let's face it, one of the motivations for keeping some hens at home is possibly improved or better welfare) 2,500 birds per hectare, that's maximum one bird per 4m squared. Take a close look at some of the bargain houses - it could well be the house has the right perches, correct ventilation and ample nest boxes for a reasonable number of birds, but will each of the chickens have anything more than an A4 sized piece of ground to spend the day on?
And so as the saying goes, "you pays your money and makes your choice". You may think you've grabbed a bargain, but you and your flock could rue the day you did. Purchase the right house and it will last for a few decades, if not longer given the correct treatment. In the end your poultry and your poultry keeping experience will be much the better for it.
Often the price looks attractive, the house looks attractive, heck even the clean-wellied family standing there feeding the chickens look attractive. Surely they know a quality chicken house when they see one? There are many cheap and nasty coops flooding the market. I know this as I've tested a number of them in the field, and seen a ewe run straight through one when the feed bucket appeared. The result was nothing but an expensive pile of firewood and a small flock of bemused and now homeless bantams.
More often than not these mass produced models are constructed of fast grown timber - come the first drop of rain they swell, leaving you either barricading a door that won't close, or ripping the door furniture off in a vain attempt to release the squawking inhabitants. The first warm day means the timber dries and cracks, the felt roof bubbles and boils, and come nightfall the hens refuse to go in. This is not due to their disappointment at the decline of their once attractive property but because the hovel is now a haven for, and probably crawling with, the poultry keeper's nemesis, red mite. Add on the fact that it said on the blurb that it would suit four large hens when that stocking density was based on the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and what are you left with? A couple of hinges and some kindling.
A decent coop for thee to four birds should cost you in the region of £300 though this can depend on whether you elect for a free standing house or one with a run attached. Assuming you are ranging your birds in a large space and the pop hole door is big enough for the breed you keep, then the main requirements of housing boil down to three points which will define the number of birds the house will hold; perches, nest boxes and ventilation.
Most breeds of chicken will perch when they go to roost at night, this perch should ideally be 5-8cm wide with smoothed off edges so the foot sits comfortably on it. The perch should be higher than the nest box entry as chickens will also naturally look for the highest point to perch. A perch lower than that will have the birds roosting in the nest box overnight (which is incidentally when they produce the most poo) leading to soiled eggs the following day. They shouldn't however be so high off the floor of the house that leg injuries could occur when the bird gets down in the morning. Chickens need about 20cm of perch each (in small breeds this is obviously less), plus if more than one perch is installed in the house they should be more than 30cm apart. They will hunker up with their neighbours but are not that keen on roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird in front.
Ideally the house should have a least one nest box for every three birds and these should be off the ground and in the darkest area of the house. The house should have adequate ventilation: without it then condensation will build up every night, even in the coldest of weather. Be aware, ventilation works on the principle of warm air leaving through a high gap drawing cooler air in from a lower gap - it's not a set of holes on opposite walls of the house and at the same level, this is what's known as a draught.
If you have a house with a run attached then the points above are still true, but you should also consider the run size. The EU maximum legal stocking density for a free range bird is (and let's face it, one of the motivations for keeping some hens at home is possibly improved or better welfare) 2,500 birds per hectare, that's maximum one bird per 4m squared. Take a close look at some of the bargain houses - it could well be the house has the right perches, correct ventilation and ample nest boxes for a reasonable number of birds, but will each of the chickens have anything more than an A4 sized piece of ground to spend the day on?
And so as the saying goes, "you pays your money and makes your choice". You may think you've grabbed a bargain, but you and your flock could rue the day you did. Purchase the right house and it will last for a few decades, if not longer given the correct treatment. In the end your poultry and your poultry keeping experience will be much the better for it.
2011年9月13日星期二
Solar-powered smart chicken coop does the urban farming for you
Story by Susan DeFreitas: Urban farming is all the rage these days, and chickens are increasingly chic. Many of us who dream of harvesting fresh eggs every day don’t have the first clue about how to get started, or how to take care of a flock of layers – but a new solar-powered chicken coop design called the Front Yard Coop Full Monty just might take the guesswork (not to mention a lot of the hassle) out of keeping chickens.
Developed in Katonah, N.Y., this mobile chicken coop was designed for the front yard – preferably one bounded by a fence or hedges, as it moves automatically throughout the day, ensuring that the chickens inside get some exercise, even when they’re all cooped up; giving the chickens fresh forage; and spreading beneficial manure over the entire lawn. When the coop hits a dead end, so to speak, it’s smart enough to reverse direction, keeping your chickens safe in your yard throughout the day.
Just fill the feed bin with grain and the water tank with water; this “smart coop” will dispense food and water at appropriate intervals, so you won’t have to wake up at the crack of dawn to make sure your feathered friends get fed. Roosting wastes are easily removed via a series of drawers, and foraging waste helps to keep your lawn green. Predators are repelled by an electrified fence (which won’t hurt the chickens). We assume that the automatic motion of the coop also means that you can leave your flock for a few days if necessary, but as a good friend to your chickens, you’ll want to let them out on a regular basis to free-range, as well.
The Front Yard Coop is available in various versions; Inhabitat reports that the Full Monty model measures 4 feet wide by 8 feet long and propels itself 16 feet every hour using energy from its (included) solar panels. It’ll set you back $3,225 – but save you, of course, whatever you’re currently shelling out for eggs.
Developed in Katonah, N.Y., this mobile chicken coop was designed for the front yard – preferably one bounded by a fence or hedges, as it moves automatically throughout the day, ensuring that the chickens inside get some exercise, even when they’re all cooped up; giving the chickens fresh forage; and spreading beneficial manure over the entire lawn. When the coop hits a dead end, so to speak, it’s smart enough to reverse direction, keeping your chickens safe in your yard throughout the day.
Just fill the feed bin with grain and the water tank with water; this “smart coop” will dispense food and water at appropriate intervals, so you won’t have to wake up at the crack of dawn to make sure your feathered friends get fed. Roosting wastes are easily removed via a series of drawers, and foraging waste helps to keep your lawn green. Predators are repelled by an electrified fence (which won’t hurt the chickens). We assume that the automatic motion of the coop also means that you can leave your flock for a few days if necessary, but as a good friend to your chickens, you’ll want to let them out on a regular basis to free-range, as well.
The Front Yard Coop is available in various versions; Inhabitat reports that the Full Monty model measures 4 feet wide by 8 feet long and propels itself 16 feet every hour using energy from its (included) solar panels. It’ll set you back $3,225 – but save you, of course, whatever you’re currently shelling out for eggs.
2011年9月12日星期一
Display Chicken Coop Prior to Public Hearing
Residents in Ferndale may be able to raise chickens in the coming weeks. A proposal to revise the current ordinance, which states a chicken coop needs to be at least 150 feet away from any structure on a property — basically ruling out every home in Ferndale — would have the distance reduced to 10 feet.
Additionally, the new ordinance would allow a resident to raise no more than three hens and would prohibit roosters.
A public hearing is set for Sept. 14 at City Hall, at 300 E. Nine Mile Road, at 7 p.m. During which time the public will hear the changes to the ordinance.
However, prior to the meeting, kids from the Oakland County 4-H Poultry Club, starting at 6 p.m., will be at City Hall to answer questions about raising chickens and will display a chicken coop structure resembling what a legal structure would look like for Ferndale residents.
"The 4-H Club for Oakland County agree to come down with a chicken coop this week to give us a reasonable example of what a well done chicken coop looks like," Community and Economical Development Director Derek Delacourt said.
Delacourt said that the 4-H members will also have several different types of eggs and a few chickens.
"Anyone interested in chickens can take this opportunity to get questions answered," he said.
Though having chickens in the city has its supporters, it also has its detractors. Concerns have been raised about the odor, about vermin being attracted to the food and what exactly a chicken coop might look like.
Delacourt said concerns of vermin and odor are regulated under current ordinance when dealing with animals.
"The raising and keeping of any animal requires residents to follow city ordinances," Delacourt said at a July 27 meeting where the chicken ordinance revisions were being discussed. "When people don't keep up any animals there are negative impacts, regardless of what kind of animal it is."
Nothing is approved yet, however. After the public hearing the ordinance will then go in front of City Council for a final vote of approval.
Additionally, the new ordinance would allow a resident to raise no more than three hens and would prohibit roosters.
A public hearing is set for Sept. 14 at City Hall, at 300 E. Nine Mile Road, at 7 p.m. During which time the public will hear the changes to the ordinance.
However, prior to the meeting, kids from the Oakland County 4-H Poultry Club, starting at 6 p.m., will be at City Hall to answer questions about raising chickens and will display a chicken coop structure resembling what a legal structure would look like for Ferndale residents.
"The 4-H Club for Oakland County agree to come down with a chicken coop this week to give us a reasonable example of what a well done chicken coop looks like," Community and Economical Development Director Derek Delacourt said.
Delacourt said that the 4-H members will also have several different types of eggs and a few chickens.
"Anyone interested in chickens can take this opportunity to get questions answered," he said.
Though having chickens in the city has its supporters, it also has its detractors. Concerns have been raised about the odor, about vermin being attracted to the food and what exactly a chicken coop might look like.
Delacourt said concerns of vermin and odor are regulated under current ordinance when dealing with animals.
"The raising and keeping of any animal requires residents to follow city ordinances," Delacourt said at a July 27 meeting where the chicken ordinance revisions were being discussed. "When people don't keep up any animals there are negative impacts, regardless of what kind of animal it is."
Nothing is approved yet, however. After the public hearing the ordinance will then go in front of City Council for a final vote of approval.
2011年9月8日星期四
Tour de Coop planned for Saturday
If you are considering raising chickens in your yard but have many questions about the process, several local experts on backyard chickens can help you during the third annual Tour de Coop organized by the University of Wyoming Cooperative Extension and Laramie Local Foods.
Cole Ehmke, founder of the event, decided to start the tour to give other local chicken enthusiasts an opportunity to share their experiences.
“We wanted to get a sense of what chicken coops in this town look like because they do have to be fairly well insulated and protected from predators,” Ehmke said. “It’s not often that you get an opportunity to see someone else’s chicken coop unless you know them and go to their house.”
The tour proved to be a big hit, Ehmke said. About 30 people attended the first tour and about 50 came to the second one. This year, the tour will include people from Longmont, Colo., who plan to attend the tour, Ehmke said.
A session on how to butcher a chicken in the last year’s tour also proved to be successful, but it won’t be included in the tour this year.
“Almost all people around here raise birds for the eggs and they keep the birds around for a number of years, so those birds are typically either raised specifically to raise eggs or they are dual purpose, which means they are big enough that they would have some meat as well.
“But you can raise birds that are specifically for meat, and last year we showed people how to (butcher) chickens. And 30 people stayed for that which I was impressed at,” Ehmke said.
The 2.6-mile bike tour will start at 8:30 a.m. Saturday at 1223 Sanders at Jeff and Nancy Beck’s house. From there, the tour will visit Andrea and John Summers’ house at 1110 Flint and Jolene and Jim Giese’s property at 716 Renshaw.
“I hope that people will take from the tour that raising chickens is fun. It’s not that difficult. It also adds just a little bit to our quality of life to have chickens in your backyard. You raise some of your own food. You are a little more self-sufficient,” Jeff Beck said.
Beck has had chickens in Laramie for three years and has eight hens in his coop now. He said he likes having chickens because they are “utilitarian” animals: They produce fresh eggs every day, they can be raised for meat, they eat scraps from the table and they also fertilize the garden.
Diane Saenz, food and nutrition educator at the UW Cooperative Extension Service, will give a presentation on egg nutrition and safety.
Bren Lieske, owner of Bren’s Hens, will discuss poultry health and wellness.
Cole Ehmke, founder of the event, decided to start the tour to give other local chicken enthusiasts an opportunity to share their experiences.
“We wanted to get a sense of what chicken coops in this town look like because they do have to be fairly well insulated and protected from predators,” Ehmke said. “It’s not often that you get an opportunity to see someone else’s chicken coop unless you know them and go to their house.”
The tour proved to be a big hit, Ehmke said. About 30 people attended the first tour and about 50 came to the second one. This year, the tour will include people from Longmont, Colo., who plan to attend the tour, Ehmke said.
A session on how to butcher a chicken in the last year’s tour also proved to be successful, but it won’t be included in the tour this year.
“Almost all people around here raise birds for the eggs and they keep the birds around for a number of years, so those birds are typically either raised specifically to raise eggs or they are dual purpose, which means they are big enough that they would have some meat as well.
“But you can raise birds that are specifically for meat, and last year we showed people how to (butcher) chickens. And 30 people stayed for that which I was impressed at,” Ehmke said.
The 2.6-mile bike tour will start at 8:30 a.m. Saturday at 1223 Sanders at Jeff and Nancy Beck’s house. From there, the tour will visit Andrea and John Summers’ house at 1110 Flint and Jolene and Jim Giese’s property at 716 Renshaw.
“I hope that people will take from the tour that raising chickens is fun. It’s not that difficult. It also adds just a little bit to our quality of life to have chickens in your backyard. You raise some of your own food. You are a little more self-sufficient,” Jeff Beck said.
Beck has had chickens in Laramie for three years and has eight hens in his coop now. He said he likes having chickens because they are “utilitarian” animals: They produce fresh eggs every day, they can be raised for meat, they eat scraps from the table and they also fertilize the garden.
Diane Saenz, food and nutrition educator at the UW Cooperative Extension Service, will give a presentation on egg nutrition and safety.
Bren Lieske, owner of Bren’s Hens, will discuss poultry health and wellness.
2011年9月7日星期三
A Solar-Powered Chicken Coop For Dummies
Urban farming is all the rage these days, and chickens are increasingly chic. Many of us who dream of harvesting fresh eggs every day don’t have the first clue about how to get started, or how to take care of a flock of layers – but a new solar-powered chicken coop design called the Front Yard Coop Full Monty just might take the guesswork (not to mention a lot of the hassle) out of keeping chickens.
Developed in Katonah, N.Y., this mobile chicken coop was designed for the front yard – preferably one bounded by a fence or hedges, as it moves automatically throughout the day, ensuring that the chickens inside get some exercise, even when they’re all cooped up; giving the chickens fresh forage; and spreading beneficial manure over the entire lawn. When the coop hits a dead end, so to speak, it’s smart enough to reverse direction, keeping your chickens safe in your yard throughout the day.
Just fill the feed bin with grain and the water tank with water; this “smart coop” will dispense food and water at appropriate intervals, so you won’t have to wake up at the crack of dawn to make sure your feathered friends get fed. Roosting wastes are easily removed via a series of drawers, and foraging waste helps to keep your lawn green. Predators are repelled by an electrified fence (which won’t hurt the chickens). We assume that the automatic motion of the coop also means that you can leave your flock for a few days if necessary, but as a good friend to your chickens, you’ll want to let them out on a regular basis to free-range, as well.
The Front Yard Coop is available in various versions; Inhabitat reports that the Full Monty model measures 4 feet wide by 8 feet long and propels itself 16 feet every hour using energy from its (included) solar panels. It’ll set you back $3,225 – but save you, of course, whatever you’re currently shelling out for eggs.
Developed in Katonah, N.Y., this mobile chicken coop was designed for the front yard – preferably one bounded by a fence or hedges, as it moves automatically throughout the day, ensuring that the chickens inside get some exercise, even when they’re all cooped up; giving the chickens fresh forage; and spreading beneficial manure over the entire lawn. When the coop hits a dead end, so to speak, it’s smart enough to reverse direction, keeping your chickens safe in your yard throughout the day.
Just fill the feed bin with grain and the water tank with water; this “smart coop” will dispense food and water at appropriate intervals, so you won’t have to wake up at the crack of dawn to make sure your feathered friends get fed. Roosting wastes are easily removed via a series of drawers, and foraging waste helps to keep your lawn green. Predators are repelled by an electrified fence (which won’t hurt the chickens). We assume that the automatic motion of the coop also means that you can leave your flock for a few days if necessary, but as a good friend to your chickens, you’ll want to let them out on a regular basis to free-range, as well.
The Front Yard Coop is available in various versions; Inhabitat reports that the Full Monty model measures 4 feet wide by 8 feet long and propels itself 16 feet every hour using energy from its (included) solar panels. It’ll set you back $3,225 – but save you, of course, whatever you’re currently shelling out for eggs.
2011年9月6日星期二
Meet your local chickens
Have you been thinking about getting chickens but you just aren’t sure how to get started? Or have you been wondering why anyone would want chickens in the city? You can get the answers to those questions and more at the upcoming Twin Cities Parade of Chicken Coops.
No, people will not be parading their chickens, or their coops, through the streets. Think of this as a parade of homes instead; a parade of chicken homes.
The parade has been going on for about five years, according to Albert Bourgeois. Peat Wilcutt organized the first three (one year there was a spring and fall tour) and Bourgeois has been organizing the fall parade since 2009. “This is the third fall tour I have helped with, and we have grown each year,” says Bourgeois. In 2009 there were 19 coops on the tour,and in 2010, 29; so far this year there are 35 coops signed up.
Longfellow resident Theresa Rooney says going on the parade of chicken coops four years ago is what finally convinced her she could handle chickens. She remembers thinking about chickens in January—“in a hazy, in the future” way.
Rooney took a community education class on chicken keeping that spring (taught by Wilcutt), but it still left her thinking, “Can I do this? I am not a handy person, I don’t have lots of money, etc.” She kept thinking about it all summer, and then she toured the coops on Parade in the fall. “I saw all kinds of coops and talked with chicken folks about all my concerns: food, protection from predators, keeping warm in winter, etc. After the tour I knew I could do it. I got my act together, got the permit, and have been happily ‘chicken kept’ since then.” Rooney adds, “Each time I think about it, I send a silent thanks to those wonderful people on the tour who opened their coops/yards and shared their knowledge.”
This year’s Parade of Chicken Coops will be on Saturday, Sept. 10, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. This is a self-guided tour. Tour maps can be found online . If you are a chicken keeper and want to show off your coop, send an e-mail to Bourgeois to be added to the list
There are 140 chicken keepers in the city of Minneapolis (according to Animal Care & Control) and when you look at that tour map, you’ll see that you won’t even have to leave the comfort of your South Minneapolis neighborhood to see some of them. There are almost a dozen chicken keepers in South Minneapolis signed up to be on the tour. So get out there and meet some chickens!
2011年9月5日星期一
National Guard delivers hope to rebuilding communities
Vermont looked strange from the skies this week. The leaves of the maples, responding to the steady and inexorable pace to autumn, are beginning to unsettle the landscape with muddied tinges of red. Not too far from Burlington, a green lawn had a perfectly-shaped, large peace sign. Moving south there’s occasional evidence of a recently swollen bank, and a tree or two ripped from the ground, roots exposed and lying on its side. By the time one has reached the Waterbury and Moretown area, Vermont’s famous green is usurped by a layer of dirt, swathing the area in a drab tan and clinging to the plant life, holding it down.
A week after Vermont was ravaged by Tropical Storm Irene, National Guardsmen from Vermont and helping states such as Illinois and New Hampshire continued delivering staple supplies such as food, water, tents, cots, blankets and tarps to needy towns. In the early days of what is now called Join Task Force Green Mountain Spirit, Chinooks and Black Hawks from the Illinois Army National Guard in Peoria, and Black Hawks from the New Hampshire Army National Guard were pivotal in immediate deliveries. Sometimes, when civilians spotted these air-vehicles of help, crowds would cheer.
Now, as recovery from damage continues, Vermont Air and Army National Guardsmen are loading up local trucks for drop-offs. Some places remain isolated but most have constructed their own, if shaky, routes out.
Since flood waters from Tropical Storm Irene that hit Vermont, Sunday, Aug. 28, have receded, silt has become a problem for the residents who were hit hard. When a Chinook from the Illinois Army National Guard landed next to a Killington resort to deliver FEMA relief packages, the helicopter stirred up a layer of dirt left from the floods that rose to form an undulating orange wall. A worker there said, as of Wednesday, he was still shoveling out silt that was at least two inches deep. The smell left behind was too strong to take for more than a minute, and he said he would have to rip all the carpets out and maybe some of the walls.
The people of Moretown are very wary about what could be in the soil left behind. Most people choose to walk around town with safety masks over their mouth and nose. “We know there’s sewage and oil that was in the water when it flooded. It makes us nervous that the dust left behind might be toxic,” said Moretown 1st Constable David VanDeusen. He also said they are trying limit traffic in high-dust areas.
Van Deusen said the town was grateful for everything the Vermont Guard has brought to the repairing town. He said he had seen the work the National Guard had done in New Orleans after the wake of Hurricane Katrina, and compared it to the immediate efforts The Vermont Guard did in its home state after Irene. “The items the National Guard has brought us absolutely is helping us rebuild,” he said.
And Moretown is definitely rebuilding. The sounds of deconstruction filled the air as home-owners fought the onslaught of mold-growth that is inevitable after a flooding where some parts of town were under as much as 14 feet of water. The smell was strong in the main part of town, where houses close to each had no choice but to pile mildewing furniture and life-possessions on their front yard. One home was already nearly gutted, only the studs and beams being spared – so far.
Yet observing the community repair itself had a Disney-esque quality. Young children brought water, a prized commodity in stifling heat, to workers who were removing the seemingly never-ending piles of debris. The town hall, clearly now the heartbeat of the town had a steady stream of people going in and out for help or to help. A tent set alongside the building housed volunteers who gave out stock-piled food and water. A sign taped to a case of bottled water asked “Do you need drinking water at your house?”
Groups of teenagers, faces covered by safety masks, helped wherever they were asked. Mitch Grimmer and Sam Worley were two teenagers offering their help Saturday morning to Moretown, even though they themselves were from Waitsfield, which suffered minor damage comparatively. They attend Green Mountain Valley School, where they said they had been encouraged to come out and help the struggling neighboring town.
“We were just cleaning out someone’s chicken coop,” Grimmer said, pointing to his mask. “We had to wear these, there was chicken feces and, unfortunately, some of their chickens had died.”
The two talked about a baseball field that is now gone, a house that had been completely tipped over and laid on its side, one house now on stilts because the basement was washed away, and shops that had been on the side of the river were now pushed towards the road.
“It’s been an eye-opener for us,” Grimmer said. “We’ve been going into houses where we’re taking out people’s ruined things. It’s sad seeing everyone trying to fix what they’ve lost.” But he was quick to say, “We’re all out helping one another. We’re not without hope here.”
Van Deusen said the town needs things like clean water and tents. Other people asked for totes to store stuff that wasn’t ruined. But as a whole, the community is rebounding. “We’re grateful to the National Guard for its help,” he said emphatically. He is also grateful to his community. “I don’t know one person who’s not helping in some way, if they can.”
A week after Vermont was ravaged by Tropical Storm Irene, National Guardsmen from Vermont and helping states such as Illinois and New Hampshire continued delivering staple supplies such as food, water, tents, cots, blankets and tarps to needy towns. In the early days of what is now called Join Task Force Green Mountain Spirit, Chinooks and Black Hawks from the Illinois Army National Guard in Peoria, and Black Hawks from the New Hampshire Army National Guard were pivotal in immediate deliveries. Sometimes, when civilians spotted these air-vehicles of help, crowds would cheer.
Now, as recovery from damage continues, Vermont Air and Army National Guardsmen are loading up local trucks for drop-offs. Some places remain isolated but most have constructed their own, if shaky, routes out.
Since flood waters from Tropical Storm Irene that hit Vermont, Sunday, Aug. 28, have receded, silt has become a problem for the residents who were hit hard. When a Chinook from the Illinois Army National Guard landed next to a Killington resort to deliver FEMA relief packages, the helicopter stirred up a layer of dirt left from the floods that rose to form an undulating orange wall. A worker there said, as of Wednesday, he was still shoveling out silt that was at least two inches deep. The smell left behind was too strong to take for more than a minute, and he said he would have to rip all the carpets out and maybe some of the walls.
The people of Moretown are very wary about what could be in the soil left behind. Most people choose to walk around town with safety masks over their mouth and nose. “We know there’s sewage and oil that was in the water when it flooded. It makes us nervous that the dust left behind might be toxic,” said Moretown 1st Constable David VanDeusen. He also said they are trying limit traffic in high-dust areas.
Van Deusen said the town was grateful for everything the Vermont Guard has brought to the repairing town. He said he had seen the work the National Guard had done in New Orleans after the wake of Hurricane Katrina, and compared it to the immediate efforts The Vermont Guard did in its home state after Irene. “The items the National Guard has brought us absolutely is helping us rebuild,” he said.
And Moretown is definitely rebuilding. The sounds of deconstruction filled the air as home-owners fought the onslaught of mold-growth that is inevitable after a flooding where some parts of town were under as much as 14 feet of water. The smell was strong in the main part of town, where houses close to each had no choice but to pile mildewing furniture and life-possessions on their front yard. One home was already nearly gutted, only the studs and beams being spared – so far.
Yet observing the community repair itself had a Disney-esque quality. Young children brought water, a prized commodity in stifling heat, to workers who were removing the seemingly never-ending piles of debris. The town hall, clearly now the heartbeat of the town had a steady stream of people going in and out for help or to help. A tent set alongside the building housed volunteers who gave out stock-piled food and water. A sign taped to a case of bottled water asked “Do you need drinking water at your house?”
Groups of teenagers, faces covered by safety masks, helped wherever they were asked. Mitch Grimmer and Sam Worley were two teenagers offering their help Saturday morning to Moretown, even though they themselves were from Waitsfield, which suffered minor damage comparatively. They attend Green Mountain Valley School, where they said they had been encouraged to come out and help the struggling neighboring town.
“We were just cleaning out someone’s chicken coop,” Grimmer said, pointing to his mask. “We had to wear these, there was chicken feces and, unfortunately, some of their chickens had died.”
The two talked about a baseball field that is now gone, a house that had been completely tipped over and laid on its side, one house now on stilts because the basement was washed away, and shops that had been on the side of the river were now pushed towards the road.
“It’s been an eye-opener for us,” Grimmer said. “We’ve been going into houses where we’re taking out people’s ruined things. It’s sad seeing everyone trying to fix what they’ve lost.” But he was quick to say, “We’re all out helping one another. We’re not without hope here.”
Van Deusen said the town needs things like clean water and tents. Other people asked for totes to store stuff that wasn’t ruined. But as a whole, the community is rebounding. “We’re grateful to the National Guard for its help,” he said emphatically. He is also grateful to his community. “I don’t know one person who’s not helping in some way, if they can.”
2011年9月4日星期日
The power of a few well-chosen words
The moon vine in the backyard has entwined the empty chicken coop and is now launching an assault on the Mexican petunia next to it. The vine's large blooms are white and diaphanous, like tissues left on a make-up table in the dressing room of a Broadway star.
I'm only imaging this, though once I had occasion to go backstage before a Broadway play. It was a subterranean chaos, chattering people in various states of undress scurrying to and fro in a catacomb of small, low ceiling rooms. I've also stood outside the stage entrance after a performance watching fans and actors as they emerged from the theater. Moments earlier they had been elegant and dignified, full of purpose, the height of sophistication. In the light of the street, they were kids with backpacks, in T-shirts, jeans and Nikes.
In its own way, a flower garden, too, has all the magic of the theater. With its ever-changing cast of butterflies, hummingbirds and bees, a garden has all the elements that draw humans to Times Square: drama, beauty, sex. Though the action may be more discreet, it's all there for the patient and knowing observer.
Standing amid the color, beauty and movement, a flower garden can be a meditation, a gentle way to ease into a stressful day. Most mornings a perky hummingbird -- think Rodgers and Hammerstein -- is usually the first actor to take the stage. Clad in an iridescent green coat, he hovers in front of the Turk's cap, trumpet vine and the black and blue salvia. Most days he's all business -- pausing between each flower to take stock; occasionally he will linger for a second at eye-level an arm's length away, as if to say, "What are you doing here? Friend or foe?"
In the South, gardening is one of the many distractions we have to help us endure our crazy hot summers. There are plenty of others -- among them, watermelon, ice cream, fireflies and America singing "Ventura Highway."
I love to get emails with a quote at the bottom. Here's one that accompanied a recent message from Allison Barnette, a Caledonia 8th Grade Social Studies teacher:
"If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people to collect wood, and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea."
-- Antoine de Saint-Exupery (1900-1944); aviator, writer
Amazing the power of a few well-chosen words strung together in the right order: "... the endless immensity of the sea." Makes you want to get on a sailboat and head for the south Pacific.
NPR's Scott Simon the other day offered a tribute to Jack Layton, a Canadian politician who recently died from cancer at the age of 61. This from Simon's report:
Layton joined the liberal New Democratic Party, and lost several elections -- for Parliament, and mayor of Toronto--before winning his first seat in the House of Commons in 2004.
He brought the New Democrats to their biggest victory in history in May. But by July, Jack Layton's cancer returned. Two days before he died, he wrote a letter that his family released this week. It is graceful, blunt and personal.
"Unfortunately my treatment has not worked out," he writes, but tells others afflicted with cancer, "please don't be discouraged that my own journey hasn't gone as well as I had hoped. You must not lose your own hope. Treatments and therapies have never been better. ... My only other advice is to cherish every moment with those you love at every stage of your journey, as I have done this summer."
And then, a man who gave his life to politics closes with what amounts to a personal credo:
"My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we'll change the world.
"All my very best,
"Jack Layton."
Maybe I'll use Jack Layton's quote at the bottom of my e-mails: "Let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we'll change the world."
I'm only imaging this, though once I had occasion to go backstage before a Broadway play. It was a subterranean chaos, chattering people in various states of undress scurrying to and fro in a catacomb of small, low ceiling rooms. I've also stood outside the stage entrance after a performance watching fans and actors as they emerged from the theater. Moments earlier they had been elegant and dignified, full of purpose, the height of sophistication. In the light of the street, they were kids with backpacks, in T-shirts, jeans and Nikes.
In its own way, a flower garden, too, has all the magic of the theater. With its ever-changing cast of butterflies, hummingbirds and bees, a garden has all the elements that draw humans to Times Square: drama, beauty, sex. Though the action may be more discreet, it's all there for the patient and knowing observer.
Standing amid the color, beauty and movement, a flower garden can be a meditation, a gentle way to ease into a stressful day. Most mornings a perky hummingbird -- think Rodgers and Hammerstein -- is usually the first actor to take the stage. Clad in an iridescent green coat, he hovers in front of the Turk's cap, trumpet vine and the black and blue salvia. Most days he's all business -- pausing between each flower to take stock; occasionally he will linger for a second at eye-level an arm's length away, as if to say, "What are you doing here? Friend or foe?"
In the South, gardening is one of the many distractions we have to help us endure our crazy hot summers. There are plenty of others -- among them, watermelon, ice cream, fireflies and America singing "Ventura Highway."
I love to get emails with a quote at the bottom. Here's one that accompanied a recent message from Allison Barnette, a Caledonia 8th Grade Social Studies teacher:
"If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people to collect wood, and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea."
-- Antoine de Saint-Exupery (1900-1944); aviator, writer
Amazing the power of a few well-chosen words strung together in the right order: "... the endless immensity of the sea." Makes you want to get on a sailboat and head for the south Pacific.
NPR's Scott Simon the other day offered a tribute to Jack Layton, a Canadian politician who recently died from cancer at the age of 61. This from Simon's report:
Layton joined the liberal New Democratic Party, and lost several elections -- for Parliament, and mayor of Toronto--before winning his first seat in the House of Commons in 2004.
He brought the New Democrats to their biggest victory in history in May. But by July, Jack Layton's cancer returned. Two days before he died, he wrote a letter that his family released this week. It is graceful, blunt and personal.
"Unfortunately my treatment has not worked out," he writes, but tells others afflicted with cancer, "please don't be discouraged that my own journey hasn't gone as well as I had hoped. You must not lose your own hope. Treatments and therapies have never been better. ... My only other advice is to cherish every moment with those you love at every stage of your journey, as I have done this summer."
And then, a man who gave his life to politics closes with what amounts to a personal credo:
"My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we'll change the world.
"All my very best,
"Jack Layton."
Maybe I'll use Jack Layton's quote at the bottom of my e-mails: "Let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we'll change the world."
2011年9月1日星期四
Summer now over and children are off to school
At the time of this writing, there are only a few days in August left. The school doors open for another term next week. Where have these summer months go to so fast?
Son Kevin is down to counting “five times to sleep” before his sixth birthday Sept. 2. Kevin is our youngest, and he will be 6 and starting kindergarten. The years go way too fast for me.
Daughter Lovina, 7, will still let me hold her on my lap a lot more than Kevin does. He tells me, “Mom I am not a baby anymore.” At the recent family gathering, Kevin told my husband Joe that he doesn’t need help carrying his plate anymore. He said, “at school I carry my own plate.” You can just really see them grow up.
Kevin was helping Benjamin, 12, and Joseph, 9, clean out the chicken coop this week. He came walking in with farm boots two times too big for him and said, “See, Mom, I am helping I have manure on my boots.” It just made me laugh to think that if he is dirty he thinks we will know he is helping.
Daughter Susan, 15, is training another pony for a family in our church.
This one is named Minnie and is quite a bit calmer to handle. Lovina will lead it around a lot and crawl on its back. It is tinier than ours so it is easier for them to get on and off. Our border collie dog, Buddy, likes to take the pony’s rope and lead it around.
Friday evening we went to a local benefit auction and supper for an Amish man in the community. The proceeds went to help pay his medical expenses. And on Saturday we had an easy dinner as chicken was being delivered in our community to help an Amish man from a nearby community with his medical expenses. It is nice to be able to share one another’s burdens.
Verena has managed to start walking without crutches now. She has a walking sandal on her cast. She still has to put the brace on her leg at night. It is just nicer for her to not have to get around using crutches. She seems to be able to keep the pain under control most times.
Our third cutting hay is cut down and should be able to bale within a few days. We are hoping the rain holds off until the hay is inside.
I have more tomatoes to can that the boys picked for me. Our potatoes didn’t do so well so it looks like we will end up buying storage potatoes for the winter. Last week we also did several more batches of salsa and canned more green beans and hot peppers.
If my cucumbers keep doing well, I would like to can some more dill pickles. The children like these with sandwiches. When our horses accidentally got out while I was at the hospital with Verena a few weeks ago they trampled some of my cucumber plants. The horses killed a few of the plants, but others survived.
Elizabeth, 17, wants to cut the boys out some pants for school. We are hoping to get those sewed this week and also some new shirts for them. The girls seem to have enough dresses for now. I want to have Susan help her sew. Susan would much rather clean out the horse stalls than do any sewing. I think once she gets the hang of it she will enjoy it, though.
Son Kevin is down to counting “five times to sleep” before his sixth birthday Sept. 2. Kevin is our youngest, and he will be 6 and starting kindergarten. The years go way too fast for me.
Daughter Lovina, 7, will still let me hold her on my lap a lot more than Kevin does. He tells me, “Mom I am not a baby anymore.” At the recent family gathering, Kevin told my husband Joe that he doesn’t need help carrying his plate anymore. He said, “at school I carry my own plate.” You can just really see them grow up.
Kevin was helping Benjamin, 12, and Joseph, 9, clean out the chicken coop this week. He came walking in with farm boots two times too big for him and said, “See, Mom, I am helping I have manure on my boots.” It just made me laugh to think that if he is dirty he thinks we will know he is helping.
Daughter Susan, 15, is training another pony for a family in our church.
This one is named Minnie and is quite a bit calmer to handle. Lovina will lead it around a lot and crawl on its back. It is tinier than ours so it is easier for them to get on and off. Our border collie dog, Buddy, likes to take the pony’s rope and lead it around.
Friday evening we went to a local benefit auction and supper for an Amish man in the community. The proceeds went to help pay his medical expenses. And on Saturday we had an easy dinner as chicken was being delivered in our community to help an Amish man from a nearby community with his medical expenses. It is nice to be able to share one another’s burdens.
Verena has managed to start walking without crutches now. She has a walking sandal on her cast. She still has to put the brace on her leg at night. It is just nicer for her to not have to get around using crutches. She seems to be able to keep the pain under control most times.
Our third cutting hay is cut down and should be able to bale within a few days. We are hoping the rain holds off until the hay is inside.
I have more tomatoes to can that the boys picked for me. Our potatoes didn’t do so well so it looks like we will end up buying storage potatoes for the winter. Last week we also did several more batches of salsa and canned more green beans and hot peppers.
If my cucumbers keep doing well, I would like to can some more dill pickles. The children like these with sandwiches. When our horses accidentally got out while I was at the hospital with Verena a few weeks ago they trampled some of my cucumber plants. The horses killed a few of the plants, but others survived.
Elizabeth, 17, wants to cut the boys out some pants for school. We are hoping to get those sewed this week and also some new shirts for them. The girls seem to have enough dresses for now. I want to have Susan help her sew. Susan would much rather clean out the horse stalls than do any sewing. I think once she gets the hang of it she will enjoy it, though.
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