Things have started getting pretty heavy in "The Walking Dead," not that it was a game of Candy Land before this week's episode, titled "Save the Last One" (referring to a bullet, in case the zombies catch you, so you can go out on your own terms and not theirs!)
If you haven't watched the episode yet, you might not want to read any further because I'm about to discuss some fairly significant plot developments.
Lori Grimes, a.k.a Debbie Downer, strongly considered letting her firstborn son perish so he could stop enduring the endless nightmare, and Shane Walsh took a serious heel turn, capping poor, fat Otis and letting him get devoured by walkers. Not cool, bro, not cool at all.
As if all that existentialism and nihilism wasn't enough to digest, Glenn and Maggie discuss the existence of God on the porch of Greene Manor, where characters really like to stage philosophical debates, it seems.
The action picked up in this week's episode after a pretty slow showing last week, when only one zombie was eradicated. In "Save the Last One," there were around 10 zombies popped before the first commercial break. Shane and Otis were getting after it at the high school, home of the Fighting Cougars, accounting for about 90 percent of the zombie murders. At one point those zombies were really piling up against that chain link fence. It was like teenagers clamoring to get into a Spin Doctors concert in 1992.
I can't quite figure out why exactly Shane did Otis like that, other than that Otis was slowing them down. Or maybe it was a strategic move, using Otis like a big pile of hot dogs to distract the zombies. Either way, Shane was looking at himself pretty long and hard in the mirror when he got back to the farmhouse.
For the record, he did say "I'm sorry" before shooting Otis, and Otis saved a lock of Shane's hair to remember him by.
The maneuver did pay off, allowing Shane to get back to the farmhouse with the medical equipment just in time for Hershel to successfully operate on Carl. Things got worse for Carl before they got better though, as he went through a pretty wicked seizure after reminiscing about the time he almost touched a deer.
Meanwhile, back at the highway, the relationship between Dale and Andrea continues to play out like that of an overbearing father and his icy teenage daughter. To get a little space, Andrea goes off on a little ghost walk with Daryl, leading to one of the coolest scenes of the season so far.
Out in the woods, Daryl and Andrea find a lonely fellow who decided to "quit" by hanging himself. Now he's a zombie and stuck there like a pinata. To add insult to injury, other zombies came along and ate his slacks and leg meat, leaving a pair of skinny, fleshless stilts dangling there for all to see. Nice...
Alas, Daryl and Andrea's search for Sophia turns up empty. So one child saved, one to go. "Save the Last One," get it?
2011年10月31日星期一
2011年10月30日星期日
Guests nest in old coops
For a trip to visit my daughter at Angelo State University, I explored various hotels before landing at the Chicken Farm Art Center, a funky art colony on a former chicken farm.
The quick getaway turned into a fun adventure my husband and I look forward to repeating.
Back story: Until the 1950s, people bought packaged chicken at local farms, before corporate producers and refrigerated trucks put them out of business. In 1971, Roger Allen bought an abandoned 3-acre farm north of downtown San Angelo.
Gradually, he and two artist friends transformed the coops and other buildings into an eclectic enclave of artists' studios, galleries and apartments that's become a destination.
“Yeah, we've created an institution here, but it wasn't by design,” Allen says. In 1999, artists Jerry and Susan Warnell bought half the property and turned the farm's grain silo into a gourmet restaurant and upstairs guest room.
Artists in residence: Seventeen artists keep studios at the farm, working in mediums from clay to copper to digital film. Some, such as Allen and wife Pam Bladine and the Warnells, live there, too.
Allen is best known for his brightly colored StarKeeper stoneware pottery.
We visited with Jeremy Bundick, who collaborates with wife Millicent to create whimsical goblets, bowls and other dishware, along with ceramic sculptures. “We're just trying to do something different,” he said.
Cool digs: A curved staircase led to the Artist Loft upstairs in the Silo, where we slept in a round room without windows. “This feels like a castle,” my husband observed.
Sections of renovated chicken coops house two more rooms, the Santa Fe and the Country French. Overnight guests have access at any time to the breakfast nook, stocked with fruit, yogurt, juice, cereal and other breakfast fixings. Jerry Warnell leaves homemade muffins or scones at 8 a.m.
Farm events: First Saturdays are a tradition at the Chicken Farm. Local musicians — collectively called the Chicken Pickers — perform during the day, and dozens of artists set up booths with their work. On second Thursdays, visitors plunk down in lawn chairs and enjoy outdoor concerts from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
In November, thousands turn out for the farm's annual open house, held Friday through Sunday after Thanksgiving. Live music plays round the clock while folks shop wares of 60-plus artists.
Dining ops: The week's posted menu at the farm's Salt @ the Silo House restaurant sounded enticing: Smoked Sea Salt Rubbed Ribeye, Flounder en Cartocio or Braised Lamb Shank, with four-course dinners ranging from $46 to $52. Too bad we had other plans.
On our way out of town, we ate beef enchiladas at El Mejor Taco Bar and Patio Café.
Parting laugh: “I tell everyone that I'm gonna find me another chicken coop outside of town, and this time I won't tell anyone where it is,” said Roger Allen, Chicken Farm founder.
The quick getaway turned into a fun adventure my husband and I look forward to repeating.
Back story: Until the 1950s, people bought packaged chicken at local farms, before corporate producers and refrigerated trucks put them out of business. In 1971, Roger Allen bought an abandoned 3-acre farm north of downtown San Angelo.
Gradually, he and two artist friends transformed the coops and other buildings into an eclectic enclave of artists' studios, galleries and apartments that's become a destination.
“Yeah, we've created an institution here, but it wasn't by design,” Allen says. In 1999, artists Jerry and Susan Warnell bought half the property and turned the farm's grain silo into a gourmet restaurant and upstairs guest room.
Artists in residence: Seventeen artists keep studios at the farm, working in mediums from clay to copper to digital film. Some, such as Allen and wife Pam Bladine and the Warnells, live there, too.
Allen is best known for his brightly colored StarKeeper stoneware pottery.
We visited with Jeremy Bundick, who collaborates with wife Millicent to create whimsical goblets, bowls and other dishware, along with ceramic sculptures. “We're just trying to do something different,” he said.
Cool digs: A curved staircase led to the Artist Loft upstairs in the Silo, where we slept in a round room without windows. “This feels like a castle,” my husband observed.
Sections of renovated chicken coops house two more rooms, the Santa Fe and the Country French. Overnight guests have access at any time to the breakfast nook, stocked with fruit, yogurt, juice, cereal and other breakfast fixings. Jerry Warnell leaves homemade muffins or scones at 8 a.m.
Farm events: First Saturdays are a tradition at the Chicken Farm. Local musicians — collectively called the Chicken Pickers — perform during the day, and dozens of artists set up booths with their work. On second Thursdays, visitors plunk down in lawn chairs and enjoy outdoor concerts from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
In November, thousands turn out for the farm's annual open house, held Friday through Sunday after Thanksgiving. Live music plays round the clock while folks shop wares of 60-plus artists.
Dining ops: The week's posted menu at the farm's Salt @ the Silo House restaurant sounded enticing: Smoked Sea Salt Rubbed Ribeye, Flounder en Cartocio or Braised Lamb Shank, with four-course dinners ranging from $46 to $52. Too bad we had other plans.
On our way out of town, we ate beef enchiladas at El Mejor Taco Bar and Patio Café.
Parting laugh: “I tell everyone that I'm gonna find me another chicken coop outside of town, and this time I won't tell anyone where it is,” said Roger Allen, Chicken Farm founder.
2011年10月27日星期四
City chickens in Hogtown?
With a garden of tomatoes, onions and radicchio as their backdrop, Emily and Sophie gingerly move across the back lawn of a bungalow, peeking in and out of their makeshift coop.
It’s a regular fall scene at this North Toronto property. After all, the backyard is home to these two full-sized chickens.
Homeowner Josie, whose spacious backyard gives Emily and Sophie plenty of freedom to roam, smiles as she watches her pets peck about on a cool October day.
“Emily, Emily come over here,” she calls, encouraging the pair to come eat some of the leftover food scraps she has laid on the ground.
Named after Josie’s grandchildren, Emily and Sophie are fruitful companions, producing brown eggs almost daily in the summer months.
Though neighbours on the quiet cul-de-sac where they live seem unperturbed by the backyard fowl — Josie says she hasn’t had a single complaint in the three years since she adopted her pets — Emily and Sophie’s living arrangement is indeed illegal in Toronto.
But that could change as early as next year, when a report on backyard hens is expected to hatch at council.
Director of the Toronto Environment Office Lawson Oates confirmed that his office is preparing a report for the city’s municipal licensing and standards committee that will carry recommendations to revise the prohibited animals bylaw and allow residents to keep backyard hens.
The revision, Lawson says, would be part of the evolution of the city’s relatively new Urban Agriculture Policy, which outlines rules and regulations for everything from community gardens to local food production.
Councillor Joe Mihevc, who says he knows of a few residents in his ward who have backyard chickens, is all for a bylaw change.
The Ward 21 councillor says the current law is incongruent with the growing local food and urban agriculture movement.
“Provided that they are kept clean and are well taken care of there’s no reason why we should be saying no to it,” he said of backyard fowl. “Most cities around the world allow hens.
“We are Johnny-Come-Latelys to this issue.”
Indeed cities including Brampton, Niagara Falls and Vancouver allow backyard hens. Some municipalities that allow backyard hens have restrictions related to lot size and most do not allow roosters.
The issue was first raised at city hall with a request for a report on urban agriculture before the park and environment committee back in June 2009. Staff was expected to investigate the feasibility of raising chickens in an urban setting.
One Toronto backyard hen advocate says a change in the bylaw is a long time coming.
The St. Paul’s resident, who goes by the moniker “Toronto Chicken” on her website to avoid city inspectors at her door, owns three chickens that reside year-round in her backyard.
“It’s seems like it’s taking forever,” she said. “I got my chickens in 2007 and I thought it would be like a year before the law changed and here we are in 2011.”
Toronto Chicken says she uses every egg almost as they’re laid, and is making arrangements to add two more chickens to her brood of three as to avoid last-minute runs to the grocery store.
Her family loves the taste and quality eggs produced in her coop, she says.
If there is dissent to a bylaw change, Toronto Chicken thinks it’s because there is a misconception of owners keeping large number of chickens in residential areas.
“When you have large quantities of chickens, there is going to be a smell and there is going to be noise,” she said.
Which is why the report coming to the standards committee will recommend a cap on the number of hens a person is allowed to keep, Lawson notes.
While Josie says she would have no problem getting rid of the chickens were bylaw inspectors to crack down, Toronto Chicken says she would fight to keep hers.
“I think it’s a basic right that we should be allowed to produce in a responsible manner our own food wherever possible,” she said. “Whether it’s an apple tree or growing tomatoes or having a few hens in the backyard.”
It’s a regular fall scene at this North Toronto property. After all, the backyard is home to these two full-sized chickens.
Homeowner Josie, whose spacious backyard gives Emily and Sophie plenty of freedom to roam, smiles as she watches her pets peck about on a cool October day.
“Emily, Emily come over here,” she calls, encouraging the pair to come eat some of the leftover food scraps she has laid on the ground.
Named after Josie’s grandchildren, Emily and Sophie are fruitful companions, producing brown eggs almost daily in the summer months.
Though neighbours on the quiet cul-de-sac where they live seem unperturbed by the backyard fowl — Josie says she hasn’t had a single complaint in the three years since she adopted her pets — Emily and Sophie’s living arrangement is indeed illegal in Toronto.
But that could change as early as next year, when a report on backyard hens is expected to hatch at council.
Director of the Toronto Environment Office Lawson Oates confirmed that his office is preparing a report for the city’s municipal licensing and standards committee that will carry recommendations to revise the prohibited animals bylaw and allow residents to keep backyard hens.
The revision, Lawson says, would be part of the evolution of the city’s relatively new Urban Agriculture Policy, which outlines rules and regulations for everything from community gardens to local food production.
Councillor Joe Mihevc, who says he knows of a few residents in his ward who have backyard chickens, is all for a bylaw change.
The Ward 21 councillor says the current law is incongruent with the growing local food and urban agriculture movement.
“Provided that they are kept clean and are well taken care of there’s no reason why we should be saying no to it,” he said of backyard fowl. “Most cities around the world allow hens.
“We are Johnny-Come-Latelys to this issue.”
Indeed cities including Brampton, Niagara Falls and Vancouver allow backyard hens. Some municipalities that allow backyard hens have restrictions related to lot size and most do not allow roosters.
The issue was first raised at city hall with a request for a report on urban agriculture before the park and environment committee back in June 2009. Staff was expected to investigate the feasibility of raising chickens in an urban setting.
One Toronto backyard hen advocate says a change in the bylaw is a long time coming.
The St. Paul’s resident, who goes by the moniker “Toronto Chicken” on her website to avoid city inspectors at her door, owns three chickens that reside year-round in her backyard.
“It’s seems like it’s taking forever,” she said. “I got my chickens in 2007 and I thought it would be like a year before the law changed and here we are in 2011.”
Toronto Chicken says she uses every egg almost as they’re laid, and is making arrangements to add two more chickens to her brood of three as to avoid last-minute runs to the grocery store.
Her family loves the taste and quality eggs produced in her coop, she says.
If there is dissent to a bylaw change, Toronto Chicken thinks it’s because there is a misconception of owners keeping large number of chickens in residential areas.
“When you have large quantities of chickens, there is going to be a smell and there is going to be noise,” she said.
Which is why the report coming to the standards committee will recommend a cap on the number of hens a person is allowed to keep, Lawson notes.
While Josie says she would have no problem getting rid of the chickens were bylaw inspectors to crack down, Toronto Chicken says she would fight to keep hers.
“I think it’s a basic right that we should be allowed to produce in a responsible manner our own food wherever possible,” she said. “Whether it’s an apple tree or growing tomatoes or having a few hens in the backyard.”
2011年10月26日星期三
Highway improvements in Blyn quashed
The Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe is tossing out plans for improvements along U.S. Highway 101 in Blyn and starting all over.
Chief Operations Officer Annette Nesse said based on revised analysis and public comment received after the proposal was released in October 2010, the tribe, county and Washington State Department of Transportation decided to put the project as proposed on hold.
The $30 million project proposed several big changes, including creating median openings allowing U-turn movements and bidirectional travel along Highway 101 through indirect left turns, realigning East Sequim Bay Road more directly to Highway 101 and combining access to Chicken Coop Road and Zaccardo Road into one 90-degree intersection.
The plan was not popular among local residents, who didn’t like the indirect left turns and realignment of East Sequim Bay Road in particular.
“The majority of responses were against the project as originally proposed,” Nesse said.
Traffic counts conducted this year showed less traffic than projected in 2007 when the last counts were conducted, calling into question the necessity of the project as a whole.
Instead of moving forward with the project, several smaller projects are under consideration, Nesse said.
“We’re hoping to accomplish the same thing, which is a safer pedestrian and vehicle access situation for both the north campus and the south campus,” she said. “We think that by addressing these county road issues we’ll be able to effect that safety improvement.”
Calming measures, including speed tables, rumble strips, landscape enhancements, speed limit warning signs and pedestrian activated signs and lights, are under serious consideration to address the speed and volume of traffic, especially along Old Blyn Highway, she said.
There also is support from the county to re-work the Chicken Coop Road and Zaccardo Road intersections, which are an “awkward situation,” she said.
That project will be brought before the public once a proposal is finished.
“We basically want to invite anyone who is interested back in to hear a presentation about how we’ve revised the project and give them an opportunity to provide input,” Nesse said.
Chief Operations Officer Annette Nesse said based on revised analysis and public comment received after the proposal was released in October 2010, the tribe, county and Washington State Department of Transportation decided to put the project as proposed on hold.
The $30 million project proposed several big changes, including creating median openings allowing U-turn movements and bidirectional travel along Highway 101 through indirect left turns, realigning East Sequim Bay Road more directly to Highway 101 and combining access to Chicken Coop Road and Zaccardo Road into one 90-degree intersection.
The plan was not popular among local residents, who didn’t like the indirect left turns and realignment of East Sequim Bay Road in particular.
“The majority of responses were against the project as originally proposed,” Nesse said.
Traffic counts conducted this year showed less traffic than projected in 2007 when the last counts were conducted, calling into question the necessity of the project as a whole.
Instead of moving forward with the project, several smaller projects are under consideration, Nesse said.
“We’re hoping to accomplish the same thing, which is a safer pedestrian and vehicle access situation for both the north campus and the south campus,” she said. “We think that by addressing these county road issues we’ll be able to effect that safety improvement.”
Calming measures, including speed tables, rumble strips, landscape enhancements, speed limit warning signs and pedestrian activated signs and lights, are under serious consideration to address the speed and volume of traffic, especially along Old Blyn Highway, she said.
There also is support from the county to re-work the Chicken Coop Road and Zaccardo Road intersections, which are an “awkward situation,” she said.
That project will be brought before the public once a proposal is finished.
“We basically want to invite anyone who is interested back in to hear a presentation about how we’ve revised the project and give them an opportunity to provide input,” Nesse said.
2011年10月25日星期二
Grantwood Village roosts its case
Grantwood Village recently hatched a plan that was eggs-actly what chicken lovers wanted.
The village will allow residents to keep chickens in their backyards. The hens will scratch out a living by providing their owners with fresh eggs.
"We feel that this will be a good law," said Cathy Forand, chairman of the Grantwood Village Board of Trustees. "We were looking for ways for people to have chickens without disturbing their neighbors."
Households will have a limit of four hens with no roosters, so as to keep down the noise. They must be kept in a covered, fenced enclosure with the chicken coop inside of it. The area and coop must be kept clean to avoid fowl odors.
Finally, the enclosure must be attached to the back wall of the house.
"One of our concerns was not violating the city's out-building law," Forand said. "In Grantwood Village, it is against the law to have an unattached structure on the property."
By attaching it to the back wall, the coop and cluckers also will not be seen from the street.
The village's board of trustees approved the plan at its Oct. 18 meeting. An ordinance to pass the plan will be on the Nov. 15 agenda.
Since none of the trustees knew anything about chickens, they turned to resident Elise Vandover, 43, who became the unofficial "chicken commissioner."
Vandover has raised chickens outside of Grantwood Village for much of her life. She sometimes serves as a consultant for groups interested in raising chickens. Working with the trustees, she helped put together the regulations that will be part of the upcoming ordinance.
"We've asked people to have an open mind," said Vandover at the trustees' meeting. "Chickens are quiet, but they need work to keep them clean. The goal is not to enrage your neighbor."
Florence Stalley, 80, is a longtime resident who earlier objected to the proposal.
Her concern was people having a large group of chickens in their backyards. During World War II, her family kept 50 hens on their property for eggs and food. She knows how messy chickens can be.
However, after hearing the proposal, she was pleased at the limit of four birds.
"They've got some good restrictions here," Stalley said. "I'm fine with it, now. My only concern was the number. A lot of people have shown interest, so I expected the village to approve it."
The issue came up in September when the village discovered that a resident had kept three hens for over a year in her backyard. However, a look at the village's code showed there were two contradictory ordinances; one said chickens were considered to be a pest while another said they could be pets.
Passage of this new bill will wipe the old ordinances off the books, freeing chickens to have a new home to come to roost.
The village will allow residents to keep chickens in their backyards. The hens will scratch out a living by providing their owners with fresh eggs.
"We feel that this will be a good law," said Cathy Forand, chairman of the Grantwood Village Board of Trustees. "We were looking for ways for people to have chickens without disturbing their neighbors."
Households will have a limit of four hens with no roosters, so as to keep down the noise. They must be kept in a covered, fenced enclosure with the chicken coop inside of it. The area and coop must be kept clean to avoid fowl odors.
Finally, the enclosure must be attached to the back wall of the house.
"One of our concerns was not violating the city's out-building law," Forand said. "In Grantwood Village, it is against the law to have an unattached structure on the property."
By attaching it to the back wall, the coop and cluckers also will not be seen from the street.
The village's board of trustees approved the plan at its Oct. 18 meeting. An ordinance to pass the plan will be on the Nov. 15 agenda.
Since none of the trustees knew anything about chickens, they turned to resident Elise Vandover, 43, who became the unofficial "chicken commissioner."
Vandover has raised chickens outside of Grantwood Village for much of her life. She sometimes serves as a consultant for groups interested in raising chickens. Working with the trustees, she helped put together the regulations that will be part of the upcoming ordinance.
"We've asked people to have an open mind," said Vandover at the trustees' meeting. "Chickens are quiet, but they need work to keep them clean. The goal is not to enrage your neighbor."
Florence Stalley, 80, is a longtime resident who earlier objected to the proposal.
Her concern was people having a large group of chickens in their backyards. During World War II, her family kept 50 hens on their property for eggs and food. She knows how messy chickens can be.
However, after hearing the proposal, she was pleased at the limit of four birds.
"They've got some good restrictions here," Stalley said. "I'm fine with it, now. My only concern was the number. A lot of people have shown interest, so I expected the village to approve it."
The issue came up in September when the village discovered that a resident had kept three hens for over a year in her backyard. However, a look at the village's code showed there were two contradictory ordinances; one said chickens were considered to be a pest while another said they could be pets.
Passage of this new bill will wipe the old ordinances off the books, freeing chickens to have a new home to come to roost.
2011年10月24日星期一
Chicken Coops Growing in Popularity in American Backyards
When Owen Taylor got hired six years ago as the "city chicken intern" at Just Food, some people thought his job title was funny.
Today no one in the food world would make a peep. Backyard chicken-keeping is a growing pastime around the country, spurred by the interest in local food and sustainability.
"It's not a question of are you going to get chickens, but when are you ready to get chickens," says Taylor, now city farms manager at Just Food, a New York based non-profit.
Town officials in suburban Maplewood, N.J., decided this week that their community is ready—but only just. In a 3-2 vote, the Township Committee voted to allow a pilot program for a year starting next March where up to 15 households will be allowed to have a maximum of three chickens each—with roosters banned.
Residents will be chosen by lottery, and their neighbors on either side must be on board. The vote reverses a 2005 law that banned chicken-keeping because of some evidence that they were being used in religious rituals, according to Deputy Mayor Fred Profeta.
Profeta, who voted yes for the new measure, hopes to be one of the lucky 15 winners. "The whole issue of local food is growing throughout the country. Chickens are part of it," he said.
Township Committeeman Marlon Brownlee, who voted no, isn't so sure. "The idea is more appropriate for a semi-rural community rather than the suburban community that Maplewood is," he said. "I didn't like the idea of putting neighbor against neighbor."
Backyard Chicken Coops Becoming More Popular in 'Burbs
In his conversations in the community, he said, 99 percent were opposed to allowing chicken-keeping, and real-estate agents were naysayers.
"It's a really difficult time to sell houses. Chickens next door are definitely going to have a detrimental effect," Brownlee said.
Tro Bui, an extension associate in animal science at the Cornell University School of Agriculture, said that view is becoming less prevalent.
"We have some people who are not used to seeing live animals. They don't like it," Bui said. "The number is growing smaller because people realize that's the way to go now, a good supply of home food and better care for animals."
Bui said he has seen a growing interest in backyard chicken-raising in the past seven years. The backyard eggs are actually safer than agribusiness eggs, he says. "Salmonella is only a problem when you have many birds." A hen will produce six eggs a week, Bui said, starting at the age of 18 weeks for two to three years.
Noah Leff, whose new business Victory Chicken, supplies chicks and coops to urban backyards, says the enthusiasm is broad-based. "It's not just hipsters or foodies or locavores," Leff said. "It's middle-class families, retired people, young people."
Leff, whose day job is working as a financial consultant, keeps three chickens in his backyard in Brooklyn and helps care for the five chickens in the nearby community garden in his neighborhood. Chickens make great pets, he said, and provide a wonderful daily food source.
"People are excited about getting unmatchable quality eggs every day from their backyard chickens," says Leff, 39, and kids love the birds. "They have personality, they're very funny. They scratch, run around and flap their wings."
Three chickens are no more work than one indoor cat, he says, and contrary to reputation, "they don't make much noise, they don't really stink. It's a fun hobby and a very relaxing diversion."
Keeping chickens has always been legal in New York City, according to Taylor, and has in the past been popular with people who moved to the city from the South or from places like the Dominican Republic or Puerto Rico where backyard chickens are popular. Roosters are not allowed and hens don't need roosters to produce eggs, only to fertilize them.
With the wider interest in chicken-keeping, his workshops are standing room only, he said, and his online meetup group for chicken enthusiasts has hundreds of members. "Most of the people I work with are just keeping them and letting them live out their lives as egg-layers," Taylor said, though some people take backyard chicken-raising a step further, and eventually turn their egg-layers into soup or roast chicken.
Today no one in the food world would make a peep. Backyard chicken-keeping is a growing pastime around the country, spurred by the interest in local food and sustainability.
"It's not a question of are you going to get chickens, but when are you ready to get chickens," says Taylor, now city farms manager at Just Food, a New York based non-profit.
Town officials in suburban Maplewood, N.J., decided this week that their community is ready—but only just. In a 3-2 vote, the Township Committee voted to allow a pilot program for a year starting next March where up to 15 households will be allowed to have a maximum of three chickens each—with roosters banned.
Residents will be chosen by lottery, and their neighbors on either side must be on board. The vote reverses a 2005 law that banned chicken-keeping because of some evidence that they were being used in religious rituals, according to Deputy Mayor Fred Profeta.
Profeta, who voted yes for the new measure, hopes to be one of the lucky 15 winners. "The whole issue of local food is growing throughout the country. Chickens are part of it," he said.
Township Committeeman Marlon Brownlee, who voted no, isn't so sure. "The idea is more appropriate for a semi-rural community rather than the suburban community that Maplewood is," he said. "I didn't like the idea of putting neighbor against neighbor."
Backyard Chicken Coops Becoming More Popular in 'Burbs
In his conversations in the community, he said, 99 percent were opposed to allowing chicken-keeping, and real-estate agents were naysayers.
"It's a really difficult time to sell houses. Chickens next door are definitely going to have a detrimental effect," Brownlee said.
Tro Bui, an extension associate in animal science at the Cornell University School of Agriculture, said that view is becoming less prevalent.
"We have some people who are not used to seeing live animals. They don't like it," Bui said. "The number is growing smaller because people realize that's the way to go now, a good supply of home food and better care for animals."
Bui said he has seen a growing interest in backyard chicken-raising in the past seven years. The backyard eggs are actually safer than agribusiness eggs, he says. "Salmonella is only a problem when you have many birds." A hen will produce six eggs a week, Bui said, starting at the age of 18 weeks for two to three years.
Noah Leff, whose new business Victory Chicken, supplies chicks and coops to urban backyards, says the enthusiasm is broad-based. "It's not just hipsters or foodies or locavores," Leff said. "It's middle-class families, retired people, young people."
Leff, whose day job is working as a financial consultant, keeps three chickens in his backyard in Brooklyn and helps care for the five chickens in the nearby community garden in his neighborhood. Chickens make great pets, he said, and provide a wonderful daily food source.
"People are excited about getting unmatchable quality eggs every day from their backyard chickens," says Leff, 39, and kids love the birds. "They have personality, they're very funny. They scratch, run around and flap their wings."
Three chickens are no more work than one indoor cat, he says, and contrary to reputation, "they don't make much noise, they don't really stink. It's a fun hobby and a very relaxing diversion."
Keeping chickens has always been legal in New York City, according to Taylor, and has in the past been popular with people who moved to the city from the South or from places like the Dominican Republic or Puerto Rico where backyard chickens are popular. Roosters are not allowed and hens don't need roosters to produce eggs, only to fertilize them.
With the wider interest in chicken-keeping, his workshops are standing room only, he said, and his online meetup group for chicken enthusiasts has hundreds of members. "Most of the people I work with are just keeping them and letting them live out their lives as egg-layers," Taylor said, though some people take backyard chicken-raising a step further, and eventually turn their egg-layers into soup or roast chicken.
2011年10月23日星期日
C.F. man fighting same kind of cancer Jobs had
Gary Gute considers himself among the lucky ones.
In May 2010 Gute went to the doctor for what he thought was kidney stones. A CT scan revealed something else completely. Gute had a tumor on his pancreas. Further tests revealed the growth was an islet cell, or neuroendocrine, tumor --- the same kind of cancer Steve Jobs was diagnosed with in 2004 and died from earlier this month. Only about 5 percent of all pancreatic cancer diagnoses are islet cells, which are more slow-growing than the more common adenocarcinoma tumors, which are very aggressive and fast growing.
"I didn't have any symptoms. I am extraordinarily fortunate that it was picked up incidentally on that CAT scan," he said. Without that scan the tumor, which did not secrete any hormones, likely would have gone undetected for much longer. "There is no mechanism for screening the general population for pancreatic cancer. That's a big reason why the death rate is so high."
According to the National Cancer Institute the five-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer is only 6 percent. And that hasn't changed in more than four decades, Gute said. The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network was founded in 1999 to "advance research, support patients and create hope," according to the organization's website.
Gute and other local volunteers recently began working with the organization to develop a local chapter. The group meets four times a year to plan events and "get involved in the fight against pancreatic cancer," Gute said.
Ethan Fischer's knowledge of pancreatic cancer was limited to Randy Pausch and his infamous "last lecture" given at Carnegie Mellon University in 2007 just months before pancreatic cancer claimed his life. Then his father was diagnosed with the disease in November 2009. He died in February 2010.
"We searched the Internet and all indications were that it was a very serious form of cancer, but there was little known about it and little funding for research," said Fischer, who is working with Gute to organize the local support network. "I said I would do whatever I could to help with raising money and awareness."
In May 2010 Gute went to the doctor for what he thought was kidney stones. A CT scan revealed something else completely. Gute had a tumor on his pancreas. Further tests revealed the growth was an islet cell, or neuroendocrine, tumor --- the same kind of cancer Steve Jobs was diagnosed with in 2004 and died from earlier this month. Only about 5 percent of all pancreatic cancer diagnoses are islet cells, which are more slow-growing than the more common adenocarcinoma tumors, which are very aggressive and fast growing.
"I didn't have any symptoms. I am extraordinarily fortunate that it was picked up incidentally on that CAT scan," he said. Without that scan the tumor, which did not secrete any hormones, likely would have gone undetected for much longer. "There is no mechanism for screening the general population for pancreatic cancer. That's a big reason why the death rate is so high."
According to the National Cancer Institute the five-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer is only 6 percent. And that hasn't changed in more than four decades, Gute said. The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network was founded in 1999 to "advance research, support patients and create hope," according to the organization's website.
Gute and other local volunteers recently began working with the organization to develop a local chapter. The group meets four times a year to plan events and "get involved in the fight against pancreatic cancer," Gute said.
Ethan Fischer's knowledge of pancreatic cancer was limited to Randy Pausch and his infamous "last lecture" given at Carnegie Mellon University in 2007 just months before pancreatic cancer claimed his life. Then his father was diagnosed with the disease in November 2009. He died in February 2010.
"We searched the Internet and all indications were that it was a very serious form of cancer, but there was little known about it and little funding for research," said Fischer, who is working with Gute to organize the local support network. "I said I would do whatever I could to help with raising money and awareness."
Humanitarian Design Project Aims to Build a Sense of Community
On her first day as a teacher at the Bertie Early College High School in Windsor, North Carolina, Emily Pilloton asked the students to name the last thing they had made themselves. “It could have been something as simple as cookies for their moms, but some of the students couldn’t remember ever making anything,” she recalled. “They’d never held a hammer or taken an art class. Half of them didn’t even know how to read a ruler.”
There were 13 students in the class, all 11th graders. Some came from middle-class families, and others lived in poverty, including a 17-year-old who was struggling to raise a 4-year-old child. They had all signed up to spend three hours a day on Studio H, an experimental design course run from a converted car body shop near the school. The course started in August last year and ended this month with the opening of the Windsor Super Market, a farmers’ market housed in a wooden pavilion that the students had designed and built themselves. As a thank you for their efforts, the Mayor of Windsor presented a key to the city to the entire Studio H team.
“We saw the students change from a complete lack of understanding and, in some cases, a complete lack of interest on the first day into amazingly well-rounded creative thinkers and communicators,” said Ms. Pilloton, a humanitarian designer, who conceived and now runs Studio H with the architect Matthew Miller. “They’d each come such a long way and felt much more invested in their local community, having built something permanent that they could be really proud of.”
Despite its successful outcome, Studio H always threatened to be a risky endeavor for Ms. Pilloton, 29, and Mr. Miller, 33, who moved from San Francisco to Windsor to run the course. They had chosen to work in a depressed rural area, scarred by racial tension with severely limited employment opportunities in the belief that a project like Studio H would be of greatest value there. Windsor is in Bertie County, one of the poorest parts of North Carolina. It is also vulnerable to extreme weather. Since moving there, Ms. Pilloton and Mr. Miller have helped with the local relief effort after two hurricanes and a tornado.
They discovered the area through their work at Project H, a humanitarian design group founded by Ms. Pilloton with $1,000 in savings in 2008. Project H (the “H” stands for “Humanity, Habitats, Health and Happiness”) has become a dynamic force in the rapidly expanding humanitarian design movement by assembling a global network of volunteers to work on community projects, including a children’s play program in Bertie County. Having gotten to know the area and its problems, Ms. Pilloton and Mr. Miller decided to immerse themselves in a long-term project there.
Countless academic studies have argued that studying design at school can be hugely beneficial, even for students who have no intention of becoming professional designers, because it builds their confidence by teaching them communication, planning and visualization skills, which will be useful in any field. Yet relatively few students in America’s cash-strapped public school system are given the chance to study design, or art, especially in deprived areas like Bertie County.
There were 13 students in the class, all 11th graders. Some came from middle-class families, and others lived in poverty, including a 17-year-old who was struggling to raise a 4-year-old child. They had all signed up to spend three hours a day on Studio H, an experimental design course run from a converted car body shop near the school. The course started in August last year and ended this month with the opening of the Windsor Super Market, a farmers’ market housed in a wooden pavilion that the students had designed and built themselves. As a thank you for their efforts, the Mayor of Windsor presented a key to the city to the entire Studio H team.
“We saw the students change from a complete lack of understanding and, in some cases, a complete lack of interest on the first day into amazingly well-rounded creative thinkers and communicators,” said Ms. Pilloton, a humanitarian designer, who conceived and now runs Studio H with the architect Matthew Miller. “They’d each come such a long way and felt much more invested in their local community, having built something permanent that they could be really proud of.”
Despite its successful outcome, Studio H always threatened to be a risky endeavor for Ms. Pilloton, 29, and Mr. Miller, 33, who moved from San Francisco to Windsor to run the course. They had chosen to work in a depressed rural area, scarred by racial tension with severely limited employment opportunities in the belief that a project like Studio H would be of greatest value there. Windsor is in Bertie County, one of the poorest parts of North Carolina. It is also vulnerable to extreme weather. Since moving there, Ms. Pilloton and Mr. Miller have helped with the local relief effort after two hurricanes and a tornado.
They discovered the area through their work at Project H, a humanitarian design group founded by Ms. Pilloton with $1,000 in savings in 2008. Project H (the “H” stands for “Humanity, Habitats, Health and Happiness”) has become a dynamic force in the rapidly expanding humanitarian design movement by assembling a global network of volunteers to work on community projects, including a children’s play program in Bertie County. Having gotten to know the area and its problems, Ms. Pilloton and Mr. Miller decided to immerse themselves in a long-term project there.
Countless academic studies have argued that studying design at school can be hugely beneficial, even for students who have no intention of becoming professional designers, because it builds their confidence by teaching them communication, planning and visualization skills, which will be useful in any field. Yet relatively few students in America’s cash-strapped public school system are given the chance to study design, or art, especially in deprived areas like Bertie County.
2011年10月20日星期四
San Juan Man Sentenced for Gun, Drug Possession
A San Juan man will serve two 70-month sentences in federal prison, followed by four years of supervised release.
In March, a DEA agent learned marijuana was about to be moved from one stash house near San Juan to another. Authorities found the home, which was near the Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge and just about a quarter-mile from the river.
Israel Avila lived at the home, which his mother owned. The 50-year-old man gave DEA agents consent to search the property. He told them they would find bundles of marijuana in a chicken coop and other buildings.
Agents also found a .38 caliber revolver and .22 rifle at the home. Avila, a convicted felon, admitted he had the weapons, even though he knew he was not allowed to own firearms.
A jury convicted him in May. He’s been in custody since his March arrest. He’ll remain in custody until he’s transferred to a Bureau of Prisons facility.
In March, a DEA agent learned marijuana was about to be moved from one stash house near San Juan to another. Authorities found the home, which was near the Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge and just about a quarter-mile from the river.
Israel Avila lived at the home, which his mother owned. The 50-year-old man gave DEA agents consent to search the property. He told them they would find bundles of marijuana in a chicken coop and other buildings.
Agents also found a .38 caliber revolver and .22 rifle at the home. Avila, a convicted felon, admitted he had the weapons, even though he knew he was not allowed to own firearms.
A jury convicted him in May. He’s been in custody since his March arrest. He’ll remain in custody until he’s transferred to a Bureau of Prisons facility.
2011年10月19日星期三
The growing popularity of personal poultry
Georgia Dempsey literally saved her pennies to buy chickens. At five years old, the Wadmalaw Island girl became enamored with her neighbor's flock. She painted pictures for them, held them in her arms, and dreamed of one day having her own.
Today, at age 7, Georgia happily introduces her hens by name — there's Ms. Frizzle, an especially fluffy Silkie, and her personal favorite, Brownie. Three roosters keep the seven hens company: Spike, Peewee, and Rudy (the bully of the bunch, claims Georgia). She shows off her chicken tractor, a mobile coop that lets chickens move to a fresh patch of grass each day. "They love greens, but they hate onions," explains the little girl, before scooping up Brownie into her arms and posing for a picture.
Georgia's chickens demonstrate both the ease and the work required to own chickens. The Dempseys ordered their chicks online and had food, water, and their coop ready to go when the post office called to say their squeaking little box had arrived. A year later, the family enjoys fresh, home-raised eggs on a daily basis (although the hens' output decreases as the days grow shorter), and Georgia has gained valuable lessons in responsibility at an early age.
Just down the street, Benjamin Tyrone Gadsdon keeps an even larger flock in a series of coops behind his home off of Bears Bluff Road. A mortician by trade, Gadsdon goes by "The Undertaker." He might also be called "The Chicken Whisperer," as he diligently answers to his roosters every time they give their telltale yodel. "Opapawaydjo," he exclaims ("Papa, where 'a John go?") before answering, "He 'a goin' to the store," when the roosters call back.
"I was born in the country. Since I was a kid, we raised chickens," explains Gadsdon, thumping his chest at a rooster who saunters up to the edge of the coop near him. "We were born close to the earth, and we live off the earth."
Gadsdon's case is a bit different from Georgia's. These are what he and his Geechee neighbors call yard chickens, and they're destined for the dinner table. With an almost equal prevalence of roosters and hens, the flock also wouldn't work too well in an urban environment.
Still, it's not unheard of to hear roosters making their dawn announcement on the peninsula. Penny Patton kept a rooster/hen pair in her Gibbes Street lawn for 14 years, just down the street from Mayor Joe Riley's house.
"He was the love of the neighborhood," recalls Patton of her rooster, explaining that potential complainers were often appeased by the promise of eggs or the adoration of their children. "But they do make a racket, let me tell you."
Patton says her chickens kept the yard free of cockroaches and termites, but also ate the baby bullfrogs living in her fountain.
"They always dig and scratch around for things. We would landscape the yard and then come home to five or six plants scattered around," she says.
Even on the peninsula, foxes, opossums, and raccoons are a threat. But despite clipped wings, the birds could still manage to get high into trees to roost.
Of course, chickens defecate freely and often. Cleaning out the chicken coop has never been a choice job on any farm. Although Patton appreciated the manure as a fertilizer, it's at the top of the "cons" column for other amateur chicken farmers. Other negatives are the inevitable holes left throughout the yard as the birds scratch, dig, and cool themselves down with dust baths.
Within the City of Charleston, it's legal to raise chickens, provided written permission is obtained from all neighbors within 150 feet. That stipulation means that most urban coops fly below the radar. City Paper spoke with three existing downtown chicken owners, none of whom wanted their names printed. All, however, love their hens. One lets hers walk around the kitchen and eat out of her hand. Another lost a hen to a hawk in broad daylight, a reminder of how the laws of nature still exist in the middle of the city.
Most downtown chicken owners stick with hens; they're quieter than roosters. "I have enough trouble with all the college kids around me without adding a rooster to the mix," says one peninsula chicken owner. Another downtown owner who has kept a rooster claims that she's heard others responding when hers called in the mornings. The Tractor Supply store in Ravenel says they've sold more chicks to Charleston residents this year than ever before.
Across the Ashley River, Sybil Fix's backyard coop may be the model of chickens raised right. Thirteen hens wander freely between a shaded, covered shed with plenty of room for nesting and an outdoor area where Fix hangs cabbages for them to munch on throughout the day. Inside her home, Fix's walls are adorned with dozens of paintings of her chickies, from tiny portraits to wall-sized hangings.
"I got them because I'm a huge animal lover. I thought it would be really interesting to develop a connection with a species so foreign to us," says Fix. "Then I started painting them to show their individuality."
Today, at age 7, Georgia happily introduces her hens by name — there's Ms. Frizzle, an especially fluffy Silkie, and her personal favorite, Brownie. Three roosters keep the seven hens company: Spike, Peewee, and Rudy (the bully of the bunch, claims Georgia). She shows off her chicken tractor, a mobile coop that lets chickens move to a fresh patch of grass each day. "They love greens, but they hate onions," explains the little girl, before scooping up Brownie into her arms and posing for a picture.
Georgia's chickens demonstrate both the ease and the work required to own chickens. The Dempseys ordered their chicks online and had food, water, and their coop ready to go when the post office called to say their squeaking little box had arrived. A year later, the family enjoys fresh, home-raised eggs on a daily basis (although the hens' output decreases as the days grow shorter), and Georgia has gained valuable lessons in responsibility at an early age.
Just down the street, Benjamin Tyrone Gadsdon keeps an even larger flock in a series of coops behind his home off of Bears Bluff Road. A mortician by trade, Gadsdon goes by "The Undertaker." He might also be called "The Chicken Whisperer," as he diligently answers to his roosters every time they give their telltale yodel. "Opapawaydjo," he exclaims ("Papa, where 'a John go?") before answering, "He 'a goin' to the store," when the roosters call back.
"I was born in the country. Since I was a kid, we raised chickens," explains Gadsdon, thumping his chest at a rooster who saunters up to the edge of the coop near him. "We were born close to the earth, and we live off the earth."
Gadsdon's case is a bit different from Georgia's. These are what he and his Geechee neighbors call yard chickens, and they're destined for the dinner table. With an almost equal prevalence of roosters and hens, the flock also wouldn't work too well in an urban environment.
Still, it's not unheard of to hear roosters making their dawn announcement on the peninsula. Penny Patton kept a rooster/hen pair in her Gibbes Street lawn for 14 years, just down the street from Mayor Joe Riley's house.
"He was the love of the neighborhood," recalls Patton of her rooster, explaining that potential complainers were often appeased by the promise of eggs or the adoration of their children. "But they do make a racket, let me tell you."
Patton says her chickens kept the yard free of cockroaches and termites, but also ate the baby bullfrogs living in her fountain.
"They always dig and scratch around for things. We would landscape the yard and then come home to five or six plants scattered around," she says.
Even on the peninsula, foxes, opossums, and raccoons are a threat. But despite clipped wings, the birds could still manage to get high into trees to roost.
Of course, chickens defecate freely and often. Cleaning out the chicken coop has never been a choice job on any farm. Although Patton appreciated the manure as a fertilizer, it's at the top of the "cons" column for other amateur chicken farmers. Other negatives are the inevitable holes left throughout the yard as the birds scratch, dig, and cool themselves down with dust baths.
Within the City of Charleston, it's legal to raise chickens, provided written permission is obtained from all neighbors within 150 feet. That stipulation means that most urban coops fly below the radar. City Paper spoke with three existing downtown chicken owners, none of whom wanted their names printed. All, however, love their hens. One lets hers walk around the kitchen and eat out of her hand. Another lost a hen to a hawk in broad daylight, a reminder of how the laws of nature still exist in the middle of the city.
Most downtown chicken owners stick with hens; they're quieter than roosters. "I have enough trouble with all the college kids around me without adding a rooster to the mix," says one peninsula chicken owner. Another downtown owner who has kept a rooster claims that she's heard others responding when hers called in the mornings. The Tractor Supply store in Ravenel says they've sold more chicks to Charleston residents this year than ever before.
Across the Ashley River, Sybil Fix's backyard coop may be the model of chickens raised right. Thirteen hens wander freely between a shaded, covered shed with plenty of room for nesting and an outdoor area where Fix hangs cabbages for them to munch on throughout the day. Inside her home, Fix's walls are adorned with dozens of paintings of her chickies, from tiny portraits to wall-sized hangings.
"I got them because I'm a huge animal lover. I thought it would be really interesting to develop a connection with a species so foreign to us," says Fix. "Then I started painting them to show their individuality."
2011年10月18日星期二
Schoolchildren bereft after fowl act of vandalism
SCHOOLCHILDREN in West Byfleet were left distraught after vandals wrecked a chicken coop, resulting in the disappearance of a prized pet.
Staff at West Byfleet Infant School in Camphill Road made the distressing discovery on Monday (October 10) when they arrived at work.
A specially-built cage, home to Lady Cluck Cluck, Sunny, Happy, and Dizzee Rascal, had been in place at the school for almost a year to allow the youngsters to watch the poultry as they developed from eggs to full-grown chickens.
The coop was tipped upside down at some point over the preceding weekend, according to staff, after being locked up on Friday (October 7), leaving headteacher Shirley James with the unenviable job of explaining what had happened to the school’s 200 pupils.
Year 2 class teacher Gemma Buckler, who is in charge of the chickens, said the youngsters were devastated when they heard about their feathered friends, to whom they had grown attached.
She said: “They were going to celebrate their first birthday on November 10, which is when they hatched last year.
“We’ve had chickens before and a fox got them, so we made a special coop for these ones.”
When teachers found the upturned coop, one of the chickens, Lady Cluck Cluck, was missing, and Miss Buckler believes she may have been a victim of a fox.
The remaining three chickens are safe and have temporarily been taken in by a parent of one of the pupils until money can be raised to pay for a new, more secure pen.
Staff at West Byfleet Infant School in Camphill Road made the distressing discovery on Monday (October 10) when they arrived at work.
A specially-built cage, home to Lady Cluck Cluck, Sunny, Happy, and Dizzee Rascal, had been in place at the school for almost a year to allow the youngsters to watch the poultry as they developed from eggs to full-grown chickens.
The coop was tipped upside down at some point over the preceding weekend, according to staff, after being locked up on Friday (October 7), leaving headteacher Shirley James with the unenviable job of explaining what had happened to the school’s 200 pupils.
Year 2 class teacher Gemma Buckler, who is in charge of the chickens, said the youngsters were devastated when they heard about their feathered friends, to whom they had grown attached.
She said: “They were going to celebrate their first birthday on November 10, which is when they hatched last year.
“We’ve had chickens before and a fox got them, so we made a special coop for these ones.”
When teachers found the upturned coop, one of the chickens, Lady Cluck Cluck, was missing, and Miss Buckler believes she may have been a victim of a fox.
The remaining three chickens are safe and have temporarily been taken in by a parent of one of the pupils until money can be raised to pay for a new, more secure pen.
2011年10月17日星期一
Backyard chicken' draft ordinance makes
'Backyard chicken' draft ordinance makes for decidedly fowl debate in Harris Township
An idea hatched to allow chickens on residential lots has ruffled feathers as township officials, staff and residents continue discussion of a draft ordinance.
Chickens currently are allowed on lots 10 acres or larger.
The draft is based on a resident request and is similar to ordinances adopted by State College in 2008 and Patton Township in 2009.
Those municipalities allow on-site composting and set violation fines of $50 to $600. Residents may keep four hens per single-family home, though in Patton, residents may keep up to eight hens for lots 2 acres or larger in the agricultural and R1 districts.
While Patton allows slaughtering for personal use, the borough prohibits it. The Harris draft also allows it.
Patton Manager Doug Erickson said the township has issued two or three permits since adopting the ordinance and received no complaints. He recalled much discussion both for and against keeping the birds in residential areas.
Borough Manager Tom Fountaine recalled the issue as highly controversial when first considered. However, since adoption, he called it a “nonissue” and said the borough hasn’t had any problems he’s aware of. The borough has issued five permits.
Harris Township’s draft ordinance calls for a smaller number of hens per lot, with one per 3,000 square feet and a maximum of four per lot up to 1 acre. For larger lots, residents could keep up to 10 hens per property that is less than 10 acres.
“Our issue is, in the village district, we have lots that are 3,000 square feet,” said Manager Amy Farkas. “The lots are just really small.”
However, some residents and supervisors called for a higher chicken density during a sometimes heated discussion at the Oct. 10 Board of Supervisors meeting.
A township website discussion page has received about 60 comments, and supervisor Denny Hameister said he doesn’t think the township has ever received more communication on an issue.
Supervisor Nigel Wilson said Planning Commission members, who will discuss the draft ordinance again tonight at 7, should raise the maximum to six or eight chickens per acre.
“Four seems too restrictive,” he said. “I visited a cousin with a real small backyard and he had five chickens. The only reason you knew he had them was you saw them. I think people are being a little scared about this.”
Also at issue was the draft requirement for a chicken coop permit and the prohibition of a movable coop. The “chicken tractors” essentially are coops with wheels, allowing someone to move a coop around the yard for grazing and to allow the spread of manure.
“It’s the standard mode of backyard chicken keeping in many places,” said resident Susan Squier.
Planning Commission member Paul Weener said he keeps chickens and uses a movable coop.
“It works well,” he said. “It’s a very common thing with backyard chickens.”
Zoning Officer Todd Shea said the problem is that such a coop would require a new permit any time it was moved, part of the township’s zoning law for structures.
“I’m not convinced it’s a good thing,” he said, noting that he could inspect a coop, leave the property, then not know if it continued to be compliant.
Regarding the permitting and enforcement, Farkas said she sometimes receives calls about dogs at large, and calls State College police, who provide service to the township.
“I don’t know who would deal with chickens escaping,” she said. “Who am I going to call if I can’t call the township? Will (Shea) be picking up vagrant chickens, like dogs?”
While Farkas said many good people live in the township, her concern is with the small percentage who will ignore the rules.
Already, some residents have concerns with the at-large “village chickens,” a flock of wild birds Farkas said showed up in 2008 and haven’t left, often hanging out by Duffy’s Tavern and sometimes causing a nuisance, digging in gardens and stopping traffic.
“We told people to deal with them however you would deal with any other animal on your property,” she said.
Resident Ken Hull said he has relocated a couple to a friend’s farm.
Township staff discovered residential chickens have become a trend across the country. Some pointed to it as another aspect of environmental consciousness, raising the birds for eggs and using the manure for compost.
“It’s something everybody zoned out of their residential districts years ago, and now sustainability has become an issue where people want to have access to that,” Farkas said. “It’s a very hot topic right now.”
An idea hatched to allow chickens on residential lots has ruffled feathers as township officials, staff and residents continue discussion of a draft ordinance.
Chickens currently are allowed on lots 10 acres or larger.
The draft is based on a resident request and is similar to ordinances adopted by State College in 2008 and Patton Township in 2009.
Those municipalities allow on-site composting and set violation fines of $50 to $600. Residents may keep four hens per single-family home, though in Patton, residents may keep up to eight hens for lots 2 acres or larger in the agricultural and R1 districts.
While Patton allows slaughtering for personal use, the borough prohibits it. The Harris draft also allows it.
Patton Manager Doug Erickson said the township has issued two or three permits since adopting the ordinance and received no complaints. He recalled much discussion both for and against keeping the birds in residential areas.
Borough Manager Tom Fountaine recalled the issue as highly controversial when first considered. However, since adoption, he called it a “nonissue” and said the borough hasn’t had any problems he’s aware of. The borough has issued five permits.
Harris Township’s draft ordinance calls for a smaller number of hens per lot, with one per 3,000 square feet and a maximum of four per lot up to 1 acre. For larger lots, residents could keep up to 10 hens per property that is less than 10 acres.
“Our issue is, in the village district, we have lots that are 3,000 square feet,” said Manager Amy Farkas. “The lots are just really small.”
However, some residents and supervisors called for a higher chicken density during a sometimes heated discussion at the Oct. 10 Board of Supervisors meeting.
A township website discussion page has received about 60 comments, and supervisor Denny Hameister said he doesn’t think the township has ever received more communication on an issue.
Supervisor Nigel Wilson said Planning Commission members, who will discuss the draft ordinance again tonight at 7, should raise the maximum to six or eight chickens per acre.
“Four seems too restrictive,” he said. “I visited a cousin with a real small backyard and he had five chickens. The only reason you knew he had them was you saw them. I think people are being a little scared about this.”
Also at issue was the draft requirement for a chicken coop permit and the prohibition of a movable coop. The “chicken tractors” essentially are coops with wheels, allowing someone to move a coop around the yard for grazing and to allow the spread of manure.
“It’s the standard mode of backyard chicken keeping in many places,” said resident Susan Squier.
Planning Commission member Paul Weener said he keeps chickens and uses a movable coop.
“It works well,” he said. “It’s a very common thing with backyard chickens.”
Zoning Officer Todd Shea said the problem is that such a coop would require a new permit any time it was moved, part of the township’s zoning law for structures.
“I’m not convinced it’s a good thing,” he said, noting that he could inspect a coop, leave the property, then not know if it continued to be compliant.
Regarding the permitting and enforcement, Farkas said she sometimes receives calls about dogs at large, and calls State College police, who provide service to the township.
“I don’t know who would deal with chickens escaping,” she said. “Who am I going to call if I can’t call the township? Will (Shea) be picking up vagrant chickens, like dogs?”
While Farkas said many good people live in the township, her concern is with the small percentage who will ignore the rules.
Already, some residents have concerns with the at-large “village chickens,” a flock of wild birds Farkas said showed up in 2008 and haven’t left, often hanging out by Duffy’s Tavern and sometimes causing a nuisance, digging in gardens and stopping traffic.
“We told people to deal with them however you would deal with any other animal on your property,” she said.
Resident Ken Hull said he has relocated a couple to a friend’s farm.
Township staff discovered residential chickens have become a trend across the country. Some pointed to it as another aspect of environmental consciousness, raising the birds for eggs and using the manure for compost.
“It’s something everybody zoned out of their residential districts years ago, and now sustainability has become an issue where people want to have access to that,” Farkas said. “It’s a very hot topic right now.”
2011年10月16日星期日
A job that's for the birds
Like that revelatory moment when martinis start to taste good or summer turns with one chill breeze to fall, that's how chicken farming entered my synapses -- synap, crackle, pop.
Our friends Mitch and Teresa were taking the kids on vacation for a few weeks, leaving their pre-pubescent hens in the hands of several neighbors, who tag-teamed the task. One neighbor one week, another the next. I found our stint with the chickens just long enough to fall in love with the whole concept.
"I want chickens too," said the little guy. So there you go.
Reminds me of disco, the senseless way raising your own chickens has swept the country, except that I think there is something deeper to it, more symptomatic of our current neuroses over the economy. Being self-sustaining seems suddenly very appealing.
All I know for sure is that organic is good, but nonorganic is far cheaper. And a chicken is really a beautiful and impressive bird, particularly when properly seasoned and roasted. In Mitch and Teresa's case, they were simply seeking some fresh eggs in the morning, along with a little hobby for their two boys.
When I first visited, I'd expected something like that yard in "The Wizard of Oz," with chickens running everywhere and gingham-wearing movie stars falling into hog pens, but Teresa and Mitch's backyard was remarkably normal. Nice pool. Cabana. Chicken hut.
There were tomatoes reddening in the garden, and loads of lettuce, which we were told we could feed to the chickens because they love greens. There was also a tub of chicken feed.
Basically, like me, a chicken will eat anything.
Mitch had built the 10-foot-by-10-footcoop . Before the California real estate crash, it alone would've fetched $450,000. Now far less. Because the schools are decent, probably in the $200,000-$300,000 range. Like I said, they have a pool.
Anyway, the first thing a backyard chicken farmer does is acquire some chicks, which apparently -- like Canadian Viagra -- can be bought through the mail.
"As long as the birds are properly packaged and can reach their destination within 72 hours of hatching, the U.S. Postal Service will accept live birds for delivery," a National Geographic article explains.
Foolishly obsessive over all new activities, I picked up a copy of "Recipe for Raising Chickens" by Minnie Rose Lovgreen, who is to chickens what Shakespeare was to broken hearts. "You can test a hen to see if she's laying," Lovgreen writes. "There are two bones (on) either side of a hen's rectum. You see, a hen only has one vent for everything. If you can fit two of your folded knuckles ... ."
OK, let's move on.
Lovgreen advises that it's good to clean the henhouse once a year with lime, and the thought of all these suburban moms and dads spending a Saturday brushing lime paste onto nesting boxes makes me think this chicken-raising phenomenon might last about one more week.
"Another kind of mite gets on the chickens' legs, and their legs get scaly," Lovgreen writes. "Rubbing carbolated Vaseline on their legs at night should help this problem."
There's another activity that will be hugely popular with our suburb's Chardonnay Moms.
Meanwhile, Lovgreen says roosters are necessary if you want fertile eggs, and "it's perfectly all right to eat fertile eggs, or non-fertile eggs. They taste the same. Sometimes people wonder about that." Other things people might have wondered about:
"If two roosters get to fighting hard, the only (thing) I can do is take a board and slap one of them in the face," Lovgreen writes. "I did that one time and the rooster never did know what hit him, so he gave up fighting."
"And the flies," confesses our friend Teresa. "That's another thing.
"The first three weeks of school, I was overwhelmed," she says of caring for the new chickens. "I do hear them more than I thought. I smell them more than I thought.
"But would I do it again? Absolutely."
"I would definitely do it over," says Patti Ann Miles of suburban Chicago, another friend. She has kept chickens since 2004. "We keep a very small garden, but we don't eat from it; we give it to the hens. So it's a nice cycle. And the eggs are truly delicious."
So I'm all ready to order some chickens, though given today's economy, I'm thinking it might be better just to lease a flock: three years with no money down, because you never want to put money upfront on a lease.
Rubber chickens are another option. There's nothing funnier at a retirement party. Presumably, they lay rubber eggs, which I would then use to make my own car tires.
Or a herd of hogs might be good. More vents. Higher yield.
And bacon goes with just about everything.
Our friends Mitch and Teresa were taking the kids on vacation for a few weeks, leaving their pre-pubescent hens in the hands of several neighbors, who tag-teamed the task. One neighbor one week, another the next. I found our stint with the chickens just long enough to fall in love with the whole concept.
"I want chickens too," said the little guy. So there you go.
Reminds me of disco, the senseless way raising your own chickens has swept the country, except that I think there is something deeper to it, more symptomatic of our current neuroses over the economy. Being self-sustaining seems suddenly very appealing.
All I know for sure is that organic is good, but nonorganic is far cheaper. And a chicken is really a beautiful and impressive bird, particularly when properly seasoned and roasted. In Mitch and Teresa's case, they were simply seeking some fresh eggs in the morning, along with a little hobby for their two boys.
When I first visited, I'd expected something like that yard in "The Wizard of Oz," with chickens running everywhere and gingham-wearing movie stars falling into hog pens, but Teresa and Mitch's backyard was remarkably normal. Nice pool. Cabana. Chicken hut.
There were tomatoes reddening in the garden, and loads of lettuce, which we were told we could feed to the chickens because they love greens. There was also a tub of chicken feed.
Basically, like me, a chicken will eat anything.
Mitch had built the 10-foot-by-10-foot
Anyway, the first thing a backyard chicken farmer does is acquire some chicks, which apparently -- like Canadian Viagra -- can be bought through the mail.
"As long as the birds are properly packaged and can reach their destination within 72 hours of hatching, the U.S. Postal Service will accept live birds for delivery," a National Geographic article explains.
Foolishly obsessive over all new activities, I picked up a copy of "Recipe for Raising Chickens" by Minnie Rose Lovgreen, who is to chickens what Shakespeare was to broken hearts. "You can test a hen to see if she's laying," Lovgreen writes. "There are two bones (on) either side of a hen's rectum. You see, a hen only has one vent for everything. If you can fit two of your folded knuckles ... ."
OK, let's move on.
Lovgreen advises that it's good to clean the henhouse once a year with lime, and the thought of all these suburban moms and dads spending a Saturday brushing lime paste onto nesting boxes makes me think this chicken-raising phenomenon might last about one more week.
"Another kind of mite gets on the chickens' legs, and their legs get scaly," Lovgreen writes. "Rubbing carbolated Vaseline on their legs at night should help this problem."
There's another activity that will be hugely popular with our suburb's Chardonnay Moms.
Meanwhile, Lovgreen says roosters are necessary if you want fertile eggs, and "it's perfectly all right to eat fertile eggs, or non-fertile eggs. They taste the same. Sometimes people wonder about that." Other things people might have wondered about:
"If two roosters get to fighting hard, the only (thing) I can do is take a board and slap one of them in the face," Lovgreen writes. "I did that one time and the rooster never did know what hit him, so he gave up fighting."
"And the flies," confesses our friend Teresa. "That's another thing.
"The first three weeks of school, I was overwhelmed," she says of caring for the new chickens. "I do hear them more than I thought. I smell them more than I thought.
"But would I do it again? Absolutely."
"I would definitely do it over," says Patti Ann Miles of suburban Chicago, another friend. She has kept chickens since 2004. "We keep a very small garden, but we don't eat from it; we give it to the hens. So it's a nice cycle. And the eggs are truly delicious."
So I'm all ready to order some chickens, though given today's economy, I'm thinking it might be better just to lease a flock: three years with no money down, because you never want to put money upfront on a lease.
Rubber chickens are another option. There's nothing funnier at a retirement party. Presumably, they lay rubber eggs, which I would then use to make my own car tires.
Or a herd of hogs might be good. More vents. Higher yield.
And bacon goes with just about everything.
2011年10月13日星期四
Animal kills cats, chickens in Fresno County
A Fresno County neighborhood is worried about the death of several pets in their community.
An animal has been killing chickens and at least one cat in a rural neighborhood on McKinley west of Highway 99.
Lots of folks in Fresno County have backyard chicken coops, or even pet chickens. And they can become tasty targets for a variety of wild animals.
This backyard has been home to a small flock of chickens for more than 20 years. But their numbers are declining, quickly.
In the past week one chicken a night has been killed by an unknown predator. Their owner, Stella Mange says she is awakened by their screams, which sound almost human.
Action News asked, "You didn't know chickens could scream."
"Not like that," replied Mange. "Not like that I mean they were screaming for their life. It's really heartbreaking because they are like pets to you."
Stella's chickens have free run of the yard. They roost at night in a tree. But whatever is killing them climbs right up. Stella's daughter Debbie says there's usually not much left.
Stella's Daughter, Debbie Hatfield said, "There was feathers, different piles of feathers all through here down the side of the house and the last one that had actual chicken remains, we had to clean up that mess."
Now, it's not just chickens. A neighborhood cat was found ripped apart next door.
In talking to experts we've learned the most likely culprit is a red fox. They are common along the outskirts of the city. With an empty field next to her property, a fox would have easy access to Stella's chickens, and they can climb trees and they like coyotes can kill cats.
Stella is doing what she can she's bought a trap, but so far, the predator hasn't bothered it. She keeps a BB gun ready, in case she sees the culprit. But admits it won't do much. She wants to protect the animals, but feels helpless.
Mange saidm "I feel sorry for them because I'm defenseless I can't do nothing for them."
The Fresno County Agriculture Commissioner's office is responsible for keeping wild animals from commercial poultry and livestock operations. Action News contacted them on Stella's behalf, and they have offered to help.
Red foxes are not native species and can be treated as pests and killed if necessary.
An animal has been killing chickens and at least one cat in a rural neighborhood on McKinley west of Highway 99.
Lots of folks in Fresno County have backyard chicken coops, or even pet chickens. And they can become tasty targets for a variety of wild animals.
This backyard has been home to a small flock of chickens for more than 20 years. But their numbers are declining, quickly.
In the past week one chicken a night has been killed by an unknown predator. Their owner, Stella Mange says she is awakened by their screams, which sound almost human.
Action News asked, "You didn't know chickens could scream."
"Not like that," replied Mange. "Not like that I mean they were screaming for their life. It's really heartbreaking because they are like pets to you."
Stella's chickens have free run of the yard. They roost at night in a tree. But whatever is killing them climbs right up. Stella's daughter Debbie says there's usually not much left.
Stella's Daughter, Debbie Hatfield said, "There was feathers, different piles of feathers all through here down the side of the house and the last one that had actual chicken remains, we had to clean up that mess."
Now, it's not just chickens. A neighborhood cat was found ripped apart next door.
In talking to experts we've learned the most likely culprit is a red fox. They are common along the outskirts of the city. With an empty field next to her property, a fox would have easy access to Stella's chickens, and they can climb trees and they like coyotes can kill cats.
Stella is doing what she can she's bought a trap, but so far, the predator hasn't bothered it. She keeps a BB gun ready, in case she sees the culprit. But admits it won't do much. She wants to protect the animals, but feels helpless.
Mange saidm "I feel sorry for them because I'm defenseless I can't do nothing for them."
The Fresno County Agriculture Commissioner's office is responsible for keeping wild animals from commercial poultry and livestock operations. Action News contacted them on Stella's behalf, and they have offered to help.
Red foxes are not native species and can be treated as pests and killed if necessary.
2011年10月12日星期三
Talking chickens: Plastic v wooden houses
In recent years a new player has emerged onto the backyard poultry housing market: the plastic chicken house.
One of the biggest claims you will see in the advertising literature for these new plastic constructions relates to the poultry keeper's nemesis, red mite (Dermanyssus gallinae).
For those that are not familiar with this little devil, it's a small ectoparasite that feeds on the blood of poultry and other bird species. In the right conditions it can complete its life cycle of egg to egg-laying adult in seven days, so populations can explode if they're not dealt with quickly and effectively. And they can survive without feeding for up to nine months. All this makes red mite the bane of the poultry keeper's life and something that is capable of killing your flock. For those familiar with it, you will no doubt be itching by now, in the knowledge that they are not opposed to trying out a human as a potential host.
I've seen one or two adverts that stake the claim that plastic housing is red mite-proof. Don't be fooled by this. The consensus is that red mite lives in cracks in the housing and come out to feed on the birds blood at night when they are roosting; but this isn't not the whole truth – red mite can and will live on the bird if the conditions are favourable.
Let's face it, the other widely-held belief is that wild birds transport red mite. Well if red mite are only present on birds when they are asleep, how can they be transported to poultry and poultry housing by wild birds - sleepwalking sparrows perhaps? Agreed, a house that minimises the cracks and crevices stands a fair better chance of not harbouring a red mite population, but that doesn't mean you or your poultry will necessarily be red mite-free: very little other than vigilance and good animal husbandry will stop the charge of the mite brigade.
Where plastic house construction does come into its own versus wood is when it comes to cleaning and annual maintenance. The cleaning of plastic houses is much easier than wooden housing, and maintenance is practically zero. Many of the plastic designs can be cleaned out, washed and dried in under 30 minutes, while wooden housing will take significantly longer to dry, especially in the depths of winter. This advantage should not be underestimated. In the height of summer your flock may not require the house for the whole day and so cleaning and drying times won't be relevant, but on bad weather days you won't want the house out of action for too long or for the birds to face roosting in a soggy house.
So what's to be said for wooden housing? The cost of a high quality wooden ones will be in the same region as the plastic designs (avoid the poorly constructed cheap and nasty wood built houses mentioned in my last post), so there's little in it from a price perspective. It boils down to design. Plastic housing represents a fraction of the market when it comes to available options. Wooden houses offer a far greater level of flexibility and modification with housing available not only to meet the specific needs of your specific breeds, but also the needs of your garden. They are also far easier to repair should the need arise.
Wood is a naturally breathable product and a well-designed wooden house will not suffer from condensation, which can be a problem in poultry housing. Inadequate ventilation coupled with a non-breathable material such as plastic will result in moisture running down the walls, resulting in a damp floor litter that leades to fungal growth and respiratory disorders in the birds.
The plastic v wooden debate has been going on in the poultry world for a few years now. I use both and they each have their pros and cons: in the end it can be down to personal preference. As long as the house is designed with both the keeper and the poultry in mind, and preferably designed by somebody whose experience of poultry extends beyond a visit to the butcher, then they both wooden and plastic housing serve their purpose in equal measure.
One of the biggest claims you will see in the advertising literature for these new plastic constructions relates to the poultry keeper's nemesis, red mite (Dermanyssus gallinae).
For those that are not familiar with this little devil, it's a small ectoparasite that feeds on the blood of poultry and other bird species. In the right conditions it can complete its life cycle of egg to egg-laying adult in seven days, so populations can explode if they're not dealt with quickly and effectively. And they can survive without feeding for up to nine months. All this makes red mite the bane of the poultry keeper's life and something that is capable of killing your flock. For those familiar with it, you will no doubt be itching by now, in the knowledge that they are not opposed to trying out a human as a potential host.
I've seen one or two adverts that stake the claim that plastic housing is red mite-proof. Don't be fooled by this. The consensus is that red mite lives in cracks in the housing and come out to feed on the birds blood at night when they are roosting; but this isn't not the whole truth – red mite can and will live on the bird if the conditions are favourable.
Let's face it, the other widely-held belief is that wild birds transport red mite. Well if red mite are only present on birds when they are asleep, how can they be transported to poultry and poultry housing by wild birds - sleepwalking sparrows perhaps? Agreed, a house that minimises the cracks and crevices stands a fair better chance of not harbouring a red mite population, but that doesn't mean you or your poultry will necessarily be red mite-free: very little other than vigilance and good animal husbandry will stop the charge of the mite brigade.
Where plastic house construction does come into its own versus wood is when it comes to cleaning and annual maintenance. The cleaning of plastic houses is much easier than wooden housing, and maintenance is practically zero. Many of the plastic designs can be cleaned out, washed and dried in under 30 minutes, while wooden housing will take significantly longer to dry, especially in the depths of winter. This advantage should not be underestimated. In the height of summer your flock may not require the house for the whole day and so cleaning and drying times won't be relevant, but on bad weather days you won't want the house out of action for too long or for the birds to face roosting in a soggy house.
So what's to be said for wooden housing? The cost of a high quality wooden ones will be in the same region as the plastic designs (avoid the poorly constructed cheap and nasty wood built houses mentioned in my last post), so there's little in it from a price perspective. It boils down to design. Plastic housing represents a fraction of the market when it comes to available options. Wooden houses offer a far greater level of flexibility and modification with housing available not only to meet the specific needs of your specific breeds, but also the needs of your garden. They are also far easier to repair should the need arise.
Wood is a naturally breathable product and a well-designed wooden house will not suffer from condensation, which can be a problem in poultry housing. Inadequate ventilation coupled with a non-breathable material such as plastic will result in moisture running down the walls, resulting in a damp floor litter that leades to fungal growth and respiratory disorders in the birds.
The plastic v wooden debate has been going on in the poultry world for a few years now. I use both and they each have their pros and cons: in the end it can be down to personal preference. As long as the house is designed with both the keeper and the poultry in mind, and preferably designed by somebody whose experience of poultry extends beyond a visit to the butcher, then they both wooden and plastic housing serve their purpose in equal measure.
2011年10月11日星期二
Spartanburg City Council passes first reading on chicken ordinance
There just might be a chicken dance soon inside Dr. Brian Rothemich's Coop D'Ville.
Spartanburg City Council voted in favor of amending its 2009 animal control ordinance Monday to allow residents to own up to six hens, with some restrictions.
Rothemich, a retired Spartanburg physician, had asked council to amend its ordinance to allow hens after he was cited this past autumn for having five hens in his Coop D'ville — a chicken coop outside his Converse Heights home.
Rothemich's request has since prompted lengthy debate on council and culminated Monday during a public hearing designed to gauge citizen's interest in allowing a limited number of hens.
Several city residents spoke, and a couple of comments were received from people who live in the county, during a public hearing Monday in support of Rothemich's request. Most said owning hens was not much different than owning cats or dogs if the owner is responsible in providing a safe, protected and clean area for their animals.
Only one resident, Jack Slemenda of Hillbrook Drive, spoke against the proposal, citing possible disease concerns and that hens could be prey for predators such as coyotes and foxes. Slemenda said a “handful of cities might allow hens, but that was hardly a reason for Spartanburg” to do so.
“We've been made to believe by a handful of people that if we allow this, Spartanburg has arrived, but there are more important issues that need to be addressed other than whether to allow henhouses,” he said.
Others, including a pediatrician and a veterinarian in addition to Rothemich, asked council to consider the proposal. Some, however, said the guidelines that staff had introduced were too restrictive.
Rothemich reiterated the health benefits of fresh eggs and said hens don't produce nearly the noise that an annoying barking dog does.
Rothemich said asking adjacent neighbors to endorse hens annually was cumbersome, but he didn't balk at paying an annual fees as suggested by Councilwoman Linda Dogan.
Dogan previously had spoken against the proposal, but she made the motion to approve the item on first reading if owners paid an annual fee — she suggested $5 per hen — during the permitting process.
City Manager Ed Memmott said it would be appropriate for council to discuss possible fees during its budget sessions in May, and the public would have an opportunity to speak for or against fees at that time. Any fee would likely go into effect on July 1, 2012, the first day of the next fiscal year.
Councilman Joe Spigner voted against the measure, saying he was voting the conscience of his constituents.
Spigner, who is running for re-election this year, said he's been talking with residents in his district and has not met one constituent who is in favor of allowing hens in the city.
“When I talk to people, I hear a lot of skepticism,” he said. “I'm just trying to echo their sentiments.”
Councilwoman Cate Ryba, whose district includes Converse Heights, said she's excited the item has been approved, and she thinks having a fee associated with the permitting process is fair.
“What we heard tonight is that hens are pets with the added bonus of laying eggs,” Ryba said. “I think it's clear from the majority of those who spoke here tonight is this is something people want.”
Spartanburg City Council voted in favor of amending its 2009 animal control ordinance Monday to allow residents to own up to six hens, with some restrictions.
Rothemich, a retired Spartanburg physician, had asked council to amend its ordinance to allow hens after he was cited this past autumn for having five hens in his Coop D'ville — a chicken coop outside his Converse Heights home.
Rothemich's request has since prompted lengthy debate on council and culminated Monday during a public hearing designed to gauge citizen's interest in allowing a limited number of hens.
Several city residents spoke, and a couple of comments were received from people who live in the county, during a public hearing Monday in support of Rothemich's request. Most said owning hens was not much different than owning cats or dogs if the owner is responsible in providing a safe, protected and clean area for their animals.
Only one resident, Jack Slemenda of Hillbrook Drive, spoke against the proposal, citing possible disease concerns and that hens could be prey for predators such as coyotes and foxes. Slemenda said a “handful of cities might allow hens, but that was hardly a reason for Spartanburg” to do so.
“We've been made to believe by a handful of people that if we allow this, Spartanburg has arrived, but there are more important issues that need to be addressed other than whether to allow henhouses,” he said.
Others, including a pediatrician and a veterinarian in addition to Rothemich, asked council to consider the proposal. Some, however, said the guidelines that staff had introduced were too restrictive.
Rothemich reiterated the health benefits of fresh eggs and said hens don't produce nearly the noise that an annoying barking dog does.
Rothemich said asking adjacent neighbors to endorse hens annually was cumbersome, but he didn't balk at paying an annual fees as suggested by Councilwoman Linda Dogan.
Dogan previously had spoken against the proposal, but she made the motion to approve the item on first reading if owners paid an annual fee — she suggested $5 per hen — during the permitting process.
City Manager Ed Memmott said it would be appropriate for council to discuss possible fees during its budget sessions in May, and the public would have an opportunity to speak for or against fees at that time. Any fee would likely go into effect on July 1, 2012, the first day of the next fiscal year.
Councilman Joe Spigner voted against the measure, saying he was voting the conscience of his constituents.
Spigner, who is running for re-election this year, said he's been talking with residents in his district and has not met one constituent who is in favor of allowing hens in the city.
“When I talk to people, I hear a lot of skepticism,” he said. “I'm just trying to echo their sentiments.”
Councilwoman Cate Ryba, whose district includes Converse Heights, said she's excited the item has been approved, and she thinks having a fee associated with the permitting process is fair.
“What we heard tonight is that hens are pets with the added bonus of laying eggs,” Ryba said. “I think it's clear from the majority of those who spoke here tonight is this is something people want.”
2011年10月10日星期一
Chooks poached from St James Primary School
BRAZEN thieves targeted a Ballarat school, hair salon, trout farm, bakery and a garden store at the weekend, in five separate incidents that cost business owners thousands of dollars in lost goods and equipment.
Six chickens were taken from St James’ Parish Primary School in Sebastopol on Saturday, upsetting pupils on their first day back after the holidays.
Deputy principal Peter Fahey said it was the second time thieves had targeted the school in the past 12 months.
Late last year six other chickens were taken from the school and never recovered.
After that incident, pupils installed a lock, sensor lights and heavy wire on the chicken coop, in an effort to deter thieves.
Grade five pupil Ella Kendall said her classmates were finding it hard to deal with losing the chickens for a second time.
“It’s pretty upsetting because we’ve taken all of these precautions and the chickens were almost ready to lay eggs,” she said.
Ballarat Garden Supplies owner Brendan Lovell said thieves made off with more than $5000 in tools and equipment from his business.
He said they also “went through” two offices at the Mount Clear site.
“It’s pretty hard to recover from something like this – it is a massive set-back,” he said.
Staff arrived at the Alfredton Bakery yesterday to find the building ransacked.
Thieves broke through two locked doors to steal a set of knives, an audio system and to ransack the building, casing a major headache for the owners.
A Mount Clear hairdressing salon was also hit, with thieves breaking in about 3.30am yesterday.
Upper Cutz Hair Studio owner Emily Tripp said the back door was forced open before thieves helped themselves to more than $1000 in cash and equipment.
“They’re pigdogs – I’d like to get my hands on them,” she said.
Ballarat Trout Hatchery president Dennis Ventley said his organisation’s Lake Wendouree office was trashed during the weekend break-in.
“Any break-in is always a set-back,” he said.
“We’ve been rolled quite a number of times actually – at least they didn’t take too much this time. We’re a volunteer organisation, all run by volunteers so something like this really hurts,” he said.
Ballarat Police Sergeant Jo Graham said police did not have reason to believe the thefts were linked.
Six chickens were taken from St James’ Parish Primary School in Sebastopol on Saturday, upsetting pupils on their first day back after the holidays.
Deputy principal Peter Fahey said it was the second time thieves had targeted the school in the past 12 months.
Late last year six other chickens were taken from the school and never recovered.
After that incident, pupils installed a lock, sensor lights and heavy wire on the chicken coop, in an effort to deter thieves.
Grade five pupil Ella Kendall said her classmates were finding it hard to deal with losing the chickens for a second time.
“It’s pretty upsetting because we’ve taken all of these precautions and the chickens were almost ready to lay eggs,” she said.
Ballarat Garden Supplies owner Brendan Lovell said thieves made off with more than $5000 in tools and equipment from his business.
He said they also “went through” two offices at the Mount Clear site.
“It’s pretty hard to recover from something like this – it is a massive set-back,” he said.
Staff arrived at the Alfredton Bakery yesterday to find the building ransacked.
Thieves broke through two locked doors to steal a set of knives, an audio system and to ransack the building, casing a major headache for the owners.
A Mount Clear hairdressing salon was also hit, with thieves breaking in about 3.30am yesterday.
Upper Cutz Hair Studio owner Emily Tripp said the back door was forced open before thieves helped themselves to more than $1000 in cash and equipment.
“They’re pigdogs – I’d like to get my hands on them,” she said.
Ballarat Trout Hatchery president Dennis Ventley said his organisation’s Lake Wendouree office was trashed during the weekend break-in.
“Any break-in is always a set-back,” he said.
“We’ve been rolled quite a number of times actually – at least they didn’t take too much this time. We’re a volunteer organisation, all run by volunteers so something like this really hurts,” he said.
Ballarat Police Sergeant Jo Graham said police did not have reason to believe the thefts were linked.
2011年10月9日星期日
Backyard coops produce great pets
Neal Brown has a chicken farm so tiny, the North Carolina Poultry Federation doesn’t even know it exists. The City of Greenville does, however, and that’s why Farmer Brown is not looking to expand.
Brown and his wife, Paula, have joined a growing number of urban dwellers cooping laying hens behind their homes. Raleigh has so many city chickens, coop owners organized the annual Tour d’Coop, which sells tickets for a first-hand look at keeping chickens in an urban environment.
Proceeds from the Tour d’Coop benefit a local food bank.
Greenville allows up to four hens per dwelling, but no roosters, for obvious reasons.
While the urban-coop movement is largely egged on by animal or environmental activism, that is not what inspired the Browns to raise chickens at their home in Westhaven subdivision.
“Our granddaughters said they wanted either a pony or chickens,” Brown said. “We went with chickens.”
The retired railroad conductor went to work last fall on building a playhouse for granddaughters Sarah Ruth, 3, and Caroline, 5. The structure’s bottom half became an indoor/outdoor chicken coop this spring.
Playing off the unique building’s dual purpose, an attached sign reads, “Chicks Over Chicks.”
Brown had never raised chickens, so he relied on the Internet for guidance.
“I went on Craigslist and found a guy in Hookerton with about 10 varieties of chicks,” he said. “I asked if he could determine their sex, and he said no.”
From an initial batch of 10 chicks, Brown ended up with four birds he could keep. He gave the roosters away.
Now, the hens have the run of the Browns’ backyard and allow the girls to pick them up and carry them. Holding a big brown hen, Caroline recited their names: “Holly, Heather, Calico and Crooked Neck.”
Crooked Neck was injured as a chick and cannot hold its head up straight.
“I found out that when that happens to them, they’re not supposed to survive,” Brown said. “They’ll either starve to death or the other chickens will kill them. Does that chicken look like it’s starving?”
Crooked Neck manages to strut around the yard and find plenty of chicken feed despite the condition. Besides feed, the birds will eat most any flowering plant. For meticulous landscapers such as the Browns, that can be a problem.
“They’ll eat everything but the weeds,” Brown said. “They love my hostas and every blooming plant I’ve got, but they won’t eat my weeds.”
Brown has had to wrap some of his more delicate plants in chicken wire. To reward him for his troubles, the chickens produce daily eggs.
“We started keeping egg cartons this summer,” Paula said, displaying a carton filled with brown eggs, “because we knew we were going to start getting eggs.”
“I love breakfast,” Neal Brown said. “It’s my favorite meal of the day.”
Brown and his wife, Paula, have joined a growing number of urban dwellers cooping laying hens behind their homes. Raleigh has so many city chickens, coop owners organized the annual Tour d’Coop, which sells tickets for a first-hand look at keeping chickens in an urban environment.
Proceeds from the Tour d’Coop benefit a local food bank.
Greenville allows up to four hens per dwelling, but no roosters, for obvious reasons.
While the urban-coop movement is largely egged on by animal or environmental activism, that is not what inspired the Browns to raise chickens at their home in Westhaven subdivision.
“Our granddaughters said they wanted either a pony or chickens,” Brown said. “We went with chickens.”
The retired railroad conductor went to work last fall on building a playhouse for granddaughters Sarah Ruth, 3, and Caroline, 5. The structure’s bottom half became an indoor/outdoor chicken coop this spring.
Playing off the unique building’s dual purpose, an attached sign reads, “Chicks Over Chicks.”
Brown had never raised chickens, so he relied on the Internet for guidance.
“I went on Craigslist and found a guy in Hookerton with about 10 varieties of chicks,” he said. “I asked if he could determine their sex, and he said no.”
From an initial batch of 10 chicks, Brown ended up with four birds he could keep. He gave the roosters away.
Now, the hens have the run of the Browns’ backyard and allow the girls to pick them up and carry them. Holding a big brown hen, Caroline recited their names: “Holly, Heather, Calico and Crooked Neck.”
Crooked Neck was injured as a chick and cannot hold its head up straight.
“I found out that when that happens to them, they’re not supposed to survive,” Brown said. “They’ll either starve to death or the other chickens will kill them. Does that chicken look like it’s starving?”
Crooked Neck manages to strut around the yard and find plenty of chicken feed despite the condition. Besides feed, the birds will eat most any flowering plant. For meticulous landscapers such as the Browns, that can be a problem.
“They’ll eat everything but the weeds,” Brown said. “They love my hostas and every blooming plant I’ve got, but they won’t eat my weeds.”
Brown has had to wrap some of his more delicate plants in chicken wire. To reward him for his troubles, the chickens produce daily eggs.
“We started keeping egg cartons this summer,” Paula said, displaying a carton filled with brown eggs, “because we knew we were going to start getting eggs.”
“I love breakfast,” Neal Brown said. “It’s my favorite meal of the day.”
2011年10月8日星期六
As with all poultry, just follow the recipe
Like that revelatory moment when martinis start to taste good or summer turns with one chill breeze to fall, that's how chicken farming entered my synapses — synap, crackle, pop.
Our friends Mitch and Teresa were taking the kids on vacation for a few weeks, leaving their pre-pubescent hens in the hands of several neighbors, who tag-teamed the task. One neighbor one week, another the next. I found our stint with the chickens just long enough to fall in love with the whole concept.
"I want chickens too," said the little guy. So there you go.
Reminds me of disco, the senseless way raising your own chickens has swept the country, except that I think there is something deeper to it, more symptomatic of our current neuroses over the economy. Being self-sustaining seems suddenly very appealing.
All I know for sure is that organic is good, but nonorganic is far cheaper. And a chicken is really a beautiful and impressive bird, particularly when properly seasoned and roasted.
In Mitch and Teresa's case, they were simply seeking some fresh eggs in the morning, along with a little hobby for their two boys.
When I first visited, I'd expected something like that yard in "The Wizard of Oz," with chickens running everywhere and gingham-wearing movie stars falling into hog pens, but Teresa and Mitch's backyard was remarkably normal. Nice pool. Cabana. Chicken hut.
There were tomatoes reddening in the garden, and loads of lettuce, which we were told we could feed to the chickens because they love greens. There was also a tub of chicken feed.
Basically, like me, a chicken will eat anything.
Mitch had built the 10-foot-by-10-foot coop. Before the California real estate crash, it alone would've fetched $450,000. Now far less. Because the schools are decent, probably in the $200,000-$300,000 range. Like I said, they have a pool.
Anyway, the first thing a backyard chicken farmer does is acquire some chicks, which apparently — like Canadian Viagra — can be bought through the mail.
"As long as the birds are properly packaged and can reach their destination within 72 hours of hatching, the U.S. Postal Service will accept live birds for delivery," a National Geographic article explains.
Foolishly obsessive over all new activities, I picked up a copy of "Recipe for Raising Chickens" by Minnie Rose Lovgreen, who is to chickens what Shakespeare was to broken hearts.
"You can test a hen to see if she's laying," Lovgreen writes. "There are two bones [on] either side of a hen's rectum. You see, a hen only has one vent for everything. If you can fit two of your folded knuckles … ."
OK, let's move on.
Lovgreen advises that it's good to clean the henhouse once a year with lime, and the thought of all these suburban moms and dads spending a Saturday brushing lime paste onto nesting boxes makes me think this chicken-raising phenomenon might last about one more week.
"Another kind of mite gets on the chickens' legs, and their legs get scaly," Lovgreen writes. "Rubbing carbolated Vaseline on their legs at night should help this problem."
There's another activity that will be hugely popular with our suburb's Chardonnay Moms.
Meanwhile, Lovgreen says roosters are necessary if you want fertile eggs, and "it's perfectly all right to eat fertile eggs, or non-fertile eggs. They taste the same. Sometimes people wonder about that."
Our friends Mitch and Teresa were taking the kids on vacation for a few weeks, leaving their pre-pubescent hens in the hands of several neighbors, who tag-teamed the task. One neighbor one week, another the next. I found our stint with the chickens just long enough to fall in love with the whole concept.
"I want chickens too," said the little guy. So there you go.
Reminds me of disco, the senseless way raising your own chickens has swept the country, except that I think there is something deeper to it, more symptomatic of our current neuroses over the economy. Being self-sustaining seems suddenly very appealing.
All I know for sure is that organic is good, but nonorganic is far cheaper. And a chicken is really a beautiful and impressive bird, particularly when properly seasoned and roasted.
In Mitch and Teresa's case, they were simply seeking some fresh eggs in the morning, along with a little hobby for their two boys.
When I first visited, I'd expected something like that yard in "The Wizard of Oz," with chickens running everywhere and gingham-wearing movie stars falling into hog pens, but Teresa and Mitch's backyard was remarkably normal. Nice pool. Cabana. Chicken hut.
There were tomatoes reddening in the garden, and loads of lettuce, which we were told we could feed to the chickens because they love greens. There was also a tub of chicken feed.
Basically, like me, a chicken will eat anything.
Mitch had built the 10-foot-by-10-foot coop. Before the California real estate crash, it alone would've fetched $450,000. Now far less. Because the schools are decent, probably in the $200,000-$300,000 range. Like I said, they have a pool.
Anyway, the first thing a backyard chicken farmer does is acquire some chicks, which apparently — like Canadian Viagra — can be bought through the mail.
"As long as the birds are properly packaged and can reach their destination within 72 hours of hatching, the U.S. Postal Service will accept live birds for delivery," a National Geographic article explains.
Foolishly obsessive over all new activities, I picked up a copy of "Recipe for Raising Chickens" by Minnie Rose Lovgreen, who is to chickens what Shakespeare was to broken hearts.
"You can test a hen to see if she's laying," Lovgreen writes. "There are two bones [on] either side of a hen's rectum. You see, a hen only has one vent for everything. If you can fit two of your folded knuckles … ."
OK, let's move on.
Lovgreen advises that it's good to clean the henhouse once a year with lime, and the thought of all these suburban moms and dads spending a Saturday brushing lime paste onto nesting boxes makes me think this chicken-raising phenomenon might last about one more week.
"Another kind of mite gets on the chickens' legs, and their legs get scaly," Lovgreen writes. "Rubbing carbolated Vaseline on their legs at night should help this problem."
There's another activity that will be hugely popular with our suburb's Chardonnay Moms.
Meanwhile, Lovgreen says roosters are necessary if you want fertile eggs, and "it's perfectly all right to eat fertile eggs, or non-fertile eggs. They taste the same. Sometimes people wonder about that."
2011年10月7日星期五
A Tour of Chicago’s Chicken Coops
I must admit that Chicago was the last place I expected to have a close encounter with livestock that weren’t part of a petting zoo. But with the growing popularity of urban agriculture, it’s beginning to feel like “Green Acres” around here.
Remember the runaway roosters spotted on Paulina this past summer? They have friends. Lots of them.
The second annual tour of Chicago’s backyard chicken coops, held in late September and sponsored by Windy City Chickens, featured 27 locations that stretched from Evanston to Hyde Park. And those were just the people willing to open up their homes to strangers.
On a relentlessly drizzly afternoon, I set out to visit the handful of coops within walking distance of Lincoln Square, pulling on a pair of rubber boots as a precautionary measure. (Do I have to spell it out for you? OK: p-o-o-p.) My first stop: Ainslie, where I was a bit freaked out to discover that the chickens were of the free range variety. As in, they had the run of the yard. Maybe I was Tippi Hedren in a past life, because I have an illogical fear of being pecked to death by birds.
“They’re not really aggressive,” coop keeper Tom Boeman assured me.
That was just one of the myths dispelled during the course of my adventure; education, it turned out, was the primary goal of the tour, according to Martha Boyd, program director of Angelic Organics Learning Center’s Urban Initiative in Chicago and moderator of the Chicago Chicken Enthusiasts website. (CCE is an excellent resource for anyone in a fowl frame of mind. Don’t have a yard? There are co-op options.)
The common misconception that backyard chickens are a messy, stinky, noisy nuisance nearly led to a ban on the birds four years ago by Chicago’s City Council, until Ald. Mary Ann Smith (48th Ward) stepped in and brokered a reprieve. The bad rap can be blamed more on those doing a poor job of tending to their flocks than the chickens themselves, Boyd noted. “We do what we can to help people understand it’s legal,” she said. “What we’ve been trying to do is say there are policies on the books to take care of any problems. That’s why I try to get aldermen and their staff out to see what it should be.”
If the tour is any indication, what those aldermen will likely discover: clean and well-maintained coops and healthy, beautiful birds being cared for like any household pet that happens to live outdoors. “The people who are doing this well are our ambassadors,” said Boyd.
“Doing well” typically means eliminating the major issue associated with urban chickens: Mr. Rooster, we’re talking about you and your cock-a-doodle-do. “Roosters are amazingly loud,” admitted Boyd. “In some neighborhoods, people grew up with the sound and like it, but it’s by far the biggest complaint.” While roosters are not prohibited in Chicago, excessive noise is and that includes crowing. “I just recommend no rooster,” said Boyd.
The owners I visited, all of them relative newbies with less than five years total experience among them, had taken that advice to heart.
Boeman, who raised his chickens from eggs, wound up with five hens and a couple of roosters. “We recognized that could be an issue,” he said of the roosters, so he found them a home with a farmer he met at the Oak Park farmers market. (Yeah, and my mom just happened to run into a “farmer” when she took our cat, Cuddles, to the animal shelter. I made Boeman swear his story was legit.)
While hens are typically much quieter cluckers (and certainly no more annoying than a barking dog, said Boeman), owners have come across the occasional obnoxious exception, the same way that out of millions of Italian-Americans, you’re bound to find a Snooki. Brian Westphal and Mike McVickar welcomed four foster chickens to their home on Winona when a friend received 10 by mistake. “But I only see three,” I noted.
The fourth hen was Rhonda. “She was very sassy. Personally, for us, she was a little too noisy,” McVickar explained. So they shipped her off to Westphal’s sister and brother-in-law, who run a farm in Wisconsin (swear to God), where Rhonda reacted like Carrie Bradshaw shipped off to, well, a farm in Wisconsin. She took one look at her less manicured country bumpkin sisters and promptly tried to escape. “She was definitely a city chicken,” laughed McVickar.
Prima donnas like Rhonda aside, owners agreed that chickens are actually quite low maintenance beyond the initial learning curve and coop construction: Chickens don’t need to be walked, there’s no litter box to deal with and unlike other exotic pets, they don’t cause widespread panic when they run away from home.
Remember the runaway roosters spotted on Paulina this past summer? They have friends. Lots of them.
The second annual tour of Chicago’s backyard chicken coops, held in late September and sponsored by Windy City Chickens, featured 27 locations that stretched from Evanston to Hyde Park. And those were just the people willing to open up their homes to strangers.
On a relentlessly drizzly afternoon, I set out to visit the handful of coops within walking distance of Lincoln Square, pulling on a pair of rubber boots as a precautionary measure. (Do I have to spell it out for you? OK: p-o-o-p.) My first stop: Ainslie, where I was a bit freaked out to discover that the chickens were of the free range variety. As in, they had the run of the yard. Maybe I was Tippi Hedren in a past life, because I have an illogical fear of being pecked to death by birds.
“They’re not really aggressive,” coop keeper Tom Boeman assured me.
That was just one of the myths dispelled during the course of my adventure; education, it turned out, was the primary goal of the tour, according to Martha Boyd, program director of Angelic Organics Learning Center’s Urban Initiative in Chicago and moderator of the Chicago Chicken Enthusiasts website. (CCE is an excellent resource for anyone in a fowl frame of mind. Don’t have a yard? There are co-op options.)
The common misconception that backyard chickens are a messy, stinky, noisy nuisance nearly led to a ban on the birds four years ago by Chicago’s City Council, until Ald. Mary Ann Smith (48th Ward) stepped in and brokered a reprieve. The bad rap can be blamed more on those doing a poor job of tending to their flocks than the chickens themselves, Boyd noted. “We do what we can to help people understand it’s legal,” she said. “What we’ve been trying to do is say there are policies on the books to take care of any problems. That’s why I try to get aldermen and their staff out to see what it should be.”
If the tour is any indication, what those aldermen will likely discover: clean and well-maintained coops and healthy, beautiful birds being cared for like any household pet that happens to live outdoors. “The people who are doing this well are our ambassadors,” said Boyd.
“Doing well” typically means eliminating the major issue associated with urban chickens: Mr. Rooster, we’re talking about you and your cock-a-doodle-do. “Roosters are amazingly loud,” admitted Boyd. “In some neighborhoods, people grew up with the sound and like it, but it’s by far the biggest complaint.” While roosters are not prohibited in Chicago, excessive noise is and that includes crowing. “I just recommend no rooster,” said Boyd.
The owners I visited, all of them relative newbies with less than five years total experience among them, had taken that advice to heart.
Boeman, who raised his chickens from eggs, wound up with five hens and a couple of roosters. “We recognized that could be an issue,” he said of the roosters, so he found them a home with a farmer he met at the Oak Park farmers market. (Yeah, and my mom just happened to run into a “farmer” when she took our cat, Cuddles, to the animal shelter. I made Boeman swear his story was legit.)
While hens are typically much quieter cluckers (and certainly no more annoying than a barking dog, said Boeman), owners have come across the occasional obnoxious exception, the same way that out of millions of Italian-Americans, you’re bound to find a Snooki. Brian Westphal and Mike McVickar welcomed four foster chickens to their home on Winona when a friend received 10 by mistake. “But I only see three,” I noted.
The fourth hen was Rhonda. “She was very sassy. Personally, for us, she was a little too noisy,” McVickar explained. So they shipped her off to Westphal’s sister and brother-in-law, who run a farm in Wisconsin (swear to God), where Rhonda reacted like Carrie Bradshaw shipped off to, well, a farm in Wisconsin. She took one look at her less manicured country bumpkin sisters and promptly tried to escape. “She was definitely a city chicken,” laughed McVickar.
Prima donnas like Rhonda aside, owners agreed that chickens are actually quite low maintenance beyond the initial learning curve and coop construction: Chickens don’t need to be walked, there’s no litter box to deal with and unlike other exotic pets, they don’t cause widespread panic when they run away from home.
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