Story by Susan DeFreitas: Urban farming is all the rage these days, and chickens are increasingly chic. Many of us who dream of harvesting fresh eggs every day don’t have the first clue about how to get started, or how to take care of a flock of layers – but a new solar-powered chicken coop design called the Front Yard Coop Full Monty just might take the guesswork (not to mention a lot of the hassle) out of keeping chickens.
Developed in Katonah, N.Y., this mobile chicken coop was designed for the front yard – preferably one bounded by a fence or hedges, as it moves automatically throughout the day, ensuring that the chickens inside get some exercise, even when they’re all cooped up; giving the chickens fresh forage; and spreading beneficial manure over the entire lawn. When the coop hits a dead end, so to speak, it’s smart enough to reverse direction, keeping your chickens safe in your yard throughout the day.
Just fill the feed bin with grain and the water tank with water; this “smart coop” will dispense food and water at appropriate intervals, so you won’t have to wake up at the crack of dawn to make sure your feathered friends get fed. Roosting wastes are easily removed via a series of drawers, and foraging waste helps to keep your lawn green. Predators are repelled by an electrified fence (which won’t hurt the chickens). We assume that the automatic motion of the coop also means that you can leave your flock for a few days if necessary, but as a good friend to your chickens, you’ll want to let them out on a regular basis to free-range, as well.
The Front Yard Coop is available in various versions; Inhabitat reports that the Full Monty model measures 4 feet wide by 8 feet long and propels itself 16 feet every hour using energy from its (included) solar panels. It’ll set you back $3,225 – but save you, of course, whatever you’re currently shelling out for eggs.
2011年6月12日星期日
Environmentalist Leopold deserves continued study
Our state has long been home to many people who treasure nature in all its vast and varying forms. People traveled to this state from far-away homes to establish new lives, made possible by the bounty that the rich waters and soil yielded.
Those who understood and appreciated what our resources provide were sometimes moved to do what they could to protect or conserve them. Manitowoc County has certainly has had its share of conservation legends, some of whom helped preserve Point Beach, Collins Marsh, the Rahr Forest and Woodland Dunes.
In particular, two people from Wisconsin are often held in highest esteem among conservationists, and both had connections with the University of Wisconsin as well. The first is John Muir, who came with his family from Scotland at a young age to the central part of the state to farm. He later attended UW just a few years after its founding, then left to embark on remarkable journeys of discovery of nature, journeys which eventually led him West where he was an important spokesman for conservation and later founded the Sierra Club and helped establish our national parks.
The second was Aldo Leopold, who was born in Iowa and who worked for the U.S. Forest Service and in the 1930s the Forest Products Laboratory, a position that brought him to Madison.
After a few years he began a teaching career at the University of Wisconsin, and he is considered to be one of the originators of modern wildlife management methods. Leopold remained in Madison for the rest of his life, contributing much to our knowledge of wildlife and helping to found the Wilderness Society.
While there, he purchased an old, bankrupt farm near Baraboo, renovated its chicken coop as a family cabin, and visited on weekends to work to restore its land, observe and record its phenology (seasonal natural events), and to write about nature. As he thought about nature and peoples' impact on it, he developed what he called a land ethic — a philosophy, or morality, relating to how we have come to use or abuse natural systems. A number of his writings were gathered and published as "A Sand County Almanac."
Those who understood and appreciated what our resources provide were sometimes moved to do what they could to protect or conserve them. Manitowoc County has certainly has had its share of conservation legends, some of whom helped preserve Point Beach, Collins Marsh, the Rahr Forest and Woodland Dunes.
In particular, two people from Wisconsin are often held in highest esteem among conservationists, and both had connections with the University of Wisconsin as well. The first is John Muir, who came with his family from Scotland at a young age to the central part of the state to farm. He later attended UW just a few years after its founding, then left to embark on remarkable journeys of discovery of nature, journeys which eventually led him West where he was an important spokesman for conservation and later founded the Sierra Club and helped establish our national parks.
The second was Aldo Leopold, who was born in Iowa and who worked for the U.S. Forest Service and in the 1930s the Forest Products Laboratory, a position that brought him to Madison.
After a few years he began a teaching career at the University of Wisconsin, and he is considered to be one of the originators of modern wildlife management methods. Leopold remained in Madison for the rest of his life, contributing much to our knowledge of wildlife and helping to found the Wilderness Society.
While there, he purchased an old, bankrupt farm near Baraboo, renovated its chicken coop as a family cabin, and visited on weekends to work to restore its land, observe and record its phenology (seasonal natural events), and to write about nature. As he thought about nature and peoples' impact on it, he developed what he called a land ethic — a philosophy, or morality, relating to how we have come to use or abuse natural systems. A number of his writings were gathered and published as "A Sand County Almanac."
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