Whether you want them for their eggs, meat, or just for their company, chickens can make a fun and productive addition to your backyard. A small flock of egg-producing hens can be easy and inexpensive to maintain, even in urban environments. They also provide chemical-free pest control in your yard, as well as free top-quality fertilizer. Learn how to keep chickens in your backyard with these basic tips.
If you plan to purchase day-old chicks or hatch them on your own, you'll need special supplies for their first sixty days including brooders, lamps for heat and specially designed feeders and waterers. Brooders are the chicks' first home, and can be as simple as a cardboard box. many backyard chicken owners use rabbit or guinea pig cages or even glass aquariums.
Clean litter like pine shavings is used to line the bottom of the box and by the time the chicks are four months old, they'll need a dowel or stick as a low roost about four inches off the floor. A 100-watt light bulb with a reflector, like the clip-on utility lamps sold at hardware stores, will keep the chicks warm and chick waterers will prevent them from soiling or drowning in their water source. Corral the chick feed into one sanitary spot with a commercial feeder or an appropriate DIY substitute.
Once they're grown, your chicks will need a coop. You could build your own using free plans found online, or purchase a pre-fabricated chicken coop like these 8 awesome urban options. The coop will provide a place for your chickens to rest that is protected from predators and the elements. You'll need about four square feet per chicken inside the coop, and one straw-cushioned nest box for every four laying hens. Be sure that the floor is sturdy enough not to sag under the chickens' weight, and that the roof and walls are adequate against the weather in your region.
2011年8月31日星期三
2011年8月30日星期二
Public Hearing on Ferndale Chickens Set
Raising chickens in Ferndale is a peck closer to being compliant under city ordinance.
The revised ordinance addressing the raising and keeping of fowl in Ferndale is to be discussed at the next Planning Commission meeting Sept. 14. If approved by the commission, it will then go to City Council to decide if it needs to be revised again or enacted.
Currently, it is against city ordinance to keep a chicken coop within 150 feet of any standing structure, which ultimately makes it impossible for any Ferndale residents to own and raise chickens based on lot sizes in the city. On July 27, a revision to the ordinance addressing the raising and keeping of fowl in Ferndale was presented to the Ferndale Planning Commission.
The revisions to the ordinance would make it possible. Revisions included scaling back the 150 feet requirement to 10 feet – coops would have to be at least 10 feet away from any standing structure. The chickens must remain in the back yard and a resident raising chickens could have no more than three chickens. Roosters would be prohibited.
The common concerns of residents, which include attracting rats and foul odors, would be upheld under current ordinances with the city, said Community and Economic Development Director Derek Delacourt.
"The raising and keeping of any animal requires residents to follow city ordinances," he said. "When people don't keep up any animals there are negative impacts, regardless of what kind of animal it is."
The revision of the chicken ordinance wouldn't specifically cover these concerns because, as Delacourt said, current ordinances already regulate this. "Major concerns of odor and vermin are enforced in a multitude of ordinances in the city already," he said. "For the odor itself, I don't think it would be violated without a lot of other ordinances being violated."
Delacourt said he consulted other cities in Michigan that have revised or enacted ordinances to allow residential chickens. Traverse City, Madison Heights and Ypsilanti were discussed at the July 27 Ferndale meeting.
"Similar to Ferndale there was a strong desire to implement some type of relaxed or flexible ordinance (for chickens) as far as city ordinances," Delacourt said. "They've gone through a lot of the same questions and discussions with council and staff."
Delacourt said there has been little uproar in Traverse City since it enacted its ordinance, now in its second year. "There have been very few complaints," Delacourt said. "(In Traverse City) only 10 to 15 permits were pulled. There was one complaint because someone had a rooster, but that was an ordinance violation anyway and taken care of."
Ferndale's new city manager, April McGrath, was the assistant city manager in Ypsilanti, a city that also went through a chicken ordinance revision in 2008.
The revised ordinance addressing the raising and keeping of fowl in Ferndale is to be discussed at the next Planning Commission meeting Sept. 14. If approved by the commission, it will then go to City Council to decide if it needs to be revised again or enacted.
Currently, it is against city ordinance to keep a chicken coop within 150 feet of any standing structure, which ultimately makes it impossible for any Ferndale residents to own and raise chickens based on lot sizes in the city. On July 27, a revision to the ordinance addressing the raising and keeping of fowl in Ferndale was presented to the Ferndale Planning Commission.
The revisions to the ordinance would make it possible. Revisions included scaling back the 150 feet requirement to 10 feet – coops would have to be at least 10 feet away from any standing structure. The chickens must remain in the back yard and a resident raising chickens could have no more than three chickens. Roosters would be prohibited.
The common concerns of residents, which include attracting rats and foul odors, would be upheld under current ordinances with the city, said Community and Economic Development Director Derek Delacourt.
"The raising and keeping of any animal requires residents to follow city ordinances," he said. "When people don't keep up any animals there are negative impacts, regardless of what kind of animal it is."
The revision of the chicken ordinance wouldn't specifically cover these concerns because, as Delacourt said, current ordinances already regulate this. "Major concerns of odor and vermin are enforced in a multitude of ordinances in the city already," he said. "For the odor itself, I don't think it would be violated without a lot of other ordinances being violated."
Delacourt said he consulted other cities in Michigan that have revised or enacted ordinances to allow residential chickens. Traverse City, Madison Heights and Ypsilanti were discussed at the July 27 Ferndale meeting.
"Similar to Ferndale there was a strong desire to implement some type of relaxed or flexible ordinance (for chickens) as far as city ordinances," Delacourt said. "They've gone through a lot of the same questions and discussions with council and staff."
Delacourt said there has been little uproar in Traverse City since it enacted its ordinance, now in its second year. "There have been very few complaints," Delacourt said. "(In Traverse City) only 10 to 15 permits were pulled. There was one complaint because someone had a rooster, but that was an ordinance violation anyway and taken care of."
Ferndale's new city manager, April McGrath, was the assistant city manager in Ypsilanti, a city that also went through a chicken ordinance revision in 2008.
2011年8月29日星期一
Historic Ellis Island ferry becomes houseboat
A pair of New York artist/designers, Victoria and Richard MacKenzie-Childs, have transformed the last surviving Ellis Island ferry (built in 1907) into their houseboat home -- complete with plantings inside tires on the dock, and a chicken coop aboard -- and it's a historic beauty. From the Inhabitat.com story:
In keeping with the spirit of recycling and preservation, the couple have integrated the ship's most characteristic features into their everyday lives. The passenger deck serves as a beautiful dining room and the helm makes a cozy office space.
The Yankee Ferry, built in 1907, was used in World War I, then embarked on its career taking immigrants from incoming ships to Ellis Island. It's registered as a historic vessel on the National Register of Historic Places.
Nerd Girl photos: Kendall Ronzano, the Santa Cruz 16-year-old who's building a tiny house on a trailer with a charitable goal, sends photos of her project (and herself). Ronzano's website is called NerdGirlHomes.
Prefab homes: Forbes.com takes a look at prefab-home manufacturer Blu Homes, including an overview of prefab history:
So-called modern prefab had become a staple of home-design magazines during the housing boom. But the economics of mass-producing green homes like Priuses didn't work. For one thing, building houses narrow enough to fit on a truck while still wide enough to live in is no mean engineering feat. Then there was all that custom work. "The options package just grew and grew, and economies of scale were never reached," says Allison Arieff, former editor-in-chief of Dwell, who wrote the book on prefab in 2002 (Prefab, Gibbs Smith). "The homes ended up being all one-offs." When overall housing demand tanked, some prefab firms shut their doors.
With Blu Homes, headquartered in Waltham, Mass., (Bill) Haney and (Maura) McCarthy are building a different model. Their solution: steel and software. Using recycled-steel frames with large hinges, Blu homes fold up to fit on a standard tractor-trailer that handles cargo up to 8.5 feet wide.
They use software to automate processes, and -- most interesting, I think -- they cut out the subcontractors.
"You have to control the manufacturing, design, shipping and the finishing," says McCarthy, 31. "The guys who pack up the thing in the factory have to be the same guys who set it up on-site."
Blu is planning to open a San Francisco-area factory this year. The current line runs from the sizable Breezehouse, starting at $495,000, down to the Origin, which starts at $95,000 for an 18-by-24-foot home (432 square feet).
Haney, by the way, also is a documentary filmmaker.
Read the rest of the Blu Homes story here.
Water tank home: A Colombian artist, Miler Lagos, turned a water tank into a tiny floating house that he launched into Smithtown Bay, off Long Island, NY. As you might guess, it's also an art project.
Lagos said when he first saw a water tank on top of a building in New York City, he knew he wanted to transform it.
"The idea is to rebirth the function of the tank," Lagos said. "In Colombia there are some towns with houses of this shape ... when I saw the water tank in the city it reminded me of my town."
Lagos is videotaping the water tank for an art piece that will be featured . . . in an exhibit at the Magnan Metz, a gallery in Chelsea, Manhattan.
In keeping with the spirit of recycling and preservation, the couple have integrated the ship's most characteristic features into their everyday lives. The passenger deck serves as a beautiful dining room and the helm makes a cozy office space.
The Yankee Ferry, built in 1907, was used in World War I, then embarked on its career taking immigrants from incoming ships to Ellis Island. It's registered as a historic vessel on the National Register of Historic Places.
Nerd Girl photos: Kendall Ronzano, the Santa Cruz 16-year-old who's building a tiny house on a trailer with a charitable goal, sends photos of her project (and herself). Ronzano's website is called NerdGirlHomes.
Prefab homes: Forbes.com takes a look at prefab-home manufacturer Blu Homes, including an overview of prefab history:
So-called modern prefab had become a staple of home-design magazines during the housing boom. But the economics of mass-producing green homes like Priuses didn't work. For one thing, building houses narrow enough to fit on a truck while still wide enough to live in is no mean engineering feat. Then there was all that custom work. "The options package just grew and grew, and economies of scale were never reached," says Allison Arieff, former editor-in-chief of Dwell, who wrote the book on prefab in 2002 (Prefab, Gibbs Smith). "The homes ended up being all one-offs." When overall housing demand tanked, some prefab firms shut their doors.
With Blu Homes, headquartered in Waltham, Mass., (Bill) Haney and (Maura) McCarthy are building a different model. Their solution: steel and software. Using recycled-steel frames with large hinges, Blu homes fold up to fit on a standard tractor-trailer that handles cargo up to 8.5 feet wide.
They use software to automate processes, and -- most interesting, I think -- they cut out the subcontractors.
"You have to control the manufacturing, design, shipping and the finishing," says McCarthy, 31. "The guys who pack up the thing in the factory have to be the same guys who set it up on-site."
Blu is planning to open a San Francisco-area factory this year. The current line runs from the sizable Breezehouse, starting at $495,000, down to the Origin, which starts at $95,000 for an 18-by-24-foot home (432 square feet).
Haney, by the way, also is a documentary filmmaker.
Read the rest of the Blu Homes story here.
Water tank home: A Colombian artist, Miler Lagos, turned a water tank into a tiny floating house that he launched into Smithtown Bay, off Long Island, NY. As you might guess, it's also an art project.
Lagos said when he first saw a water tank on top of a building in New York City, he knew he wanted to transform it.
"The idea is to rebirth the function of the tank," Lagos said. "In Colombia there are some towns with houses of this shape ... when I saw the water tank in the city it reminded me of my town."
Lagos is videotaping the water tank for an art piece that will be featured . . . in an exhibit at the Magnan Metz, a gallery in Chelsea, Manhattan.
2011年8月28日星期日
Canyon textile artist inspired by nature
Bea von Allmen designs and sews eye-popping, classic-looking women’s clothing, makes elegant jewelry and sells produce grown on her Canyon farm. But it is her raku-fired bird heads, mounted on steel rods and adorned with gorgeous fabrics, that capture the imagination of her many admirers.
“I don’t like making people’s faces,” is her simple explanation of why she has become so enamoured with creating upright, human-like characters with long-beaked faces.
She and her husband, Ernst, moved to the Creston Valley 10 years ago from their home country of Switzerland. They longed for the space offered by the Canadian countryside and the chance to own property that would allow them to produce their own food and pursue their own creative passions. The Creston Valley, with its temperate climate, rich soil and close proximity to Kootenay Lake, was an easy choice once they saw fruit trees growing when they arrived from the east.
In Switzerland, von Allmen did clay work for 25 years, mainly for jewelry. She also worked with Ernst, who had an oriental rug business.
“But we always wanted to own a farm,” she said. “We wanted to grow our own food and have a better lifestyle. This valley had all the things that were on our wish list.”
The von Allmen farm is a warm and welcoming site. Located at 4341 Muzzy Road, it is a model of tidiness. Rows of firewood are stacked in an open shed, sorted according to species and log size. The completely renovated house boasts a clay workshop that becomes von Allmen’s studio and another basement studio where she sews. A spotless chicken coop is home to surprisingly content birds. Out back is a huge shop in which Ernst keeps busy with his many hobbies and projects. Last week, a long line of braced steel fence corner posts was in production. All were made with recycled steel, awaiting several coats of paint before Ernst undertakes a 1,300-foot fencing project that will allow the couple to pursue their next dream, landscaping the area around the house and protecting their gardens from the area’s abundant wildlife.
Creston has a four-season climate and the von Allmens revel in it, adjusting their activities to the weather. What serves as her gallery during the summer will revert to her clay studio in the winter, when she is more drawn to the physical activity of making and firing clay. When she isn’t working in the garden during the spring and summer months, she repairs to her above ground basement sewing studio, which is replete with framed old pages from a sewing magazine, open shelves of impeccably arranged bolts of cloth and a pair of comfy upholstered chairs brought from Switzerland.
“I don’t like to work in a messy space,” von Allmen said, pointing out the obvious. “Wherever I’m working I want to make it feel like a living space. So I always have chairs and art and maybe even an espresso machine in that space.”
In the winter, she said, “My clay shop is my sanctuary. To be creative I have to dig into my inner self, either in a workshop or out in nature.”
Visitors to the Creston Valley Farmers Market will be familiar with von Allmen’s elegant clothing displays and neatly arranged produce. But her clay bird and cat characters are reserved for display in galleries, including her own and Eileen Hirota’s (the pieces were a popular attraction in the now-closed Painted Turtle Gallery on Canyon Street).
“I dream of a fantasy or theme and then I work towards it,” she said in an effort to explain her latest series that features characters from an imaginary oriental marketplace. This year she has created several dozen pieces, including an alchemist, a silk trader, a jewel salesman, an oil sheikh, a prince, a bride-to-be and… well, you get the idea.
“I have had a lifelong passion for markets,” von Allmen explained. “In the old days, everyone looked forward to market day. Back then, markets were a necessity. They were the only place that people could sell, buy and trade. Vendors from near and far would meet a colourful mix of farmers, traders, salesmen, musicians, entertainers and buyers. Even the odd thief would sneak in!”
The oriental marketplace experience was inspired in part by a trip to Turkey when Ernst was still in the rug trade. And her fascination by markets extends into her participation in the local farmers market. She speaks of markets with passion and doesn’t measure her success in them in terms of sales.
“With markets you have to be patient as an artist and don’t expect to make sales,” she said. “Advertising fees is what I call the space rental. You have to give customers time to identify with your work and they want to get to know you, so continuity is the key. I started my artistic career by going to markets 30 years ago and I have had offers to exhibit in shows and galleries ever since.”
“I don’t like making people’s faces,” is her simple explanation of why she has become so enamoured with creating upright, human-like characters with long-beaked faces.
She and her husband, Ernst, moved to the Creston Valley 10 years ago from their home country of Switzerland. They longed for the space offered by the Canadian countryside and the chance to own property that would allow them to produce their own food and pursue their own creative passions. The Creston Valley, with its temperate climate, rich soil and close proximity to Kootenay Lake, was an easy choice once they saw fruit trees growing when they arrived from the east.
In Switzerland, von Allmen did clay work for 25 years, mainly for jewelry. She also worked with Ernst, who had an oriental rug business.
“But we always wanted to own a farm,” she said. “We wanted to grow our own food and have a better lifestyle. This valley had all the things that were on our wish list.”
The von Allmen farm is a warm and welcoming site. Located at 4341 Muzzy Road, it is a model of tidiness. Rows of firewood are stacked in an open shed, sorted according to species and log size. The completely renovated house boasts a clay workshop that becomes von Allmen’s studio and another basement studio where she sews. A spotless chicken coop is home to surprisingly content birds. Out back is a huge shop in which Ernst keeps busy with his many hobbies and projects. Last week, a long line of braced steel fence corner posts was in production. All were made with recycled steel, awaiting several coats of paint before Ernst undertakes a 1,300-foot fencing project that will allow the couple to pursue their next dream, landscaping the area around the house and protecting their gardens from the area’s abundant wildlife.
Creston has a four-season climate and the von Allmens revel in it, adjusting their activities to the weather. What serves as her gallery during the summer will revert to her clay studio in the winter, when she is more drawn to the physical activity of making and firing clay. When she isn’t working in the garden during the spring and summer months, she repairs to her above ground basement sewing studio, which is replete with framed old pages from a sewing magazine, open shelves of impeccably arranged bolts of cloth and a pair of comfy upholstered chairs brought from Switzerland.
“I don’t like to work in a messy space,” von Allmen said, pointing out the obvious. “Wherever I’m working I want to make it feel like a living space. So I always have chairs and art and maybe even an espresso machine in that space.”
In the winter, she said, “My clay shop is my sanctuary. To be creative I have to dig into my inner self, either in a workshop or out in nature.”
Visitors to the Creston Valley Farmers Market will be familiar with von Allmen’s elegant clothing displays and neatly arranged produce. But her clay bird and cat characters are reserved for display in galleries, including her own and Eileen Hirota’s (the pieces were a popular attraction in the now-closed Painted Turtle Gallery on Canyon Street).
“I dream of a fantasy or theme and then I work towards it,” she said in an effort to explain her latest series that features characters from an imaginary oriental marketplace. This year she has created several dozen pieces, including an alchemist, a silk trader, a jewel salesman, an oil sheikh, a prince, a bride-to-be and… well, you get the idea.
“I have had a lifelong passion for markets,” von Allmen explained. “In the old days, everyone looked forward to market day. Back then, markets were a necessity. They were the only place that people could sell, buy and trade. Vendors from near and far would meet a colourful mix of farmers, traders, salesmen, musicians, entertainers and buyers. Even the odd thief would sneak in!”
The oriental marketplace experience was inspired in part by a trip to Turkey when Ernst was still in the rug trade. And her fascination by markets extends into her participation in the local farmers market. She speaks of markets with passion and doesn’t measure her success in them in terms of sales.
“With markets you have to be patient as an artist and don’t expect to make sales,” she said. “Advertising fees is what I call the space rental. You have to give customers time to identify with your work and they want to get to know you, so continuity is the key. I started my artistic career by going to markets 30 years ago and I have had offers to exhibit in shows and galleries ever since.”
2011年8月25日星期四
The chicken and the egg
I was driving around Kent a few days ago and noticed chickens scurrying around behind a house. Chickens have become a popular item on city council agendas lately. Seattle passed an ordinance allowing residents to raise chickens and the Tukwila City Council on Monday was working on a similar ordinance.
A number of cities around the Puget Sound are allowing folks to raise chickens in urban settings. It must be another sign of the economic times.
Eggs may be the perfect food. I’ve heard in French cooking schools the first weeks are spent learning how to properly cook eggs. Omelets are very tricky. I’ve watched the Julia Child omelet episode a million times and I still don’t quite have all the cool flips down.
My notion of raising chickens is probably different from some, at least those folks raised in what my folks used to call “in town”.
I was raised until about the sixth grade on a dairy farm on top of a hill in Enumclaw. One of my early jobs was taking care of our chickens, or what I came to call them – stupid, life-threatening, feathered killers.
When I was young I felt my brothers had all the cool jobs around the farm, driving tractor, milking the cows and throwing hay bales around. Since I was more than 10 years younger I was feeling cheated out of the chic jobs that would advance me in life and get me a girl.
Obviously, the twists in my personality started early.
To make me feel better my dad gave me the chicken coop duty, which meant collecting eggs each day.
At first I thought it was a major breakthrough and I intended to become the best chicken caretaker on our farm, showing up my dopey brothers.
Initially, things worked out just as I planned. I was sure my chickens loved me most. What I didn’t know was a demon was lurking in the shadows.
I remember coming home from school, grabbing my bucket and heading out to the coop.
I collected the egg without letting the hens peck me to shreds. I thought I was well ahead of these birds with quick hands and more brains.
I was sauntering across the pen daydreaming as usual when something suddenly hit me and knocked me to the ground.
I looked back and there was this gigantic rooster, wings spread and I was sure he was frothing at the beak. I couldn’t believe it. I thought my chickens loved me.
In a fit of bravery, I jumped up and ran as fast as I could, slamming the gate closed before the killer rooster could get me. Thank God he didn’t have hands.
This little charade went on for about a week. I would try to collect eggs and the rooster would chase me around the pen like it was the best days of his crummy life.
My grandma finally figured out the egg production had dropped to zero. I had to tell her I was beaten by a rooster.
My grandma said she would go out to the chicken pen with me to guard me from the rooster.
Wonderful... protected by my grandma.
You can imagine how well this flew with my brothers.
I have an image I will never forget. Looking back after running full speed from the charging red demon at my grandma repeatedly whacking the rooster with her house broom.
Grandma saved me, and the best part was after helping me she gave me a big piece of wild blackberry pie and vanilla ice cream.
I was scarred for life, but that pie was sure good.
A number of cities around the Puget Sound are allowing folks to raise chickens in urban settings. It must be another sign of the economic times.
Eggs may be the perfect food. I’ve heard in French cooking schools the first weeks are spent learning how to properly cook eggs. Omelets are very tricky. I’ve watched the Julia Child omelet episode a million times and I still don’t quite have all the cool flips down.
My notion of raising chickens is probably different from some, at least those folks raised in what my folks used to call “in town”.
I was raised until about the sixth grade on a dairy farm on top of a hill in Enumclaw. One of my early jobs was taking care of our chickens, or what I came to call them – stupid, life-threatening, feathered killers.
When I was young I felt my brothers had all the cool jobs around the farm, driving tractor, milking the cows and throwing hay bales around. Since I was more than 10 years younger I was feeling cheated out of the chic jobs that would advance me in life and get me a girl.
Obviously, the twists in my personality started early.
To make me feel better my dad gave me the chicken coop duty, which meant collecting eggs each day.
At first I thought it was a major breakthrough and I intended to become the best chicken caretaker on our farm, showing up my dopey brothers.
Initially, things worked out just as I planned. I was sure my chickens loved me most. What I didn’t know was a demon was lurking in the shadows.
I remember coming home from school, grabbing my bucket and heading out to the coop.
I collected the egg without letting the hens peck me to shreds. I thought I was well ahead of these birds with quick hands and more brains.
I was sauntering across the pen daydreaming as usual when something suddenly hit me and knocked me to the ground.
I looked back and there was this gigantic rooster, wings spread and I was sure he was frothing at the beak. I couldn’t believe it. I thought my chickens loved me.
In a fit of bravery, I jumped up and ran as fast as I could, slamming the gate closed before the killer rooster could get me. Thank God he didn’t have hands.
This little charade went on for about a week. I would try to collect eggs and the rooster would chase me around the pen like it was the best days of his crummy life.
My grandma finally figured out the egg production had dropped to zero. I had to tell her I was beaten by a rooster.
My grandma said she would go out to the chicken pen with me to guard me from the rooster.
Wonderful... protected by my grandma.
You can imagine how well this flew with my brothers.
I have an image I will never forget. Looking back after running full speed from the charging red demon at my grandma repeatedly whacking the rooster with her house broom.
Grandma saved me, and the best part was after helping me she gave me a big piece of wild blackberry pie and vanilla ice cream.
I was scarred for life, but that pie was sure good.
2011年8月24日星期三
32 Fairfax chickens killed, 46 missing, police say
Thirty-two chickens were found dead and 46 reported missing in a "highly unusual" overnight or early morning attack on a chicken coop in the Fair Oaks area, authorities said Thursday.
Only four medium-sized chickens of reddish coloring survived the attack and were found huddled together in what animal control experts described as a "clearly traumatized"state, according to Fairfax County police spokeswoman Lucy Caldwell.
Police said they think the most likely culprit was an animal.
Officers were called to the coop around 8 a.m. after a neighbor reported seeing dozens of lifeless chickens in the pasture of a farm in the 5200 block of Winfield Road, Caldwell said.
A portion of the electric fence surrounding the chicken coop had been trampled, Caldwell said.
"It was a vicious attack, savage," Caldwell said. "The chickens were found in varying states, with a number of injuries, some of them serious."
Police did not know who or what was responsible for the attack. No footprints or animal paw prints were found on the scene of the attack, according to Caldwell.
The coop is located on a farm in what Caldwell described as a "quiet, bucolic neighborhood." The chickens in the other coop on the property were unharmed.
Police are searching for the 46 missing chickens, she said. It is unclear if they are wandering Fairfax County or have fallen victim to predatory animals.
The coop is located on a farm in what Caldwell described as a "quiet, bucolic neighborhood." The chickens in the other coop on the property were unharmed.
Police are searching for the 46 missing chickens, she said. It is unclear if they are wandering Fairfax County or have fallen victim to predatory animals.
Only four medium-sized chickens of reddish coloring survived the attack and were found huddled together in what animal control experts described as a "clearly traumatized"state, according to Fairfax County police spokeswoman Lucy Caldwell.
Police said they think the most likely culprit was an animal.
Officers were called to the coop around 8 a.m. after a neighbor reported seeing dozens of lifeless chickens in the pasture of a farm in the 5200 block of Winfield Road, Caldwell said.
A portion of the electric fence surrounding the chicken coop had been trampled, Caldwell said.
"It was a vicious attack, savage," Caldwell said. "The chickens were found in varying states, with a number of injuries, some of them serious."
Police did not know who or what was responsible for the attack. No footprints or animal paw prints were found on the scene of the attack, according to Caldwell.
The coop is located on a farm in what Caldwell described as a "quiet, bucolic neighborhood." The chickens in the other coop on the property were unharmed.
Police are searching for the 46 missing chickens, she said. It is unclear if they are wandering Fairfax County or have fallen victim to predatory animals.
The coop is located on a farm in what Caldwell described as a "quiet, bucolic neighborhood." The chickens in the other coop on the property were unharmed.
Police are searching for the 46 missing chickens, she said. It is unclear if they are wandering Fairfax County or have fallen victim to predatory animals.
2011年8月23日星期二
Tom and the Amazing Bean Stalk
Heather Zydek - proprietress of Blue Bungalow Farm - is gradually working towards self-sufficiency with amazing results. All from a city garden. I wouldn't be surprised if she attains that goal of self-sufficiency before too long. Especially if the city fathers would allow her to raise chickens.
Heather, I want you to know that I am pretty close to that self-sufficiency thingy you're striving-for. And one day in the future I'm going to decide to retire from my day job and move up to The Platz and live there full-time. Then I will have my chickens. And maybe Jill a couple of goats. No pigs though - we think we can get pretty close to sustainability without the stink.
Jill and I went to the Door County Fair again this year to take in one of our favorite events.
I find chickens fascinating. We inspected a roll-about chicken coop, grabbed a bunch of chicken literature for our late night reading pleasure and discussed the possibilities of fresh eggs, chicken personalities and an occasional, plump, free range roaster in the oven. I can see the attraction and this is why we periodically indulge the fantasy.
We also went to scout for chinks in the armor of entrants of various vegetables, canned goods and flowers. One of the Best Of Show winners was somebody's homemade kraut. Judging from the appearance of that blue ribbon kraut I'd put my sauerkraut or pickled red cabbage up against it any day of the week. And here's the irony of the canned goods division - what I found out is that nobody tastes any of the goods. Just like the cattle and poultry judging it's all a beauty contest. Same for the tomatoes, potatoes, green beans, onions and flowers. A beauty contest. The subtleties of taste and texture counts for zilch. This left me somewhat disappointed. But I digress.
I take a great deal of pride in my garden and the vegetables it produces. And what I may lack in variety I make-up for in sheer scale. Lately I've been feeling a little bit like Jack and his amazing bean stalk.
I filled two large paper grocery bags with fresh-picked green beans yesterday. That's after I canned a bunch of dilled green beans for garnish and relish use and flash-froze a quantity while building-up my stockpile for personal consumption this winter. Furthermore, I predict that this will be repeated before next weekend.
I was negligent in checking on the pickle patch and some of my pickles have graduated to cucumbers.
In fact one of the fellas at last weekend's Schützenfest assembled a really nice cucumber salad from some of the mutant pickles along with a sweet onion from the garden. With an adequate inventory of Polish dill and bread and butter pickles remaining from last year's bumper crop the plan this year is to make lime pickles. This only happens in odd-numbered years - therefore regular lime and maybe spicy lime are in order.
Heather, I want you to know that I am pretty close to that self-sufficiency thingy you're striving-for. And one day in the future I'm going to decide to retire from my day job and move up to The Platz and live there full-time. Then I will have my chickens. And maybe Jill a couple of goats. No pigs though - we think we can get pretty close to sustainability without the stink.
Jill and I went to the Door County Fair again this year to take in one of our favorite events.
I find chickens fascinating. We inspected a roll-about chicken coop, grabbed a bunch of chicken literature for our late night reading pleasure and discussed the possibilities of fresh eggs, chicken personalities and an occasional, plump, free range roaster in the oven. I can see the attraction and this is why we periodically indulge the fantasy.
We also went to scout for chinks in the armor of entrants of various vegetables, canned goods and flowers. One of the Best Of Show winners was somebody's homemade kraut. Judging from the appearance of that blue ribbon kraut I'd put my sauerkraut or pickled red cabbage up against it any day of the week. And here's the irony of the canned goods division - what I found out is that nobody tastes any of the goods. Just like the cattle and poultry judging it's all a beauty contest. Same for the tomatoes, potatoes, green beans, onions and flowers. A beauty contest. The subtleties of taste and texture counts for zilch. This left me somewhat disappointed. But I digress.
I take a great deal of pride in my garden and the vegetables it produces. And what I may lack in variety I make-up for in sheer scale. Lately I've been feeling a little bit like Jack and his amazing bean stalk.
I filled two large paper grocery bags with fresh-picked green beans yesterday. That's after I canned a bunch of dilled green beans for garnish and relish use and flash-froze a quantity while building-up my stockpile for personal consumption this winter. Furthermore, I predict that this will be repeated before next weekend.
I was negligent in checking on the pickle patch and some of my pickles have graduated to cucumbers.
In fact one of the fellas at last weekend's Schützenfest assembled a really nice cucumber salad from some of the mutant pickles along with a sweet onion from the garden. With an adequate inventory of Polish dill and bread and butter pickles remaining from last year's bumper crop the plan this year is to make lime pickles. This only happens in odd-numbered years - therefore regular lime and maybe spicy lime are in order.
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