My flock of urban chickens have had quite the busy and productive Spring this year. They enjoyed free-ranging in the backyard in the early months while I had my row covers on, but on now back on ranging hiatus in their coop while the garden grows in. Since late February they have been steadily producing eggs. Pearl will be entering her fifth or sixth summer
Swarming Season
‘Tis the season for bee swarms! Spring seems to be the most popular time of year for bee colonies taking it to the streets – moving out of the hive and into a temporary location until they essentially find a better home. This is referred to as the bee colony “swarming”, when they hang out in a temporary spot. They can swarm for anywhere from
Chickens Back in Business
“An egg! An egg! An egg!” You could hear the excitement in my voice carrying through the neighborhood on a recent, drizzly evening as I did my regular check on the chickens. A little brown egg quietly laid in the nesting box. I then recalled how my urban hens seemed to be making quite a ruckus on a recent morning – and the dots connected.
Pearl: Rat Attacker Extraordinaire
Yesterday I had a couple sunny hours ahead of me before dusk, so I decided to tend to a few minor repairs on the chicken coop. The roof had been leaking in a couple spots and a damp coop can increase the likelihood of pests and disease infiltrating the coop. An even bigger issue, I have been noticing that something has been burrowing into the
Chilly Chickens
We had our first “storm” of the season a couple nights ago involving some chilling overnight temperatures, hard rain and strong winds whipping trees around. The next morning was cold and still, but branches and such were left along sidewalks as a memory of the night before. The first thing I think of when the forecast talks of stormy nights are my little flocks of
Meet the Minis
I love having a new little flock of mini, bantam chickens, but sadly they are moving to a friend’s house in the next couple of weeks. My landlord is uneasy with me being over the city limit of chickens and my attempts to persuade her otherwise have failed. Although I am not naming the little girls, I wanted you to still meet them before they
Bantam Adventure
We have some new, temporary residents on our little urban homestead: bantam chickens! Bantams are nicknamed “banties” for short and they are most certainly the cutest chickens I have ever seen. Just like standard chickens, there is a large variety of bantam chicken breeds. Bantams are typically about half the size of standard chickens and lay eggs about half the size as well. Due to
How to Kill a Chicken
***Warning: This is a pretty graphic post about how to butcher a chicken, complete with pictures and lots of description. My intent is to help people who are preparing to butcher their first bird.*** On a recent Sunday morning, a local Eugene friend invited people over to learn how to properly kill and butcher chickens. She raises broilers every summer in her urban backyard, feeding
Chickens Move In
Our move to Eugene was a bit more frantic than moves from the past. It was challenging to juggle moving boxes and unpacking with the strong desire to plant seeds in this new patch of dirt. The most pressing piece of business, above all of these other pressing tasks, was building a temporary chicken coop for the girls. The chicken coop in Portland has been
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