It is always a bit of a shock when someone asks me if something -- apples, pigs, turkeys, you-name-it -- can be grown organically. I've heard the questions so many times over the years that it really should not be a surprise to me, but optimist that I am, I always think that I will never hear the question again. Why? Because every type of food can be grown organically. Prior … [Read more...]
How the worst chicken ever became the best chicken ever
by Todd Allen Our dominant hen went broody this spring and we obtained fertile eggs for her to hatch. One of those eggs became Pat. We attempted feather sexing and it was completely ambiguous so he got an androgynous name. One of our more accurate divinations as we now have a lovely pullet named Boris and gave away her sibling a cockerel named Natasha. Of our male … [Read more...]
Growing your own meat
We became vegetarians in February 1989 when our first child was a toddler. Up until that point, I assumed (like most Americans) that meat came from animals who had spent happy lives wandering around in grassy pastures. But then I read an article about factory farmed chickens, and I wanted nothing to do with that industry. I began reading about eating a vegetarian diet and … [Read more...]
Choosing livestock for your homestead
It is that time of year when many of us are curled up with a cup of something warm and a hatchery catalog or we're on the Internet looking at classified ads for other livestock. Whether you will be bringing home your first livestock this spring or just adding to your herds and flocks, there are some important things to keep in mind. Last night I arrived home from the Illinois … [Read more...]
Chickens in winter
One of the biggest concerns of future chicken keepers, as well as novice chicken keepers, who live up north is how their birds will survive the winter. The short answer is that they'll survive just fine! You don't have to worry about heating the coop or feeding them hot cooked grains, both of which were done in the late 1800s in a failed attempt to get hens to lay eggs through … [Read more...]
Homegrown in the city
The only thing I regret about moving to the country is how many people look at me and say, "I wish I could do what you're doing, but I live in town." Oh, but you can do what we're doing, even if you live in town! I interviewed a few people for H&H who are doing it, and today I'm posting an interview with another person who lives in town and is doing it! Rachel Hoff, along … [Read more...]
Coop de Hill
Richard's Coop de Hill sits behind his vegetable garden, near his bee hives. If you want a chicken coop that sits in one place like Grandma's did (as opposed to the movable coop in my last post), you might be interested in this picturesque coop built by Chicago's Mindful Metropolis Publisher Richard McGinnis for the backyard layers at his rural farm Thorny Hill Manor, from … [Read more...]
City chicken condo
My oldest daughter, who now lives in a city, decided she wants backyard chickens, and we were happy to help out. After looking at a variety of portable, bottomless chicken coops online, we designed and built this one for her. The base needed to be four feet by eight feet so it could fit into the bed of our pick-up to move it to her house after we made it at our place. … [Read more...]