In my “Chickenomics” post a couple of weeks ago, I promised to share some thoughts about favorite backyard chicken breeds, but I realize now I should have said breed, singular. Because although there are lots of good chickens out there, my choice for our own little backyard flock is–far and away–the Buff Orpington. We’ve been [...]
Entries Tagged as 'chickens'
Buff Orpington: Our Favorite Backyard Chicken Breed
March 22nd, 2011 · 24 Comments
Tags: chickens, urban farming
Chickenomics: It’s More than Money
March 3rd, 2011 · 12 Comments
It’s that time of year: downy little peepings are starting to be heard at feed stores across the country. Some of us are enlivening backyard flocks with a few new chicks (we are!) and many folks are thinking of starting urban coops for the first time. I’ll be offering encouragment and advice in the coming [...]
Tags: chickens
Chicken Tour: Not the “New Black”
July 12th, 2010 · 9 Comments
We had so much fun being one of the Host Coops on the Seattle Tilth City Chicken Coop Tour this weekend. It was a warm sunny day, and there was a very strong turnout, about 150 people came through our backyard during the tour hours. It was great to “talk chicken” with so many wonderful [...]
Tags: chickens, garden, urban farming
Seattle Tilth City Coop Tour July 10th!
July 2nd, 2010 · 2 Comments
We hope to see you Saturday, July 10th, on Seattle Tilth’s City Coop Tour. The Tangled Nest coop is one of nearly fifty coops throughout the city open for touring, chicken-visiting, question-asking, community-building, and overall inspiration. Seattle has become a world-class city for backyard chickens and other urban livestock. On the tour, you’ll see every [...]
Tags: chickens, urban farming
Eggs of all Colors
April 3rd, 2010 · 7 Comments
When we gathered our eggs to dye this Easter, we paused to gape at them. Our little hens lay eggs in the most beautiful colors. How could we possibly improve on these shades of mauve, cocoa, and sepia? Still, this is a season of wonder. Brown eggs take a little longer to dye, but the [...]
Our Urban Chicken Coop Plan
February 7th, 2010 · 97 Comments
Feed stores will be getting their chicks in the next couple of months, and if you’re pondering the addition of a backyard flock this year (we hope you are!), it’s time to start thinking about a coop. There’s still lots of time–this year’s chicks won’t be ready to go outside by themselves until May or [...]
Tags: chickens, urban farming
Coffee Chaff Chicken Coop Litter: Creative Upcycling for the Urban Farmer
January 2nd, 2010 · 32 Comments
My friend David Ruggiero is working on a new project called “Upcycling Northwest.” Upcycling, of course, is the in-word for smarter/better recycling, making use of the energy in the initial production of something, rather than using more energy to break it down into raw materials–or, as David puts it, finding “the highest and best re-use [...]
Tags: chickens, garden, upcycling, urban farming, waste reduction
Oddball Eggs in the Coop
October 8th, 2009 · 21 Comments
A guest post from my daughter Claire: Have you ever heard of a wrinkled egg? An egg with 2 yolks? A gray egg with bumps all over? Well, neither had I until our chickens started laying. On the first day of laying, my mom came out to me saying, “Claire! We’ve got our first egg!” [...]
Tags: chickens, urban farming
The First Egg
September 2nd, 2009 · 9 Comments
Esmeralda, our four month old Barred Rock hen, laid her first egg yesterday! OK. I know there are about a gajillion “urban farm” blogs out there announcing the first eggs laid by their sweet backyard hens. But how could I not mention ours? It is SO beautiful. So pink and speckled and small. You raise [...]
Tags: chickens
Backyard Chickens, Ethiopian Style
June 9th, 2009 · 6 Comments
A wonderful guest post from my husband Tom: In May I left Lyanda and Claire and our new little chicks for a three week trip to Africa for work. A few days later (isn’t jet travel amazing?!) I found myself in a small stone-built compound in Mekele, Ethiopia, where Julia, the photographer I was traveling [...]
Tags: chickens
