If you have chickens, you likely have a chicken run. Or maybe you’ve seen the movie: Well, around here it’s Chicken Walk: All of our chickens were raised by hand, growing up in a corner of our kitchen from the time they were 2 days old until they were ready …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
As we move deeper into this season of darkness, I have observed that my own impulse to cozy down into an early bedtime is mirrored by the mood of the chickens. Starting in late summer, the girls put themselves to bed earlier and earlier every night, following the earlier sunsets, …
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! …
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 …
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, …