most of you know that i keep a small flock of backyard chickens (you can meet them here and here) and today i want to discuss the basics of why chickens are great to have and how you go about doing it.  i know some of you are just dying to eat fresh eggs every morning, right?!

{photo: my pet chicken}

let’s talk about the not-so-fun part first (skip down if you’re not into gruesome details).  this is a hard subject to swallow, but one we all need to become much more educated on.  unfortunately, industry standards for producing (any kind of) meat aren’t sustainable, nice or fun to learn about. the farming industry is pushed to increase revenue and decrease time so hard that the result is unhealthy, unhappy animals.  chickens are generally kept in cages in a factory building with no windows.  kept in such close quarters and breathing nothing but fecal dust, the farmer’s are forced to feed them antibiotics to keep them from getting sick.  growth hormones are added to their food in order to increase egg production, or in the case of meat birds, increase their breast size.  sadly, many of these bird’s breasts get so large that they can’t remain standing, and topple over from the wait instead.  egg layers kept in cages stacked on one another get feces dropped on them from the birds above and often times they’re feet actually grown around the wire cage from inadequate room to move.  we end up eating the growth hormones and antibiotics that are present in the meat and it in turn effects our health.  due to added hormones, girls and boys are hitting puberty earlier than ever and we’re as a population becoming less immune to antibiotics as they are being found in any meat we eat that’s not organic.  these hormones and antibiotics have many more ramifications but one of the largest is that it ends up in our breast milk which we feed our newborns.  so without going into too much more detail: after learning about the incredibly unhappy animals and destruction to our environment caused from industry farming, the antibiotics and the hormones, i decided to raise my own chickens (and ultimately become a vegetarian).  i truly believe we are what we eat, and i don’t want to eat added nasties in my food or consume animals that were never happy or ever saw the light of day. if you’re interested in learning more, my favorite book about it all is called veggie revolution.

{farm fresh eggs}

now- onto more pleasant subjects!! there’s a lot to learn about keeping hens, but the good news is that after researching lots of hobby farm animals, chickens win for the easiest and most fun animal to keep. so let’s start off with the basics: why would you want chickens?  in addition to the above reasons: chickens don’t take up much land, are excellent for your garden and fertilizer, drastically reduce the number of ticks and other icky insects in your yard, are easy keepers, hilarious to watch and give you yummy eggs every day.  a recent article from mother earth news shows that eggs raised on the farm have:

• 1⁄3 less cholesterol
• 1⁄4 less saturated fat
• 2⁄3 more vitamin A
• 2 times more omega-3 fatty acids
• 3 times more vitamin E
• 7 times more beta carotene

and, i feed mine organic feed which means i have organic eggs at my disposal all the time! we stick to using our hens for eggs, but raising chickens for meat is another fantastic way to eat sustainable, local meat and say no to harmful industry standards.

my chicks the day they arrived

now that you now the why, we can move onto the how!  more and more cities are now allowing you to keep chickens within city limits.  check with your city or see chicken laws to see if your’s applies.  getting and raising chickens are easy.  my hands-down favorite place to order chicks is from my pet chicken.  with a minimum order of 3 (count them, 3!) chicks, you can pick and choose which breeds you like.  they’re shipped out the day they hatch and arrive within a few days, all healthy and ready to meet ‘mommy’! all you need is a warm place to put them (i use a cardboard box), a waterer and a feeder.  they’ll be big enough within about 5 weeks to be moved to a coop and soon they’ll be running around your yard!  my pet chicken’s free e-care book has all the information you need about getting and rearing baby chicks, so i’m going to send you there for all the nitty gritties (but it’s easy, i promise!).

{chicken and the egg}

what kind of chickens are right for you? there are many different kinds and reasons people want chicks.  some are for show, some are just fun to look at.  some are colorful egg layers and some are only for meat.  i picked mine on temperament (i wanted them to be sweet and not too ‘flighty’) and egg production.  between my pet chicken’s breed list and henderson’s handy dandy chicken chart- i had a list of fav’s in no time.

{silkie chicken}

where will you put them? in the first few weeks they’ll need to be somewhere that you can check in on them numerous times a day.  i usually keep mine in the kitchen for a few weeks, then move them out into a heated barn, garage or extra room.  after they’ve gotten big enough (about 5 weeks), you can move them to a coop.  i’ve seen just about anything work, from a big walk-in coop to an old broken down car!  anything that protects them from the weather and other wildlife (think snakes, cats and wolves) will suffice.  you’ll need to be able to securely close them up at night and let them out in the morning.  the setup should be very easy- they’ll need a pole to roost on at night, one nesting box per 4 birds to lay their eggs in and a feeder and waterer.  if you live in the city or a close knit neighborhood, you’ll want to keep them in a fenced in area, yard or run, and if you live on acreage you can let them roam free!

{photo: my pet chicken}

some misconceptions:

- chickens smell. they don’t smell at all!  as long as you keep a clean, dry coop all you’ll get is a whiff of cedar shavings.

- chickens are loud. my girls hardly make a peep.  sometimes in the morning they’ll squawk as they lay an egg but generally my neighbors can’t hear anything.

- you need a rooster. chickens don’t need a rooster to lay eggs!  in fact, no industry egg from the grocery store has ever been fertilized.  the only reason you need a rooster is if you want your eggs to hatch. (and roosters are where the noise comes from)!

- different colored eggs taste differently. i have blue, green, white, beige and dark brown eggs and they all taste the same!  egg color is a result of the color of calcium build up they have in their bodies, that’s all!

- chickens are stupid. sorry, mine are smart. i promise.

- chicken’s and kids don’t mix. they do! hens are sweet, don’t peck and can be great teachers to young kids about where food comes from.  i’ve seen many kids gathering eggs and carrying their hens around the yard!

my day old chicks

my favorite resources:

- FRESH the movie – a feel good short trailer on farming practices – it’s so good!

- veggie revolution - about industry farming practices

- the femivore movement – my fav article on chicks with chicks

- my pet chicken’s free e-care book- a MUST read if you’re considering buying chicks!

- living with chickens – a beautiful and very informative read on rearing chickens

this is a big subject with lots to discuss, i’ll meet you in the comment section to answer any questions or for further discussion! love, bonnie

wrap up: {backyard flock} {chickens} {eating local} {eggs} {hens} {raising} {simple living} {sustainable}

one of my dear friends, katy, shared this recipe for blackberry cobbler with me this week, and i couldn’t wait to make it!  i knew the blackberries in my yard were on the verge of perfection and sure enough, i had exactly 2.5 cups of yummy homegrown berries when i was done picking them.

ingredients:

• - 2.5 cups of blackberries
• - 1/3 cup of milk
• - 1 cup of sugar
• - 1 cup of water
• - 1.5 cups of self-rising flour
• - 2 sticks of butter (1/2 cup)
• - a dash of cinnamon
• - 2 tbs of extra sugar

directions:

preheat your oven to 350.  place half of one butter stick into a 9×11 baking pan and place in the oven until the butter melts.  meanwhile, place the water and 1 cup sugar into a saucepan and heat over med-high heat until all the sugar dissolves, then set aside (you’ll use this later!).  cut the remaining butter into your flour until it becomes crumbly.  add the milk while stirring until a dough forms into a ball.  take your dough and after kneading it a few times, roll it out into a rectangle about 1/4″ thick.  spread your yummy berries over the top and sprinkle it with cinnamon.  from one end, roll the dough up like you would a jelly roll, pinching the ends closed so as not to loose any berries!  once you have your roll, cut slices 1″ thick and place them in your baking pan (on top of the melted butter).  pour the sugar water all around your rolls (it will get absorbed) and place in the oven.  bake for 30-45 minutes, sprinkle the tops with the extra sugar and bake for another 15 minutes.  serve with ice cream and enjoy!

i’m telling you, this one is really delicious- i planning on making it again tonight!

{photos: bonnie forkner}

wrap up: {blackberries} {blackberry cobbler} {eating local} {recipes} {seasonal} {summer}

they call them locavores- people who choose to eat seasonal, local produce.  today i’m kicking off a new series about eating local produce, where i’ll share with you a weekly recipe using local yummies!  first you may ask, why eat local? well, there are tons of reasons, the simplest of which is that it just makes sense.  the average mileage of your food, (we’ll call this farm to fork mileage) is 1500 to 3000 miles, and that’s a lot of fossil fuel! when produce has to travel so far, much of it is picked while still unripe then gassed to ‘ripen’ it after transport, or it is processed in factories with preservatives and the like.  scientists are even experimenting with genetic modification to produce less perishable produce.

by purchasing local foods in-season, you eliminate the environmental damage caused by shipping foods thousands of miles, your food dollar goes directly to the farmer, and your family will be able to enjoy the health benefits of eating fresh, unprocessed fruits and vegetables. buying seasonal produce also provides an exciting opportunity to try new foods and to experiment with seasonal recipes.

the good news is, local produce is usually easy to find and it simply tastes better because it’s fresher!

above is a list of the veggies you’ll find at your spring farmers market. remember that certain crops and harvest dates depend on the climate and your region, so this is just a rough outline (check out this regional seasonality guide for your area).  as you can see, spring is almost over, but i’m going to post a recipe next week anyways and then introduce to you your summer guide! i’ve also made this list in pdf format, so you can print it out and keep with you while your shopping or scouring for recipes.

download the seasonal spring vegetable guide

 
 
recommended reading

read my favorite book and get incredibly inspired to eat locally with animal, vegetable, miracle.

find local, organic and sustainable food in your area with the eat well guide search.

learn about eating more sustainably and find recipes at the sustainable table.

join the eat more local food initiative at eat local, america!

{resources: the sustainable table, cuesa sustainability}

wrap up: {eating local} {locavore} {seasonal vegetables} {spring} {sustainable}