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[chik-uh n dik-shuh n]
Unintelligle bird-like utterances…about urban farming, living in the desert, and the occasional ramble
Category Archives: news
Backyard chickens across the country unite!!
Seriously, my chicken lovin’ friends, the backyard chicken revolution has begun. So before it nose dives into some irrelevant so-last-year-fad, let us celebrate and truly revel in the fact that people everywhere are getting turned on to the idea of keeping hens in their very own backyards for the joys of wonderfully local, fresh eggs, and even more wonderfully local, fresh chicken shit enriched compost. It’s true. Chickens are so hot right now. Here’s the proof:
As you probably already know, Tucson will be hosting it’s very own chicken coop tour on May 23. But as much as I would like to say that Tucson is on the cutting edge of backyard chicken solidarity, cities and communities all across the country have been organizing to educate people about the benefits of backyard chickens, as is evidenced by this very helpful post on Urban Chickens.
In many places, it isn’t even legal to keep chickens in one’s backyard (shock!). Philadelphians have created this very fancy and uber cool poster to champion their cause of keeping chickens.
In my old collegiate stomping grounds of Harrisonburg, VA friends of mine have been cited for code violations after keeping a handful of egg laying wonders, thus resulting in the organization of the Harrisonburg Backyard Chicken Project.
Fortunately, there are wonderful places like Austin, where they recently celebrated everything fowlish by their very own citywide tour of backyard chicken coops, and you can find out all about it and get excited all over again on their Funky Chicken Coop Tour blog.
Tucson is no stranger to the rights of backyard chicken owners. Which is why I am so very excited about the upcoming tour of the various chicken coops that the Old Pueblo has to offer. I will keep you all posted as more details emerge. In the meantime, backyard chickens and their owners everywhere keep keeping on!
Tucson Backyard Chicken Coop Tour Announced!
The Food Conspiracy Co-op has announced a citywide Chicken Coop Tour of various local backyard chicken coops for Saturday, May 23, from 9am-1pm. Tickets will cost $5 per person and all proceeds will go to the Community Food Bank’s Community Foods Consignment Program. So mark your calendars for this up-close and personal look into the many different ways that Tucsonites keep backyard chickens, and start dreaming about how you too can have your very own backyard fresh eggs and chicken compost. For more information or answers to your questions, follow this link. (If you’re not in Tucson, check out Urban Chickens for a list of other city chicken coop tours.) Hope to see you all there!!!
Go buy plants.
Looking for desert veggies that will do well here in the crazy oppressive wonderful heat of Tucson? This Saturday, April 11, Native Seeds will be hosting a plant sale at their farm in Patagonia, AZ. So hop in your car with some friends, fill your billfold with a few bucks, and make the beautiful drive down to Native Seed’s 60 acre farm where all the seed saving magic happens and where my brother works. Here is how he describes the plant sale:
Haven’t planted your garden yet but want to? Want plants that can actually stand the heat? Want an excuse to get out of town and visit the Native Seeds/SEARCH Farm in Patagonia? Want to spend some time talking with an extremely knowledgeable farmer, who can answer any and all of your growing questions and also happens to be a really nice guy? (well the last part of that sentence is true anyway – I hope). Then you should come buy plants at the plant sale! There will be six different types of chiles, 5 types of tomatoes, two kinds of basil, and Epazote. All native/acclimatized to the region and all looking to find a home in your garden.
When: Saturday April 11th
10am-12pm members only
12pm-2pm open to everyone
Where: Native Seeds/SEARCH Conservation farm
42 San Antonio Rd, Patagonia, AZ
Directions:
Take I-10 East to Highway 83 (Exit 281 towards Sonoita/Patagonia)
Stay on 83 to Sonoita
At stop sign in Sonoita (the only one) take right on Hwy. 82 towards Patagonia
Travel ~ 11 miles until you are almost to Patagonia
After speed limit drops to 40mph, take your first left onto San Antonio Rd., which is directly across the street from the Welcome to Patagonia sign. (there will be a sign at the turn, and further signs directing you to parking)
Well there you have it. Plants are going to be about $2 each and all proceeds go directly to Native Seeds.
Stay tuned…
Rumor has it that there will be a Tucson city chicken coop tour featuring different styles of hen housing options throughout Tucson. Should be in May sometime, and this chicken wrangler hopes to be apart of it. Stay tuned and I’ll keep you posted as there are more details and locations.
Hopefully this will be a really wonderful fundraiser and a great way to show people how easy it is to keep and raise their own chickens. Fortunately we live in a city where the limit of hens per household within the city limits is 24 as long as they are 50 feet from the nearest residence (or you have chicken friendly neighbors). There are plenty of other places around the country where this is not a possibility and residents have to fight for their right to party chicken wrangle in their own backyards. Thumbs up Tucson!
[chik-uh n dik-shuh n] 