Summer 2010, we ordered bantam cochins, Pekins as they are called in the U.K, and they aren’t sold sorted by gender at day old because of their tiny size. We had 13 straight run chicks. I have read around BYC that most of the time gender in bantam cochins is pretty easy to determine between 4 and 6 weeks and that the males feather in much slower than the females on the back, tails, and wing bows especially. I…
I always enjoy seeing media articles about city chickens, especially from sources that usually have nothing to do with chickens. Some of them are pleasant stories about living with backyard chickens, but a lot of times they are about disputes between chicken owners and their neighbors or city officials. Here are a few I have collected and hyperlinked. Keep checking back. I am always updating and adding to this post. Man of the House: As with all poultry, just follow…
“My grandfather once told me that there are two kinds of people: those who work and those who take the credit. He told me to try to be in the first group; there was less competition there. “ ~Indira Gandhi
Although I absolutely adore having backyard chickens, living with chickens isn’t for everyone. The magazine articles that promote chickens as a cool new green trend typically don’t mention the downsides that come with owning an urban flock. I had a friend seriously considering getting baby chicks back in January 2010 when she saw how much benefit and pleasure we got from our hens. When I shared my flock experiences with her, I tried not to candy coat it. Below…
I have often enjoyed watching a show called “Backyard Habitat” on Animal Planet which partnered with the National Wildlife Federation to demonstrate how homeowners can create habitats in their own yards for local wildlife. For many years, we have been implementing a number of the strategies they suggest for attracting wildlife in to a backyard, including bird baths, nesting sites, shelter, seeds and berries, larval food for butterflies, flowers to attract butterflies and hummingbirds, and more. It has been very educational…
Keeping a Victory Garden and having home produced eggs are really old traditions, and not some new fad. Here is an old patriotic propaganda / wartime advertisement from 1918. Apparently, Uncle Sam expected everyone to all have backyard flocks of hens and raise chickens. If we still followed Uncle Sam’s recommendation, my family should have 8 chickens! To see more patriotic propaganda, war garden, victory garden, women’s land army, and more vintage posters from the early 1900’s , here is…
2010 May and June Harvests The Dorset Golden Apples were early this year, and we started harvesting at the beginning of June. I made a homemade apple pie for my husband’s birthday with some and still had a half of a Trader Joe’s bag full. The Anna apple tree has had a few ready as well, but appears to have another week or two before it is at its peak. Blackberries and Blueberries are delicious this year. We started picking…
Scroll down for the List. I am sometimes asked by friends “What variety of fruit tree should I plant?” And although many citrus varieties, loquats, figs, avocados, persimmons, and pomegranates are easy to grow locally, recommending other popular fruits is a little trickier. We live in Sunset zone 22 or USDA zone 10a. Even though many varieties are sold at the big home improvement stores or similar retailers, many are not well suited to our climate, especially if you don’t…
I have to admit that it was NOT easy at first gardening with chickens in small yard, but it is definitely doable. My garden has changed a lot of over the last year having had chickens, however, most areas of my garden have never looked better. Despite the hassles, I now will ALWAYS have a few chickens in my garden to help me. The benefits far outweigh the problems. If you are willing to take a few extra steps to…
Like most gardeners, at different times of the year, I often have more than our family can use, with a large surplus of tomatoes, stone fruits, oranges, grapes, and more. Instead of always giving it to friends and neighbors, the chickens, or having it go to waste, I donate it. SoCal Harvest is a local volunteer organization in Long Beach, established to allow home gardeners to share extra produce with needy local families. Gardeners can plant an extra row…