beginning farmer success · and news stories about urban, suburban, and rural poultry are frequent....
TRANSCRIPT
BEGINNING FARMER SUCCESS
April 2015 Volume 1, Issue 13
In This Issue:
So you want backyard
chickens? (Pg 1-2)
Plasticulture and Irrigation
Information (Pg 3)
Spring Vineyard Pruning
(Pg 3)
Upcoming Events (Pg 3)
Need a Chicken Coop?
(Pg 4)
Photo : Natalie Schiazzi
1
Photo Credit: Edwin Remsburg
Backyard layer flocks are becoming popular. Articles
and news stories about urban, suburban, and rural poultry
are frequent. Towns and cities are changing their ordinances
to accommodate this trend. Backyard chickens are a good
hobby and a great addition to other farming activities.
If you are interested in keeping chickens in your back-
yard, here are some frequently asked questions that you
need to research and understand to prepare yourself.
Can I legally keep chickens? Check your local ordinances which includes county, municipality, and housing develop-
ment. (Article continues on page 2)
It’s Spring — So You Want Backyard
Chickens
Dale Johnson—Farm Management Specialist
Jeffery Semler—Extension Educator By:
It’s Spring — So You Want Backyard Chickens (cont. from pg 1)
Where do you get them? Some people
buy full grown hens that are already pro-ducing eggs or have just started producing
eggs. Others want to raise hens from chicks which they purchase from a hatch-
ery or the local feed store.
What breed of
chickens should I get? There are
many interesting and colorful breeds
but if you are looking for maxi-
mum egg produc-tion, then you will
want a Rhode Is-
land cross (brown eggs) variety. Leg-
horns (white eggs) are the most pro-
lific and economi-cal variety but leg-
horns tend to be high strung and
more difficult to handle.
Where do I keep my hens? A few hens
can be kept in a small structure in the backyard that provides shelter from ex-
treme weather and space for exercise. Portable coops or “chicken tractors” are
popular. They should have nesting boxes
and a place for the hens to roost. They should be easy to clean out.
What do I feed them? Special feeds are formulated for chicks and adults. You can
feed them limited amounts of garden and table refuse. If a portable coop is used,
they can be rotated across the backyard and they will eat some of the groundcover
but you should not allow them to denude large areas. To avoid this, rotate them
back to a “sacrifice area” that will be de-nuded but allows the rest of the yard to re-
generate. They should always have access to water.
When will they start laying eggs? It
varies between 4-6 months after hatching depending on the breed.
What about eggs? Fresh eggs are a ben-efit of keeping layers. They are collected
daily and soiled eggs should be washed un-der hot water and dried immediately as the
shells are permeable to bacteria. Eggs should be kept in the refrigerator and
cooked thoroughly to kill bacteria. Keep in mind that those eggs are not free. Housing
and feed can be expensive so the cost of backyard eggs is often higher than the cost
of eggs purchased at the grocery store.
How many eggs will I get? Good layer
breed will produce one egg a day (100%)
at peak periods. Most breeds lay at about 60%-80%.
What about roosters? Unless you specifi-cally want to breed chickens, you may
want to avoid roosters. Roosters are some-times rough on hens, can be aggressive to-
ward people, and crow noisily.
Eggs without Rooster?! Of course! It is
basic biology. Females produce eggs. Males produce sperm. Hens will lay eggs without
roosters but the eggs are infertile.
What do I do with the manure? Excess
manure can be collected and composted to put on ornamental plants.
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Want to know more?
Check out these resources:
http://extension.umd.edu/newfarmer/beginning-
farmer-topics/poultry
http://extension.umd.edu/poultry/small-flock-
production/small-flock-production-0
http://extension.umd.edu/publications/PDFs/
MEP300.pdf
Extension.umd.edu/newfarmer
Upcoming Events
April 2 - Starting a Second Career in
Local Food- Montgomery Co Ext
April 6 - Lower Shore Leasing Work-
shop- Somerset Co Ext
April 7 - Common Labor Issues with
CSAs - Webinar
April 8 - Farming in the City: Land,
Laws and Community - Clifton Man-
sion
April 10 - High Tunnel Raising at
UMD's Terp Farm
April 15 - Farming Concrete: The
Science and Practice of Growing in
Urban Soils - Clifton Mansion
April 16 - Baltimore Urban Farm
Tour - Baltimore City
April 18 - Vegetable Grafting - Agri-
cultural History Farm Park
April 22 - Farming Liability and
YOU - Harford Co Ext
April 25 - Growing Your Own Mush-
rooms - Baltimore Co Ext
April 28 - Introduction to Soils Short
Course - Wor-Wic Community Col-
lege
More events can be found on our website under “events”
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Pruning Your Vines
Plasticulture & Irrigation
Prepping for Spring
Planting season is just around the corner. Be sure to check
out our instructional videos on Youtube. University of Mary-
land Extension Educator, Ben Beale, shares information
about plastic mulch and demonstrations in applying plastic
mulch to raised soil beds in the video below.
Spring is here and so is the time to prune your vines!
University of Maryland Extension shares information and
demonstrates on how to prune your vines in the video
below.
Hannah Shear
301.600.3580
“This project was supported by the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Devel-opment Program of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, USDA, Grant #2012-49400-19552. To find more resources and programs for be-ginning farmers and ranchers please visit www.Start2Farm.gov, a compo-nent of the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program.”
The University of Maryland Extension programs are open to any person and will not discriminate against anyone because of race, age, sex, color, sexual
orientation, physical or mental disability, religion, ancestry, national origin, marital status, genetic information, political affiliation, and gender identity
or expression.
Click here to receive this newsletter every month
To submit information for the monthly newsletter, please contact the Beginning Farmer Success Project Coordi-
nator, Hannah Shear at [email protected]
Need a Chicken Coop?
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Below you will find one of the many options for a chicken coop. The approximate
building costs and facility needs can be seen as well as a picture of the finished prod-
uct. For more ideas on chicken housing check out the additional resources listed on
page 2 of this newsletter.