blogher food - sara tetreault -- techniques
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Backyard Chickens
Keeping chickens on a small urban homestead -otherwise known as a backyard.
Sara Tetreault www.GoGingham.com {stylishly frugal living}
Are backyard chickens right for you?
• City and county ordinances• Space
requirements• Labor and time• Supplies and
materials
Sara Tetreault www.GoGingham.com {stylishly frugal living}chick to laying hen = takes about 5 to 6 months
Considerations
City and county ordinances• Can you keep chickens in your backyard?• Most cities don’t allow roosters• Living space (coop) requirement:– Minimum 2+ square feet/chicken
Sara Tetreault www.GoGingham.com {stylishly frugal living}
Are backyard chickens right for you?
• Raising chicks = brooder• Keeping chickens = coop
• Location– Warm/Cool– Safe– Dry
Sara Tetreault www.GoGingham.com {stylishly frugal living}
Are backyard chickens right for you?
Space requirements
• Daily = 10 minutes, let chickens out, collect eggs, check food and water
• Weekly = 20 minutes to clean out coop
• Seasonally = 30 minutes, to muck out run area
Sara Tetreault www.GoGingham.com {stylishly frugal living}
Are backyard chickens right for you?
Labor and time
• Cost: initial set-up coop and run– Build your own coop $0 - $200– Purchase coop $200 - $1,000
• Cost: ongoing– Feed = 50 pound bag = $15 to $20 every 2 months– Oyster shell = inexpensive – forming shells– Pine shavings = inexpensive - bedding
Sara Tetreault www.GoGingham.com {stylishly frugal living}
Are backyard chickens right for you?
Supplies and materials
Good• Easy, sweet pets• More interesting than TV
“Chick Channel”• Eat slugs in garden• Waste is good for
compost• Chicks are cute• Fresh eggs
Bad• Vulnerable, illness• Exit strategy = re-home
“Going to the Farm”• Eat everything in garden• Muck out run area = smell• Chicks = rooster
possibility• Need chicken sitter
Sara Tetreault www.GoGingham.com {stylishly frugal living}
Are backyard chickens right for you?
The good and the bad
Backyard Chickens
Sara Tetreault www.GoGingham.com {stylishly frugal living}