Are you interested in raising chickens but not sure how to get started? Well, you’re in luck because Seattle Tilth is holding a special class this Saturday (June 2, from 2:00PM – 4:00PM) for folks who want to join the ranks of neighborhood chicken owners. The class will take place at a private residence in north Seattle, and after you register, the address will be emailed to you. Here’s the scoop about starting a coop:
Have you been tinkering with the idea of keeping backyard hens? Questions about coops? If you are just getting started and need a little direction with how to incorporate chickens as a valuable component of your home and garden, this is the class for you! Learn how to integrate people, garden and hens through mutually beneficial systems.
We will discuss the coop, chicken run and grazing your flock in the garden to boost nutrition. See how the productivity of your garden can be increased by using your flock for pest and weed control and learn techniques for composting chicken manure. You’ll leave with a better understanding of your feathered friends’ needs and additional benefits they can provide. This interactive workshop will take place on-site in the instructors backyard, please dress for the weather!
COST:
$36 individuals, $25 Seattle Tilth members, $54 Household price for two adults. Advance registration and payment are required.REGISTER
You have 3 options to register for this class:
- ONLINE. Register now through Brown Paper Tickets.
- PHONE. Call Brown Paper Tickets: (800) 838-3006.
- MAIL. Download and print a registration form and mail it to us with your payment. Confirmations will be e-mailed.
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A neighbor’s experience. I loved the idea of my neighbors having chickens running around their back yard when they raised the issue with us. They were extremely responsible in building a wonderful house for them and even shared the eggs when they started laying. They learned what they needed to do to raise the animals responsibly. The downside was the awful smell. If you live next door to the chickens and want to use your yard and be outside in the summer, forget it. The smell will drive you away. I used to really enjoy picking raspberries in the morning to put on our breakfast, but the smell of the chickens ruined that. Fortunately, our neighbors are great and did everything they could to not inconvenience us. However, some people are not so wonderful. Please, if you are going to have chickens, know that the cost of each egg is astronomical when you add up all the costs. If you have old McDonald fantasies, please remember that the barn yard has a very distinct odor that you can not control and will definitely affect the neighbors.
It would be helpful if you, Jon, would limit your comment to your specific experience. If there was odor involved with your neighbor’s hobby farm, they were not doing things correctly. If you live in east Wallingford, I think I know where the (now gone) chickens in question were and that was not a well-run operation . . . it doesn’t add to the overall paradigm of responsible, educated (and outreaching) chicken owners. urbanfarmcoop, a Yahoo! group has lots of information about responsible urban animal raising, odor-free, as does Seattle Tilth. I am sorry that was your experience and wish people would do their (extensive) homework before taking on the huge responsibility of backyard chickens, etc. Equivalent eggs sell at Madison Market for about $8.00 a dozen, the rest are bleached-soaked corm-fed impostors. No such thing as “free eggs”!
My daughter and her husband keep chickens in Portland, and they don’t smell at all.
@Nancy M, I do believe that Jon did limit his comment to his specific experience.
@4. Here is the quote I found so unhelpful: >>”If you have old McDonald fantasies, please remember that the barn yard has a very distinct odor that you can not control and will definitely affect the neighbors.”<<
No smell from my neighbors chickens… Just very soothing vocals on occasion. I absolutely love them !