I was hoping the headline was a humorous allusion to heavy-metal poisoning from urban farming, but no.

Cocks and Pot...

Didn't the ghey animal thread already go green?

My city passed a law allowing the raising of up to 4 chickens. Unfortunately, my HOA prohibits this. Why? Because HOAs suck.

And before the usual response ("well, you shouldn't have bought a place with an HOA"), show me where the hell in the city limits I could buy a home that wasn't a fixer-upper that I could have bought one - because those places do not exist.

I just planted my urban garden yesterday. Nothing but hot peppers, about ten different kinds.

/scotch bonnets

Michael Perry approves:

Coop: A year of Poultry, Pigs, and Parenting (new window)

I'm reading it and it's pretty amusing.

Roosters crowing at 4:00 a.m. makes you want to choke a biatch

/country boy

Came for references to Illegal Urban Beekeeping, leaving disappointed

I now know 4 people who have chickens. They get a few eggs a day. They spend less on chicken feed than I do on eggs.

I've got a book called Successful Broiler Growing by Hoffman and Gwin. Second Edition 1951. Chapter X is titled Home Killing and Dressing Broilers. Section 3 says "There are three common methods of killing broilers that are practical when small numbers (up to 100 per day) are to be processed." On the facing page is a diagram titled Home Killing Room. "when the birds are brought in at the door, they are worked right around the building. The 10" hole in the drawing table has a funnel fitted into it, through which head, feet, and entrails are directed to a bucket under the table." I'll stick with the grocery store,thanks.

/well lookie here I found it online

Things are so bad that even people in cities are scrounging for a few square feet of growing space.

Yeah that market based economy sure is great.

You wouldn't want to mess with that and risk our so called "great" standard of living.

And to think, I thought I was on top of if when I got the Topsey Turvey.

Urbin city people are so stew pit.

On my urban farm we have pot in every chicken.

/Gotta remember to close the coop you farkin stoners.
//Maybe we should fence in the bud...
///What were we talking about?

I for one salute our new fuzzy chicken overlords!

http://3chixaday.blogspot.com/

Bob16: Things are so bad that even people in cities are scrounging for a few square feet of growing space.

Yeah that market based economy sure is great.

You wouldn't want to mess with that and risk our so called "great" standard of living.

I try to grow vegetables in pots, but in my case, it's not about being unable to afford food (I'm not poor, but I do like to save money), it's that home-grown food almost always tastes far better and is significantly healthier than store-bought food. I don't think I could keep a chicken in my second-story apartment, but I did have an idea for building a stacked combo planting bed/composter that somewhat resembles DGAR's potato box and would hopefully work well on a balcony.

I need to find some time to build it one of these weekends.

A chicken in every pot, and a cap in every ass!

farking illegals steal everything you grow around here.

a combat engineer from wwii had a peach tree full of peaches just reaching ripeness. some farker climb his backyard fence and stole every peach. i bet the thief's woman gave him a slow beej for bringing home such tasty stolen food.

a u pick corn farm gave up. seems people would park on the road next to the farm and just start filling their trunks with ripe corn. then drive off laughing at the locos who pay for theirs.

For DGAR

Planting Potatoes - in old tires (new window)

Bob16: Yeah that market based economy sure is great.

I sometimes wonder if people in the Soviet Union would blame capitalism for their hardships.

I prefer some pot in every chicken. Have you ever tried adding a bit of weed to your stuffing? mmm...

I don't care too much about the expense of chicken/eggs, but I have sworn over and over that I'd LOVE to keep a cow - fresh milk, cheap fertilizer, and when she dried up - tender steaks and roasts. Too bad I'm stuck in a city...

Bob16: Yeah that market based economy sure is great.

It is when there is actual competition.

Blame the giant corporations with teams of lawyers and too much government influence.

www.backyardchickens.com

Those who lived on near self-sufficient farms during the last depression saw almost no fall in their standard of living while the rest of america fell into 3rd world economic status.

Too bad my city, (regional municipality actually) still hasn't repealed their laws about keeping poultry. Even out in the boonies it is technically illegal to have chickens.

BlowPopGirl: I don't care too much about the expense of chicken/eggs, but I have sworn over and over that I'd LOVE to keep a cow - fresh milk, cheap fertilizer, and when she dried up - tender steaks and roasts. Too bad I'm stuck in a city...

Family friends tried that, but got too attached to the cow, and then couldn't do the deed when the supposed time came. They ended up with a heiffer as a pet.

I've been tending a garden this year as well. I have green onions, corn, carrots, green beans, zucchini and an herb garden so far. This is REMARKABLE considering I have no idea what on earth I'm doing (which is why I read these threads). But I also have 3 potatoes I've been planning on planting, but I didn't know what to do besides just put them in the ground. The potato box is an interesting idea.

But it also takes a while to grow things, so I'm still getting used to that. Like, how long does it take for carrots?

Also, I have 9 tomato trees in 3 large pots. I'm curious if they'll grow faster if I have them in 2 per pot? The pot is a paint bucket with holes drilled in the bottom.

I would really like to get this farming thing down.

Gah! A thing can "lead" to another thing, but in the past tense the word is "led".

I'm going out to the chicken coop to get the eggs.

Would any of you city folk even know what to do with a live chicken?
Given the amount of outrage over this:

...I would guess not. The average American is so far removed from the earth that they think the ground is the stuff left over from making their morning latte.

It's not that society is collapsing and the economy is going to blow up like a Michael Bay movie. What's shocking about a mild return to personal responsibility and local production?

My raised bed has garlic, tomatoes, carrots, cucumber, and peppers. We planted four fruit trees. My wife's herb garden yields a dozen useful medicinal herbs. Pots on our deck raise basil. The several canes of berries around the house give great healthy fruit, the sweetest blackberries you'd ever imagine.

OH NOES.

Just a heads up to all potential chicken farmers.
Histoplasmosis is not fun. Getting treated for it starting Monday.
Wear a mask when you clean out the coop. Even better would be a respirator.

Gairloch: Bob16: Yeah that market based economy sure is great.

It is when there is actual competition.

Blame the giant corporations with teams of lawyers and too much government influence.

Please try to have some kind of idea what your talking about.

This is the kind of economy we had when our markets were even more free than they are today (see link).

Economic crisis before 1930

http://thehistorybox.com/ny_city/panics/panics_article1a.htm

Note how often we were struck by economic crisis.

That's a good idea. But the cooked eggs looked really overdone and crusty.00

I started growing various berries & peppers in Rubbermaid storage containers in my side lot this year. The berries have been growing like crazy. When I move, I can take them all with me.

I think its a good idea for some people, as long as they clean up after them (which i don't have a ton of faith in, seeing as how there's a fair amount of people can't even clean up after their dogs, let alone a farm animal). For the people who are thinking about it, a few considerations to think about ...

~ Chickens lay for around 3 years, and after that point are generally longer viable for eggs. At that age, they get tough so if you were planning to eat them you're looking at soup as a best case scenario. And unless you're planning to butcher them yourself, trying to find an urban butcher to do it may be a challenge (ps. plucking chicken sucks). You can expect to get one egg per chicken every day to day-and-a-half, again depending on breed, health, etc.
~ Vet care... if the birds get sick, is there a local vet who can help out who knows farm animals? Or on the other hand, accepting the fact that your chicken may up and die either from some kind of sickness, infection, or from the neighbors cat may have to be accepted as par for the course. It will be a hard divide for people who think of the chickens as pets as opposed to livestock.
~ For a chicken in every pot, there would need to be a rooster (maybe one shared/community rooster between a few houses going in for the organic chicken-for-eating thing), and also having to pay more attention to what breed of chicken purchased (dual, good for laying and meat purposes as opposed to a strictly egg-laying breed). Then it goes back to the urban butchery thing once the produced offspring are old enough for eating purposes - min of 12ish weeks depending on breed.
~ Depending on the size of the area the chickens will be kept in (and number of chickens to feed), feeding the chickens will cost money. If the area is large enough that the chickens can supplement their feed with insects etc. then that helps.
~ For those of us with winter, do you plan to keep the birds over the winter? Where/how/etc. are all good questions ahead of time.

Just some stuff to think about before jumping in to getting another animal. Fresh eggs can totally be worth it, but its just a matter of planning and commitment to make it happen.

Just re-planted the greenhouse. Harvested the cabbage and bok choi. Tomatoes are coming in nicely. The chile bushes are just not making it this year (for production - they grow fine).

If I didn't hate chickens with a passion, I'd keep one or two for the eggs.

Oregon weather can be a bit schizophrenic, so many of the permanent bushes get put in larger decorative pots to be moved in and out of doors.

BTW, I don't think urban farming saves any money, unless you previously shopped at Whole Foods.

I have spent money on seeds, fertilizer, soil, manure, and a bunch of other things. I didn't keep track, but I reckon I spent the same if I went to DeMoulas and bought everything I'm growing.

I've had yardbirds since Easter 2002, when some scroat was trying to dump two chicks in the ivy next to a government building in downtown Sacramento. I carried them home in my motorcycle saddlebags. I recommend it, but they're a lot of work.

I also always grow a summer and a winter garden, plus figs, Tsatsuma mandarins, lemons, cactus fruit and a pomegranate (which a local Ukranian fatass insists on stealing, even though I've twice caught her in my front yard).

Third time, she gets to meet the unfriendly dog.

What were we talking about?

vort3xxx: I move, I can take them all with me.

That's a good idea. Our are all already in the ground but if/when we move it'll be easy enough to take a sprout. That's how we got our blackberries - just dug up 3 random sprouts from my father's cane bushes.

Moved from St. Louis to the country about a year ago and it has great privileges. I can get 2 dozen eggs for about $1.00, 4 heads of lettuce for $1.00, a bucketful of green peppers for $2.00, cukes, squash and zucchini for about .25¢ each.

Then there's sweet corn where you pick them your self that breaks down to .10¢ and ear.

Whole Hogs are pretty cheap too, and there's a farm that will smoke it for you for free. Already got a half a hog this way once. damn good to be living in the country.

boristhebulletdodger: Would any of you city folk even know what to do with a live chicken?
Given the amount of outrage over this:

...I would guess not. The average American is so far removed from the earth that they think the ground is the stuff left over from making their morning latte.

There was no outrage over that. Jokes? Sure. She was an idiot for doing a whole interview in front of the killing table after making such a huge show of the "pardon". People laughing at a moron isn't "outrage".

However, you are right about one thing: Americans are too far removed from their food sources.

/Still get a chuckle

Brings a whole new meaning to the concept of "grow house."

Having spent yesterday morning at the local coop farm planting seeds in pots, planting seedlings in the ground, and hand weeding carrots, I'm getting a kick out of these replies.

Bob16: Those who lived on near self-sufficient farms during the last depression saw almost no fall in their standard of living while the rest of america fell into 3rd world economic status.

Site your sources please.

As I have relatives who went through that on self-sufficient farms and they have many stories about how they were so lucky that the local mercantile and grocery store was willing to take credit.

I'm not saying I don't get what you mean, but please remember that prior to WW2 most houses didn't have so much of a lawn as a vegetable garden and that farms do require quite a bit of upkeep, animals get sick and there's no real such thing as totally self-sustained unless you want to heavily limit your diet and enjoy malnutrition.

I'd love to keep chickens and have a raised bed myself, just no idea how I would go about doing so, apartment living can stink. Also not being south-facing is a major detriment and certainly doesn't help waking up.

Mmmmmm, tasty lead poisoning.


Really, check your ground, have it tested, before planting anything you plan on eating.

With an acre I suppose I am on the large end of urban chicken keeping but still in the city limits and much more cramped than I would like. We have 21 different breeds of hens who are all pets. While legal to have a rooster our neighbor doesn't like the sound of them so we just have hens to keep the good neighbor relationships going. Spreading the eggs around to the neighbors helps too. It is nice not supporting factory egg farming. If you do any research you will be appalled at how they keep them . That and the eggs don't taste any wheres as good.

I'm glad that the advancements of the past 500 years are going right out the window.

Who doesn't desire a return to small private farms where specialization wasn't possible and everyone just barely made enough to survive? Hell, I think being a serf would be rather quaint. Where do I sign up?

/arrogant city folk
//will spend $3 for a dozen eggs at the grocery store rather than clean up chicken shiat

entropic_existence: Too bad my city, (regional municipality actually) still hasn't repealed their laws about keeping poultry. Even out in the boonies it is technically illegal to have chickens.

Caused by the combination of fraidy-cat NIMBYs and the overpaid seat-warmers known as local politicians. One of the biggest contributors to stupidity out there.