Showing posts with label Chickens. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chickens. Show all posts

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Dogs and Chickens

About a year ago we went to the Pasadena Humane Society in search of a new puppy. After many visits we finally chose the one - a playful little guy described as a Shepherd/Akita mix. We were taken to an office where a counsellor talked to us about the dog and asked a battery of questions. She asked if we had any other pets.

"We have chickens," we told her.

"This dog is a Shepherd mix," she said. "The Shepherd part of him should be protective of the chickens and even like to herd them around. He should be very good with the chickens."

That was what I expected. Our old dog had been a Shepherd mix. She would post herself just a few feet away from the flock, laying on her stomach with front legs forward ready to go. When a chicken wandered away from the flock, she would go get the bird and gently herd her back to the others. It was really something to see.

The counsellor continued.

"You have to be careful, though. This dog is also part Akita. They were bred to hunt."

"The Akita part of him might like to eat your chickens."

EAT OUR CHICKENS? The news should have made us bolt upright and run out of the office.

But, you have to remember the scene. We are in a small office -- my wife, two kids and I and this playful orange and white ball of fur. We are taking turns holding the little guy, his white-tipped tail going a mile a minute. But for the formalities, it's done. He's part of the family. And the thought that this little guy would eat Flopsy, Mopsy, Sparky or any of our hens ... well, it just didn't compute.

Plus, it was hard to know how to take the counsellor's warnings. She wasn't giving us the red light. She said it was impossible to know for sure what kind of mix this dog was or how the dog would react when grown. The little guy looked part Shepherd and we'd had a great experience with our old dog. But, the counsellor was definitely giving us a flashing yellow ... caution ahead.

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So, how has it gone over the past year?

Well, the dog has been great. Named "Bear," his claim to fame is that last year he actually treed a real bear. It is hard to know what kind of mix he is, but he's more powerful than any dog I've ever had. He's a part of the family and is always near one of us. It has been a joy to see him race and wrestle with the kids.

But, if you asked the chickens, their reviews would not be so glowing. Bear likes to play. That's good if you're a human or another dog. But, if you're a chicken, 70 pounds of dog-puppy barrelling after you with slobbering tongue flying ... it's got to be terrifying.

Bear hasn't eaten any chickens. And, I don't think he's going to. But, he loves to play chase and, given the opportunity, will chase the chickens all over the yard. We've had some scary moments with Bear tearing over the the yard and chickens literally flying about. But, in the end, calm has been restored. No hens have been harmed.

We've learned that Bear needs to be on leash whenever the chickens are loose in the yard. We try not to give him the opportunity to play chase with the chickens.

I am sure the chickens do not appreciate that Bear is a magnificent watch dog. On more than a few occasions, he's alerted us to coyotes near the chicken coop.

We still hope Bear's Shepherd lineage will kick in and he'll be a model brother to our hens. But, in the meantime, he'll be on leash whenever the chickens are out in the yard.

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Our Feathered Guests


The Station Fire displaced animals as well as people. We opened up our little chicken coop to take in some hens that normally reside in the evacuated area of NW Altadena. Including our hens, last week we housed 18 chickens -- almost triple our normal number.

In general things went well. From our standpoint, there really was little additional work in caring for the extra chickens. Got extra eggs (and extra poop) for a little extra food and water. Not bad.

We did, however, learn about a thing called the pecking order. There is definitely a hierarchy among hens and they sort our their ranking by pecking each other. When we put the two flocks together, the natural pecking order of our flock (and the guest flock) was disrupted. Dominant hens pecked at the heads of those who are beneath them to the point of plucking feathers and opening skin. There's a wonderful article on chicken pecking order here.

I talked to my dad (an old chicken and everything else farmer) about the pecking. He recommended mixing hot red pepper in Karo syrup and spreading it on the heads of the chickens getting pecked. The theory is that the pecking will stop once the bird gets a load of pepper. A quick Internet search turned up lots of home remedies for pecking mostly involving spreading some horrible substance over the head and neck of the chicken getting pecked. In commercial flocks they trim the chickens' beaks to prevent pecking.

All guests have safely returned to their home roost. The situation here is back to normal.

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The Mt. Wilson cam today is pointed east and shows a pretty healthy fire still burning.

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Chicken Laws

As interest grows in all things green, there is a resurgence in chicken keeping. Just a generation ago, chickens were a normal part of everyday life. My father's family kept chickens. I grew up with chickens in our neighborhood. It was just accepted. I don't recall any problems.

So, Lolo (pictured above) and I were hanging around the yard this weekend. It has been a year since she and her five sisters joined our family. We agreed the whole experiment has been a great success. The chickens have been easy to care for and just plain old fun. We clean up every couple of weeks so they don't smell. Our hens are relatively quiet (no roosters). They don't wander into neighbor's yards (although a neighbor's dog got into our yard one day and gave us all a scare). They give us great compostable droppings for the garden. And, best of all, they lay eggs that are more nutritious and less taxing on the environment than those trucked into town.

So, what's the beef with chickens? Why aren't there more around? We did a little research and it turns out that chicken keeping in Pasadena often runs afoul (or is it afowl?) of laws that were passed in 1956. Lolo and I agreed that the old laws are outdated and need change.

Why the Nix in '56?
Pasadena's chicken laws are part of a series of ordinances that were passed in 1956 to prohibit certain farm animals and severely limit others. Cows, pigs, and roosters are prohibited. Goats and horses are extremely limited. Restrictions on chickens and other fowl are so severe that any fowl is prohibited in most Pasadena neighborhoods.
It was only slightly before my time, but most likely Pasadena's animal control ordinance took hold amid the twin pressures of post-war population growth and the drive to modernize. In an era of space exploration, TV dinners, and homogenized everything, there was probably no room for farm animals in a world class city like ours.

Better a Chimp Than a Chick?
Under Pasadena's Municipal Code, no person can have more than 10 chickens and the chickens must be kept 50 feet from a property line, 50 feet from a street and 100 feet from a neighbor's dwelling. Pretty strict requirements. As a practical matter, these rules bar chickens from most Pasadena neighborhoods. (Sections 6.20.020 -- 6.20.070)

There is a potential exception. The Municipal Code allows residents to file a petition with the city's Health Officer for permission to keep a chicken or chickens. The Health Officer holds a public hearing and makes a ruling. You can appeal the ruling, presumably to city council, provided you pay the appeal fees. (Section 6.20.200)

Though most Pasadenans cannot own a chicken, you'll be glad to know you can keep monkeys. The city code allows residents to own any "monkey, ape, chimpanzee, or any animal of the monkey type" as long as as you leash the animal when you go in public. I don't want to offend the pro-monkey forces, but, does it make sense to allow monkeys while outlawing chickens?

Urban Chicken Movement

Urban chicken keeping is a growth industry. In the year since I've been keeping this blog, I've been surprised at the number of people who have inquired about our chickens. East Pasadena's Centinella Feed sells so much chicken feed they have a hard time keeping it on the shelves.

Nationally, an urban chicken movement is fast pecking away at prohibitions against chicken keeping. There are a lot of great sites to visit on this topic including: Homegrown Evolution, Backyard Chickens, The City Chicken, and Ann Arbor City Chickens.

It is time for Pasadena and other cities to take a look at old laws limiting chickens. As part of its program to be a Green and Sustainable City, Pasadena says it intends to "support the public health and environmental benefits of locally grown organic foods." Loosening the restraints on chicken keeping is a good way to pursue this goal.

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Six Eggs In A Day

Today it happened. All six of our hens laid eggs. The light green/blue eggs are from the Ameraucanas. The deep brown eggs are from our Rhode Island Reds. The tannish colored eggs (which are sometimes speckled) are from the Barred Rocks. They were the last to start laying.

Since New Year Day, we've averaged four eggs a day! We're having quiche tonight.

Saturday, November 29, 2008

Egg!

Excitement all over the house. We have an egg! When I went out this morning to check the chickens, this is what I found. The egg has been passed around and we've all held it. We don't know which of the hens is responsible for the egg, but they all got rewarded with tomatoes, which they love.

For several weeks we have been checking for eggs - sometimes many times a day. A week ago someone suggested placing a golf ball in the nesting box. I guess the notion is that the ball would give the chickens an idea of what they were supposed to be doing. Well, they got their golf ball and we got an egg!

It was mid June when we got six one-day old chicks. Now about five and one-half months later we have an egg!

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Chicken Update



So here's Rhode Island Red and our Barred Rock at almost two months old. They have grown up fast. We remember when they were just days old fluff balls and then when they started getting their feathers after a couple of weeks. Hopefully in a few more months, they will start laying eggs. In the meantime, our family has had fun with the chickens. They are very much family pets.

Did you know that there is an "urban chicken movement" sweeping the nation? Citizens groups in cities, such as Ann Arbor and South Portland advocate for urban chicken keeping and more lenient "chicken laws." Pasadena's own Path to Freedom has one of the best websites around. Another good one is backyard chickens.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Chicks - Two Weeks Old


Here she is. Rhode Island Red, a little older and a lot bigger than that little fluff ball she was when we got her. The chicks are constantly eating and seem to grow daily. This one was amused at her little visit outside today. She then had to return to her temporary home inside. She and five other little chicks are living in a neighbor's old rabbit cage that now dominates our living room.

Thursday, June 19, 2008

The Circle of Life


The house is filled with chirping again and we have six tiny chicks in an old rabbit cage in the living room. This is Rhode Island Red, three days old.

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Coyotes

Our chicken coop is silent and all our chickens gone. Coyotes got them.

Early Friday morning as I was getting ready for work, I heard the dog barking the kind of bark that means someone or something is in the yard. I walked out to see a coyote in the chicken coop holding a brown chicken in its mouth. I yelled at the coyote and it ran out of the coop still with the bird. Eventually it dropped the chicken, jumped the fence and it ran down the street. I checked the coop and all six of our chickens were gone.

We know there are coyotes in the area and know that neighbors have lost pets. We've been very careful about protecting the chickens and our cats too. But Thursday night apparently the coop door didn't completely latch shut. One mistake on one night was all the opportunity the coyotes needed. It is sad to lose Big Bertha, Brit and the others. And its sad to walk by an empty quiet coop.