WHEN: Saturday, October 31, 2009 10:00 a.m. OR Sunday, November 1, 2009 2:00 p.m. OR Monday, November 2, 2009 7:00 p.m.
WHERE: Room 159, Kilgore Hall, NC State University
COST: A fee of $5 per person will be requested. (No pre-registration required.)
This presentation by long-time chicken-keeper Bob Davis will confirm that keeping backyard chickens is both desirable and attainable. Chickens produce eggs, make wonderful pets, and provide an earth connection for their humans. Details of their care will be covered, including sources of birds, housing, feeding, and health.
Bob will present the 'Chicken Keeping 101' talk on three separate dates and times. It is the same talk each time, so you need only attend one.
The talk lasts about 1.5 hours, depending on questions, with time for further questions at the end. So you might want to allow about two hours. Please try to arrive a little early, so that the class can start on time.
Free parking is available in the Brooks Lot on the corner of Brooks and Hillsborough. Kilgore Hall is directly across Hillsborough Street from the parking lot (bamboo structures in front). Room 159 is located in the center of the building on the first floor.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Fourth Annual Tour d'Coop - Saturday, May 16, 2009
This year's Tour is approaching quickly! Since there are 24 coops participating in the event, you will need to plan ahead to see the ones that interest you the most. Read the following descriptions to organize your day and refer to the panel on the left for information about ticket sites. We look forward to meeting you on the Tour!
Hear our own Rick Bennett on 680 WPTF and watch him promote the Tour with Tracey Early on News 14!
Coops #1-#5, near the CupAJoe ticket site in Mission Valley Shopping Center:
1. Five bright-eyed beauties, five different breeds, five different colorings: our chicken yard is as diverse as our family. Chickens provide a focus for garden meditation, manure for compost, unbeatable eggs, and connection to where food comes from for our 4 year old son and 1 year old daughter. Our hens have a view of their own mural or the evolving vegetable and perennial gardens that are in their third growing season. Our chicken house was designed for chicken-comfort, and caretaker ease.
2. We love our birds and our birds love our kitchen scraps! Their eggs are tasty and the compost does wonders for our vegetable garden. Our coop is built onto an existing backyard structure and features an emphasis on security against predators. Come see our four Brahma bantam ladies!
3. New on the Tour in 2009! We have found that "less is more"! With our mini-flock of two hens, the ladies get plenty of one-on-one loving attention from us, and we in turn have been included as part of their flock and they are very at ease around us - allowing us to pick them up, hold them, pet them, scratch them, etc. And one egg a day from each hen gives us plenty to eat ourselves and some to share with friends and neighbors. They take up very little space and enjoy frequent free-ranging in our backyard, around the vegetable garden, in the perennial border, and with an occasional stop by the frog pond for a refreshing drink. The coop and hen house were strategicallly sited so we could watch them and their antics from where we sit at our kitchen table - which gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "backyard bird watching"!
Photo of Coop #3 by Tim Ayers
4. The Palacio Verde de los Pollos is finished!! Along with the MiniCooper. Come visit our paradise filled with a variety chickens representing 9 different breeds. I was struck by chicken fever two years ago and now poultry has become my passion. On your stop come and learn about 4-H, study eggs, and have a great time. All of last year’s babies are a year old and producing a wide range of eggs in color and size.
5. Our eight beautiful cluckers are an integral and entertaining part of our 0.18 acre model permaculture "farm." They eat all our food scraps so we can use paper trash bags, and give us glorious compost in return! The eggs far surpass the best storebought. We love our rainbow eggs laid by Araucanas/Ameraucanas, Rhode Island Red, Black and Red Star, barred Rock and one mystery chick. Our colorful coop has a water catchment system that rocks! We’ve recently added an earthen pizza oven in the shape of a giant chicken head – too much fun! At this coop you can also meet members of the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy.
Photo of Coop #5 by Will Hooker/Jeana Myers
2. We love our birds and our birds love our kitchen scraps! Their eggs are tasty and the compost does wonders for our vegetable garden. Our coop is built onto an existing backyard structure and features an emphasis on security against predators. Come see our four Brahma bantam ladies!
3. New on the Tour in 2009! We have found that "less is more"! With our mini-flock of two hens, the ladies get plenty of one-on-one loving attention from us, and we in turn have been included as part of their flock and they are very at ease around us - allowing us to pick them up, hold them, pet them, scratch them, etc. And one egg a day from each hen gives us plenty to eat ourselves and some to share with friends and neighbors. They take up very little space and enjoy frequent free-ranging in our backyard, around the vegetable garden, in the perennial border, and with an occasional stop by the frog pond for a refreshing drink. The coop and hen house were strategicallly sited so we could watch them and their antics from where we sit at our kitchen table - which gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "backyard bird watching"!
Photo of Coop #3 by Tim Ayers4. The Palacio Verde de los Pollos is finished!! Along with the MiniCooper. Come visit our paradise filled with a variety chickens representing 9 different breeds. I was struck by chicken fever two years ago and now poultry has become my passion. On your stop come and learn about 4-H, study eggs, and have a great time. All of last year’s babies are a year old and producing a wide range of eggs in color and size.
5. Our eight beautiful cluckers are an integral and entertaining part of our 0.18 acre model permaculture "farm." They eat all our food scraps so we can use paper trash bags, and give us glorious compost in return! The eggs far surpass the best storebought. We love our rainbow eggs laid by Araucanas/Ameraucanas, Rhode Island Red, Black and Red Star, barred Rock and one mystery chick. Our colorful coop has a water catchment system that rocks! We’ve recently added an earthen pizza oven in the shape of a giant chicken head – too much fun! At this coop you can also meet members of the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy.
Photo of Coop #5 by Will Hooker/Jeana Myers
Coops #6-#9, near the Ornamentea ticket site:
6. This coop will not be open.
7. New on the Tour in 2009! Our discreet coop is tucked away from the urban surroundings in a stand of bamboo. We repaired and renovated a derelict shed with mostly salvaged materials, creating a modest but sensible home for our Rhode Island Reds, barred Plymouth Rocks, and buff Orpingtons. See how container gardening and mushroom logs are allowing us to make the best of a mostly shaded and paved city lot. Please park on the street or toward the rear of the Planned Parenthood parking lot, which is adjacent to our coop.
8. New on the Tour in 2009! We love our chickens. After years of wanting chickens, but allowing our fears to keep our dreams at bay, we took the plunge and are thrilled every day that we did. We enjoy watching our chickens and see each egg as a gift from our "girls." We have eight chickens and they're a mix of types and ages. Usually the girls run around in the yard and neighbors give us their kitchen scraps for the chickens. Come see what you can do...
9. New on the Tour in 2009! We bought four adult hens last October at the State Fair and they first layed eggs for us January. We have a blue Cochin and a partridge Cochin, large birds with feathers on their legs, a Buckeye and a cuckoo Marans. Our coop was built to match the style of our Cameron Park house with re-claimed materials. The hens roam free in the backyard every day and love to dig up the dirt. We are also hosting representatives of WakeUP Wake County - come learn about growth and development issues in Wake County.
7. New on the Tour in 2009! Our discreet coop is tucked away from the urban surroundings in a stand of bamboo. We repaired and renovated a derelict shed with mostly salvaged materials, creating a modest but sensible home for our Rhode Island Reds, barred Plymouth Rocks, and buff Orpingtons. See how container gardening and mushroom logs are allowing us to make the best of a mostly shaded and paved city lot. Please park on the street or toward the rear of the Planned Parenthood parking lot, which is adjacent to our coop.
Photo of Coop #7 by Tim Ayers 
8. New on the Tour in 2009! We love our chickens. After years of wanting chickens, but allowing our fears to keep our dreams at bay, we took the plunge and are thrilled every day that we did. We enjoy watching our chickens and see each egg as a gift from our "girls." We have eight chickens and they're a mix of types and ages. Usually the girls run around in the yard and neighbors give us their kitchen scraps for the chickens. Come see what you can do...
9. New on the Tour in 2009! We bought four adult hens last October at the State Fair and they first layed eggs for us January. We have a blue Cochin and a partridge Cochin, large birds with feathers on their legs, a Buckeye and a cuckoo Marans. Our coop was built to match the style of our Cameron Park house with re-claimed materials. The hens roam free in the backyard every day and love to dig up the dirt. We are also hosting representatives of WakeUP Wake County - come learn about growth and development issues in Wake County.
Coops #10-#13, near the Whole Foods Market ticket site:
10. We have five hens - two Rhode Island Reds, two Araucanas and one Delaware. They provide all the eggs we need - and we eat a lot of eggs! They stay in their run while we are away, but get to range in the backyard when we are at home. They are all very friendly because the kids play with them often - teaching tricks, performing chicken IQ tests and just holding them on their laps. We have streamlined our routine by getting them an automatic door that lets them out of their coop after sunrise and locks them up safely after sunset.
11. Our eight various breed egg-layers enjoy daily supplemental treats of spinach and various kitchen scraps and in return the "Girls" supply their humans with all-natural, cage-free eggs. Not only do the “Girls" supply eggs for us and lucky neighbors, they also produce fertilizer for the compost pile & hours of non-stop enjoyment for their humans.
12. New on the Tour in 2009! Exotic hens from Down Under!! Black Australorps, some with legendary "rainbow tails" fanning out above lovely green-sheen backsides. Featuring one-on-one interviews with Caution (aka Yellowtail), alpha male girl who demands food for the flock and sounds the alarm at hawk's approach. also, free chicken s***. ruffled feather farm
13. New on the Tour in 2009! We have made great use of what was an overgrown, unused narrow side yard and have four beautiful hens (three different breeds) in a large run nestled outside our master bath windows and between our house and our neighbors. A six foot tall privacy fence and hedges give our chickens privacy! Our girls are two years old now, a barred Plymouth Rock, Dominique, and two silver-laced Wyandottes. They provide fabulous eggs and great compost for our organic vegetable gardens and large perennial beds. Our girls are wonderful pets too; each with their own personalities: Ida, Gladys, Polly, and Della are named after strong Southern women in our ancestry. At our coop this year, the local "slow food" group will be set up. Come and learn more about Slow Food Triangle!
11. Our eight various breed egg-layers enjoy daily supplemental treats of spinach and various kitchen scraps and in return the "Girls" supply their humans with all-natural, cage-free eggs. Not only do the “Girls" supply eggs for us and lucky neighbors, they also produce fertilizer for the compost pile & hours of non-stop enjoyment for their humans.
12. New on the Tour in 2009! Exotic hens from Down Under!! Black Australorps, some with legendary "rainbow tails" fanning out above lovely green-sheen backsides. Featuring one-on-one interviews with Caution (aka Yellowtail), alpha male girl who demands food for the flock and sounds the alarm at hawk's approach. also, free chicken s***. ruffled feather farm
Photo of Coop #12 by Tim Ayers
13. New on the Tour in 2009! We have made great use of what was an overgrown, unused narrow side yard and have four beautiful hens (three different breeds) in a large run nestled outside our master bath windows and between our house and our neighbors. A six foot tall privacy fence and hedges give our chickens privacy! Our girls are two years old now, a barred Plymouth Rock, Dominique, and two silver-laced Wyandottes. They provide fabulous eggs and great compost for our organic vegetable gardens and large perennial beds. Our girls are wonderful pets too; each with their own personalities: Ida, Gladys, Polly, and Della are named after strong Southern women in our ancestry. At our coop this year, the local "slow food" group will be set up. Come and learn more about Slow Food Triangle!
Coops #14-#17, near the Seaboard ACE Hardware ticket site:
14. New on the Tour in 2009! We have Ameraucana pullets and rare heirloom Dominique hens, who live in their safe, secure, and economical home. In return, they give us eggs, take care of our kitchen wastes, and provide lots of relaxing entertainment.
15. Come meet our hens Chichi, Lacy, Cupcake, Cookie, one yet un-named, Delilah and our rooster Samson. The latter two are bantams and we are in the process of introducing them to the original hens. Each hen lays a different shaped egg according to her body type (we imagine). Chichi is the most consistent and we get a beautiful little blue egg from her almost every day. The hens' favorite pastime is to search the pine-straw for worms and whatever other creatures come up in the scratching. They also go crazy for long noodles and grapes. The chickens have also helped contribute to our compost greatly and we can't wait to use it this year on the vegetable garden.
16. New on the Tour in 2009! Our 5-chicken coop houses 3 different breeds providing us with a weekly collection of eggs that vary in color and size. Our easy-to-build coop design features external access door to collect eggs and refill the trough without having to stoop into the run. We’ll have blueprints on hand in case you would like to try something similar. Tucked neatly beside our shed, our neighbors are often surprised to find out that we even have chickens. These girls are beauties, well-tempered and love to be petted. Our friends from Carolina Farm Stewardship Association and Toxic Free NC will be here with information about their organizations.
17. New on the Tour in 2009! Three little bantam hens live in the backyard of this modest 1950's brick ranch. Our tiny coop has the biggest chicken yard in town! This simple, inexpensive setup has provided our family with plenty of fresh eggs and minimal mess, noise, or fuss. In fact, most of our neighbors don't even realize that we keep chickens. Plus, see our display of the different types of chicken feed and optional additions to a chicken's diet, including oyster shell, "scratch" grains, organic mixed grain feed, and conventional crumbles and pellets.
15. Come meet our hens Chichi, Lacy, Cupcake, Cookie, one yet un-named, Delilah and our rooster Samson. The latter two are bantams and we are in the process of introducing them to the original hens. Each hen lays a different shaped egg according to her body type (we imagine). Chichi is the most consistent and we get a beautiful little blue egg from her almost every day. The hens' favorite pastime is to search the pine-straw for worms and whatever other creatures come up in the scratching. They also go crazy for long noodles and grapes. The chickens have also helped contribute to our compost greatly and we can't wait to use it this year on the vegetable garden.
16. New on the Tour in 2009! Our 5-chicken coop houses 3 different breeds providing us with a weekly collection of eggs that vary in color and size. Our easy-to-build coop design features external access door to collect eggs and refill the trough without having to stoop into the run. We’ll have blueprints on hand in case you would like to try something similar. Tucked neatly beside our shed, our neighbors are often surprised to find out that we even have chickens. These girls are beauties, well-tempered and love to be petted. Our friends from Carolina Farm Stewardship Association and Toxic Free NC will be here with information about their organizations.
17. New on the Tour in 2009! Three little bantam hens live in the backyard of this modest 1950's brick ranch. Our tiny coop has the biggest chicken yard in town! This simple, inexpensive setup has provided our family with plenty of fresh eggs and minimal mess, noise, or fuss. In fact, most of our neighbors don't even realize that we keep chickens. Plus, see our display of the different types of chicken feed and optional additions to a chicken's diet, including oyster shell, "scratch" grains, organic mixed grain feed, and conventional crumbles and pellets.
Coops #18-#24, near Dr. Andreaus' ticket site:
18. Tour the Chicken United Nations, a worldwide array featuring hens and roosters originating from China, India, England, Ancient Rome and more modern Italy, the Netherlands, Egypt, Belgium, Japan, Indonesia, and the USA. In our United Nations, they all get along.
19. 'The Girlz' are always welcoming young and old passers-by. They now have a beautiful new wooden coop with many convenient features that was created by Tamara Christian. The 'windows' cut into our wooden fence are a big attraction because they provide a great opportunity for interaction between the hens and visitors. We are also fortunate that Monarch butterflies visit us for some Milkweed, and share a close glimpse of their life cycle: egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, then butterfly with anyone who pauses long enough to observe.
20. Come one, come all to "Koop's Coop," where you can chat with our three Brahma bantam hens, see their home and the gardens they nourish, see our vermiculture recycling project (using red worms) and get a feel for all you can do on an urban lot to reduce waste and enhance our environment.
21. Our four Brahma bantam hens live in a miniature Five Points bungalow. Because of visibility from the street and placement in the garden, aesthetics is as important as function. The paint, siding, shingles, and window style match our home. Most days the girls get some outside time to search the backyard for earthworms and graze on grass while we keep watch for hawks.
22. Coop Version 2.0 is here! With busy lives, our goal is a zero maintenance coop so we can spend our time enjoying our girls. We recently completed a whole new setup, starting with a secondhand playhouse for the chicken house. We have two "Easter Eggers" and a Rhode Island Red.
23. New on the Tour in 2009! Who knows what lurks in the backyard behind fences and hedges in Five Points? Bottle trees and chicken coops! Who knew? We added our coop in the fall of 08 and currently have three bantam rose-combed Leghorns and one bossy little white bantam Araucana, Little Fay (named after last fall’s hurricane!). We hope to add two Brahma bantams in the spring. We love the new addition of chickens to our yard and garden. We love them and they entertain us---what a great mutual relationship.
Photo of Coop #23 by Tim Ayers
24. Living with chickens helps urban people nurture their vital earth connection. Our flock are not just pets, but an integral part of our garden and a link to natural cycles. Nothing is wasted, and all is appreciated. Come experience the "flowers of the poultry world."
19. 'The Girlz' are always welcoming young and old passers-by. They now have a beautiful new wooden coop with many convenient features that was created by Tamara Christian. The 'windows' cut into our wooden fence are a big attraction because they provide a great opportunity for interaction between the hens and visitors. We are also fortunate that Monarch butterflies visit us for some Milkweed, and share a close glimpse of their life cycle: egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, then butterfly with anyone who pauses long enough to observe.
20. Come one, come all to "Koop's Coop," where you can chat with our three Brahma bantam hens, see their home and the gardens they nourish, see our vermiculture recycling project (using red worms) and get a feel for all you can do on an urban lot to reduce waste and enhance our environment.
21. Our four Brahma bantam hens live in a miniature Five Points bungalow. Because of visibility from the street and placement in the garden, aesthetics is as important as function. The paint, siding, shingles, and window style match our home. Most days the girls get some outside time to search the backyard for earthworms and graze on grass while we keep watch for hawks.
22. Coop Version 2.0 is here! With busy lives, our goal is a zero maintenance coop so we can spend our time enjoying our girls. We recently completed a whole new setup, starting with a secondhand playhouse for the chicken house. We have two "Easter Eggers" and a Rhode Island Red.
23. New on the Tour in 2009! Who knows what lurks in the backyard behind fences and hedges in Five Points? Bottle trees and chicken coops! Who knew? We added our coop in the fall of 08 and currently have three bantam rose-combed Leghorns and one bossy little white bantam Araucana, Little Fay (named after last fall’s hurricane!). We hope to add two Brahma bantams in the spring. We love the new addition of chickens to our yard and garden. We love them and they entertain us---what a great mutual relationship.
Photo of Coop #23 by Tim Ayers24. Living with chickens helps urban people nurture their vital earth connection. Our flock are not just pets, but an integral part of our garden and a link to natural cycles. Nothing is wasted, and all is appreciated. Come experience the "flowers of the poultry world."
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