The Coop

Building Community Against the Odds

My neighbor, Jo, who just turned 8, met our hens yesterday and informed me that he would come the next day to see the eggs (the hens have been laying their eggs between 8 and 9am consistently). Sure enough, Jo appeared this morning, apologizing for being early. There were no eggs at first so he helped me water my garden, check the temperature of my compost (110 degrees), and take apart our coop prototype. He was amazed at how hot the first egg was and I told him he should take it home, break it onto a plate along with a store bought egg and compare the color of yolks, then eat them, of course. Jo is very inquisitive, helpful and caring and I am glad to have him around.

It has been a pleasure to get to know our neighbors since we moved here 2yrs ago. Whenever I am out in the yard gardening, neighbors passing by stop and talk to me and sometimes come into the yard. I give them flowers or produce from my yard and they usually return the favor. I can spend more than an hour each day conversing with neighbors, which means I get less work done. It is a slower, rewarding pace of life. My plants, dishes and laundry...etc., will forgive me if I don't get to them right away. That is how you build community - exchanging kindnesses, food, advice, a smile and a wave, time sacrifice, and "would you like to see my chickens?". The nay-sayers against the Urban Hen movement argue that chickens in the city will threaten our community, pitting neighbor against neighbor. Well, you know what I have to say about that.

Civil Un-coop-eration

We have now entered the realm of urban agriculture. Not only am I growing edibles in all my flower beds and exchanging our front lawn for vegetable production, but we now have 3 feathered ladies in our backyard.

It looks like it will be some time indeed before our council allows Urban Hens, so a lot of us have chosen to just go ahead with it, by-laws be... well, you know. 

Bonnie Klohn came with me to pick up our "Miller Browns" on Saturday morning in a cardboard box (It turned out it's harder to find a cardboard box on a Saturday morning than it is to catch a chicken), while my husband put the finishing touches on the coop at home. We put the rustling box in the coop and gently turned it on it's side. Slowly the hens ventured out and waggled their heads at the new surroundings. Our dog Timmy took to them quite easily - that is until he got his nose pecked.  My husband has dubbed them "The Golden Girls" and their characters are already very evident. We have had 4 eggs in 2 days which is very good considering they just moved in. 

Our neighbors on either side of us approve of our chickens, but I am still a little concerned about strangers walking by and seeing them. But soon the coop will be moved to the side of the house where no one can see them.

I am letting them rummage in my veggie garden for cut worms before I turn over the soil, as I have already lost a few transplants to the horrible little caterpillars.

I will include detailed pictures of our chicken tractor in a few days.

Here are some pictures I took today:  

 A store bought "free range" egg (left) and our 4th egg, laid just this morning (right).

The Golden Girls have been eating my fall rye grass, dandelions, kitchen scraps, a little store bought feed, organic spelt(whole grain), bugs and grubs.

This one is my favorite, she is gentle and very pretty.

The Golden Girls feasting on my kitchen scraps.

Our Urban Hen Booth

 My husband and I built this booth for Kamloops Urban Hens to take to public functions/farmer's markets. We have had so many people come up to the booth and say why they think Urban Hens is a great idea and want to know why the city won't let us have them. They are also eager to sign a petition, although we don't have one going at the moment. 

We are collecting stories of citizens who are either neighbors of backyard chickens, have backyard chickens, or had a small backyard flock at some time. We hope to make a video about Kamloops Urban Hens featuring interviews with people who have stories to share. If you have a story, please share it with us.

The above picture was taken at the May 2 Kamloops Farmer's Market and it features the lovely Bonnie Klohn.

 

Cities that Grow

The Kamloops Urban Hens have organized an Urban Agriculture Week here in Kamloops. It starts today.  April 27 to April 30th there will be food/agriculture related documentaries being screened at the TRU clocktower starting @ 7pm. Friday, Saturday and Sunday there will be workshops, debates, speakers. My husband is doing a coop building workshop on the Sunday.

See the link "omelettes for everyone" for the official Urban Hens website and the detailed schedule for the week. Hope to see you there!

Public Eggducation

Bonnie and I were at the "Kamloops' Seedy Saturday" community event (a seed exchange and garden seminar) last weekend with the new Chicken Booth which my husband and I made. We were overwhelmed by the interest and enthusiasm for the Urban Hens Movement! Bonnie had printed up a bunch of post cards for people to sign and send in to our City Council - we ran out in less than an hour. We had oodles of people give their names and info so that we could keep them updated with our progress. 

Since the rejection of our pilot project in January, we have decided to switch gears a bit and focus on educating the public about how chickens in the city can work and what it looks like. The major concerns that I hear from people are still about smell and noise. Interestingly, these concerns come from middle aged citizens who at one point lived with, or near chickens. When I ask them "how many chickens?" the answer is always "a lot!". 

Part of the effort to educate our city is to introduce the idea of small scale poultry farming, involving movable chicken coops for 2 - 4  hens (NO ROOSTERS) called chicken tractors - which I have mentioned before. These coops are easy to clean, mobile, small-predator proof, and allow the hens to be "free range" but not on the loose. It is completely unlike the farmhouse flocks of yesteryear. There is a family in town that have 2 chickens in their back yard and their neighbors didn't notice for almost two years! See: clean and quiet. 

Urban Hens will be at the downtown Farmer's Markets on Saturdays (starting April 18th) and at other community events as they pop up. Keep an eye out for our booth and keep checking "Omelette's for Everyone"(see link to Bonnie's new website) to stay up to date with our events and opportunities for activism. 

Ps, the hen related Kamloops newspaper letters and articles now number over 25. I ran out of fridge magnets!

Hurray for Vancouver!!!

Vancouver City Council just approved a motion to amend their bylaws to allow for backyard hens on properties smaller than 1 acre! Kamloops City Council (those coun. still opposed) eat crow. See for the Vancouver Sun article - http://www.cityfarmer.info/vancouver-city-council-votes-to-allow-chickens-in-yards/

Chick Flick

Our tiny quail chicks hatched yesterday. These pictures show them at one day old. Precious.

Eggs Galore

My husband and I are now the proud owners of three Barred Rock laying hens, two quail, and about 15 incubating quail eggs. We are collecting about two chicken eggs a day and they are superb. The quails have not been regularly laying since their move but I had one of their little spotted delicacies the other day in my soup. 

We are still not legally permitted to have hens on our property so we bought a third of my employer's flock and went halfers on the quail. On the days when I visit the hens to feed them our kitchen scraps and collect their eggs, they tend to lay more than on the days I do not visit. Perhaps it is because I talk and cluck to them and tell them what good girls they are. 

The quail chicks are due to hatch in a few days!

There has been a considerable number (15 or more) of articles and letters to the editor since Jan. 27th regarding the Urban Hen project, all in support of chickens and all upset with City Council. 

In an interview with the Daily News, opposing counc. John O'Fee is quoted saying "People have chickens now, but the city will have to take action if neighbors complain.....the status quo seems to work fine at this point........If it's benign and neighbors don't mind, then it's not an issue worth pursuing" He is implying for us to go ahead and have chickens illegally as we probably won't get caught. This is a dangerous statement. It is like saying "go ahead speed, grow pot, (insert discrete illegal activity here), because unless someone rats you out, you won't get caught". He is discouraging us from our desire to abide by the laws.

At the meeting on Jan. 27th, Mayor Millobar repeatedly mentioned that if we really wanted to have chickens, we could apply for a variance on our property, yet he failed to mention it costs $750 to do so and you are not guaranteed success. 

Counc. DeCicco has said "if you want the country life, move to the country". On this point, my friend and Urban Hen advocate Leslie Welsh observed "He might as well have said 'Let them eat cake'". I cannot imagine a more ignorant statement. The price tag for a hobby farm within a reasonable distance from the city is unaffordable to the majority. It is not an option for us - that is the reason we're fighting to have chickens in the city. Hello?

New terms are beginning to enter our vocabulary such as "The Urban Homestead"and "Backyard Farming". The only way to truly know the who, what, where and hows of our food is to buy local from small farmers that we meet, or if we have a little land to grow and raise our own. I know what my chickens are eating, how they have been treated and how healthy they are. Now that is food security! 

Foul Play

Kamloops will not be welcoming Urban Hens this spring as City Council has voted against our pilot project in favor of keeping the status quo and their heads buried in the sand. Granted, we did win over a few more councilors, some of whom have become very enthusiastic supporters. It was also encouraging that they debated our case for a full hour (visibly longer than Mayor Millobar wished to endure) and the vote ended in a tie which means a defeat. Once again the meeting room was packed out with chicken supporters, some sporting hen shaped tea cozies or paper-mache chicken helmets on their heads - I'm not sure if this actually helped our cause, but it showed spirit nonetheless. By-laws department was raked over the coals for their negative recommendation that lacked a revised pilot project option which it was supposed to include.  Also absent from the recommendation was any positive insight that might have been gained had they contacted other large cities that have made urban hens work. After the motion to allow the project was defeated, Councilor Wallace - possibly wanting to have the last word - launched into a speech about how we were doomed to fail from the beginning. She declared that she used to have chickens (many, many years ago) and advised everyone against them and shame on us for expecting by-law officers to have to stick their heads in smelly coops....etc. We were all shuffling out by then.

Our next move has yet to be decided, but one thing is for sure, it is just the beginning for the Urban Hens Movement in Kamloops.  

Chicken Ambition

This is a sketch of what a "Chicken Tractor" can look like. It is a must have for the city dwelling hen and is most likely what will be widely used if Kamloops catches up to other future friendly cities like Burnaby, Victoria, New York, Portland, and Seattle who all allow chickens on properties smaller than one acre.

It's purpose: to be able to move the chickens to areas of your yard that you want "mowed", fertilized, weeded, cultivated and removed of insects. 

My ambition is to make raised garden beds in corresponding size to the base of the chicken tractor and fill them with kitchen and garden scraps. I would then place the tractor over a bed until the chickens have turned, fertilized, and devoured any weed seeds they could find in it. Then I would move it to the next one and so on. The beds would soon be premium, organic, locally sourced soil for growing my own fruits and vegetables. Just think of the fabulous acorn squashes I would have next fall!

Hen Huggers

My employer's daughters Sonja (top), and Erika with their beloved chickens. This family lives in Kamloops on property bigger than 1 acre. There are a dozen hens in their coop and I have the pleasure of feeding them once in a while and collecting their eggs. The hens are well looked after and greet you with happy clucking noises when you open the door to their coop. I can report first hand that they do not stink! Sometimes I am given the excess eggs to take home and enjoy. The yolks of these eggs (free-range, organic) are a deep orange and contain one third less cholesterol — and one fourth less saturated fat than commercially produced eggs. Comparison also shows free-range, organic vs. commercial may contain: 2/3 more vitamin A, 2 times more omega-3 fatty acids, 3 times more vitamin E, and 7 times more beta carotene. Chew on that for a while.

Creating a Fuss

I never thought I would be an activist and yet, here I am. No more armchair ranting. It's time for public action.

The city of Kamloops will not allow me, or anyone else with property less than an acre, to have chickens for the purpose of collecting and eating their nutritious eggs. 

We the "Urban Hens Movement", organized by TRU student Bonnie Klohn, packed out a meeting room before Mayor Peter Millobar and City Council on December 9th, 2008 to propose our experimental pilot project. 

This was the proposed project:

"About 40 families will go through a series of courses about hen husbandry, public safety, disease prevention and coup building during the winter. In March 2009 each family will acquire 3 hens and keep them for 6 months. The aim is to create a group of educated, responsible hen owners in Kamloops and to improve food security/sustainability within the city. It will help to get people thinking more about where their food comes from and what is in it. After the pilot an evaluation will be done and a by-law proposal will be put forth to the city that is tailored specifically to Kamloops needs, keeping in mind what worked and what did not in the pilot."

Council proposed to amend the project and asked By-law council to look it over and make recommendations. It was not a defeat.....yet.

The current situation is as such; According to sources within the city, there is very little support from upper management (Including the Mayor, who has already said he is against it). They are also recommending the number of pilot families be reduced to 20. The Council makes their final vote on January 27th, 2009. There is little time left to rally support, but it must be done. Council must be made to understand that many people are in support of this and we will not go away quietly! 

If you live and the city of Kamloops and support eating local and believe we should have the freedom to use our own land for our own food production, please take a few minutes and write an email to our Mayor and council at info@kamloops.ca 

You can also help by writing to our local news papers at letters@kamloopsnews.ca and editor@kamloopsthisweek.com