Name: Rachel Hurd Anger
From: Louisville, Kentucky
Profession: Freelance writer
Website: hurdanger.com
Poultry you currently own?:
An Australorp, a Red Star, a Partridge Plymouth Rock, a Silver Laced Wyandotte, and a Buff Laced Polish, presumably all female, but we suspect the Polish may be a rooster.
About you: I'm a freelance writer and stay-at-home mom who's obsessed with sustainability, food politics, and cooking from scratch as often as possible. I unexpectedly fell in love with chickens on some random day, researched obsessively for more than a year, and when my husband announced that he was putting up a privacy fence, I agreed under the strict condition that I would get my chickens. Now, we await our first egg.
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Name: Pam BakerFrom: Dummerston, Vermont
Profession: Nurse
Website: homesteadexperiment.blogspot.com
Poultry you currently own?: 11 chickens: Six New Hampshire Red including one rooster and five Barred Rocks.
About you: Married to a wonderful man named Bill, and we are two ex-suburbanites stumbling around the Vermont countryside learning to live a sustainable life. We are the proud pet parents of 8 pets: 5 rescued dogs and 3 cats. We are enjoying the homesteading life and look forward to each season as a fantastic journey.
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Name: Jennifer BurckeFrom: Dover, New Hampshire
Profession: Writer, Fifth-Generation Family Farmer
Website: 1840Farm.com
Find me on:
-- Etsy
Poultry you currently own?: 17 Heritage Breed Hens: Black Australorp, Barred Plymouth Rock, Buff Brahma Bantam, Dominique, Golden Laced Wyandotte, Mottled Cochin Bantam, Silkie Bantam (Buff and Black), Silver Laced Wyandotte, and Welsummer
About you: I grew up in Shawnee, Kansas. More than a decade ago, three generations of my family made the decision to move to New Hampshire. Now we live on a farm that dates back to the 1840s and is located 100 miles from the dairy farm that my great grandparents called home. Each year, we find ourselves producing more of our own food. In 2010, we added a flock of heritage breed hens to our farm and built our own chicken coop. In 2011, we added a herd of Nigerian Dwarf dairy goats and a French Angora rabbit to our barn. In 2012, we added bantam chickens to the landscape of our farm. Stay tuned to see what kind of adventure next year might bring!
You're always welcome at 1840 Farm. Visit The 1840 Farm Mercantile Shop on Etsy to browse our collection of handmade products. Follow 1840 Farm on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest to read all about my family's adventures including our daily harvest totals from the farm.
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Name: CandiceFrom: Michigan
Profession: Medical
Poultry you currently own?: Blue Slate and Bourbon Red turkeys, Black Australorps, Buff Orphingtons, Rhode Island Reds, and Lavender Araucanas.
About you: Country raised by a City mother who thought a cat was livestock, I didn't get into the idea of farming until the mid 70's when I discovered The Mother Earth News and Carla Emery. Trapped on a small lot in town, I joined a co-op, baked my own bread, gardened and canned and/or dried everything I could get my hands on. In the mid 80's we moved unto a few acres and the fun began! 25 years later, my poor husband still wonders what happened - he says I should have married a farmer! It's really not that bad - we're down to "just" poultry and hair sheep!
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Name: Melissa CaugheyFrom: Cape Cod, Massachusetts
Profession: Freelance writer, backyard chicken keeper, nurse practitioner
Website: Tilly's Nest
Find me on:
Poultry you currently own?: I have a mixed breed flock that changes from time to time. Currently we have a flock of seven chickens, an Australorp, Two Buff Orpingtons and Four Silkie Bantams
About you: Currently I live on Cape Cod Massachusetts with my husband, two children, a flock of chickens, two backyard beehives and a Miniature Schnuauzer. I am an avid gardener of vegetables and perennials and I recently served as the Project Coordinator, designer and leader for a brand new schoolyard organic garden. Throughout the year, I can be found encouraging new chicken keepers by teaching introductory classes on keeping chickens. I am also an antique collector, cook, decorator and crafter. My blog, Tilly's Nest, was recently the recipient of Country Living Magazine's Blue Ribbon Blogger Award and named one of Blogger's Blog of Note in 2012. I have written for Chickens Magazine. You can also find me blogging on a regular basis for HGTV Gardens and Grit magazine as well as a contributor to Country Living magazine online. I have been featured on National Public Radio, and I am currently the Technical Editor for an upcoming Dummies book. When I am not spending time with my chickens and gardens, I enjoy beach days with my family.
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Name: Meredith Chilson From: Belmont, New York
Profession: Teacher
Website: Green Circle Grove
Poultry you currently own?: 24 laying hens: Buff Orpington, Rhode Island Red, Speckled Sussex, Barred Rock, a Silkie, a Poppyseed and a big black mixed breed with feathery legs.
About you: I'm a country girl from birth, married for a very long time to "the boy next door". We have two grown-up daughters, seven perfect grandchildren and an old dog. I'm a partner in a small local business "Green Circle Grove"; we make fabric bags and totes and old-fashioned soaps, which we sell at craft fairs and festivals and on our website -- www.greencirclegrove.com.
I've been happily blogging for Community Chickens for two years, write the material for the Green Circle Grove website and was featured in the February 2013 issue of Your Chickens magazine. I love to learn and I love to share what I have learned with others, whether it's through my fiber crafts, the summer "Granny Camps" we host, community activities or articles that I write for blogs or local newspapers. I read and write, garden and farm, travel and always return to my small, rural corner of the world.
Read all stories by Meredith
Name: Cortney CogswellFrom: Silsbee, Texas
Profession: Housewife
Poultry you currently own?: 36 Rhode Island Reds
About you: Even though I grew up in the Pineywoods Region of Texas I never saw myself as the "country life" type. Now fastfoward more than a few years, a country husband, and that's excatly the kind of life I want.
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Name: Shannon ColeFrom: Michigan
Profession: Writer, an Elementary At-Risk Reading Aide
Website: Country Girl in the Village
Find me on:
Poultry you currently own?: In my backyard flock I currently have 4 hens. Two Blue Laced Red Wyandottes, One Easter Egger and One Silver Laced Polish.
About you: grew up in the townships surrounding Clarkston, Michigan, a small village in Southeast part of the State. My grandparents owned a cattle ranch where they raised horses and beef cattle. My love of farming was born at their homestead. Now, with the help of my husband we raise our two boys, two dogs, two cats, four chickens and a large garden on my just under an acre lot in another small village in Southeast Michigan. I am passionate about eating local fresh food. It is this passion that took us from gardeners to backyard chicken keepers.
I share my experience of backyard chicken keeping, gardening, recipes and life in general on my blog Country Girl in the Village. There I also share canning tips, crafts and of course tales from my backyard coop. I enjoy reading, photography, fiber arts and travel.
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Name: Claire Culver, Chief ChickenthusiastFrom: West Tennessee
Profession: Egg Farmer and Budding Permaculturalist
Website: www.clucknneigh.com
Poultry you currently own?: Seven Hens: Lavender, French and Pied Guineas. Americaunas - the famous layers of green and blue eggs. Barred Hollands - rarest of all American breeds. Buckeyes - the only breed developed by a woman, and sporting its own unique vocalization. It can roar like a dinosaur. If that's not a cool reason to own one, I don't know what is! Buff Orpingtons - a very friendly, pet-like chicken. It's extremely amusing to watch them drop what their doing a run to me when they see me coming. Were they not so waddly and cute it would look like a scene from Hitchcock's The Birds. Several "mystery chickens" due to an impulse purchase from a mislabeled Tractor Supply crate-o-chicks.
About you: A recently converted city gal but long-time environmentalist, I am a founding member of the MidSouth Permaculture Collective and the MidSouth Permaculture Institute. I live with my husband in West Tennessee on a small farm we are together converting to permaculture. I offer eggs from my pasture raised heritage breed poultry to the community with an interesting twist: Following the philosophy of karma, I offer eggs to anyone regardless of their ability to pay. Those who can pay more do so because they know their money goes toward molding Cluck-n-Neigh Farm into the first permaculture learning center in the MidSouth.
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Name: Joy CurrieFrom: Ovid, Michigan
Profession: Teacher
Poultry you currently own?: Silver-laced and Golden-laced Wyandotte
About you: My husband and I are the third generation to live on the family farm. Our goal is to continually be moving toward a more self-sufficient life.
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Name: Stacia Equi From: Eastern Pennsylvania
Profession: I am an unemployed helicopter pilot and former milliner (hat maker) for the entertainment industry (film, TV, commercials)
Website: The Purple Suede Tool Belt
Poultry you currently own?: Chickens: Barred Rocks, Aracaunas and Sal-links
About you: I'm a mostly city girl who's moved to a slightly more rural area, and I'm trying to embrace all the things that rural living can offer. One of those things is the opportunity to grow my own food and raise my own chickens. Although I have many pets and am very good with animals, birds in general do not like me. My husband has deemed my raising of chickens: The Great Chicken Experiment.
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Name: Nancy FarrellFrom: Altona, New York
Profession: Biochemist currently seeking employment
Website: www.sasimeadows.webs.com
Poultry you currently own?: We have ducks, chickens and guinea fowl.
About you: My husband and I have a small farm in upstate New York, way upstate by the Canadian border. We have two children, dogs, cats, goats, chickens, ducks, guinea fowl and angora rabbits. I enjoy photography and love to take pictures of our animals. I love learning new things.
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Name: Kimberly FurryFrom: North-Central Pennsylvania
Profession: bookkeeper, teacher, stay-at-home mom
Website: www.gaiagardens.biz
Poultry you currently own?: Delawares, Silkies
About you: I am the mother of two darling little girls Ara (six) and Nora (three) living in rural north-central Pennsylvania with my husband Derek. I love that my daughter, Ara has inspired us to start this journey into the world of "hendom" and am stoked to share our journey with our friends, family and other families seeking to raise backyard chickens!
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Name: Eric Guel From: Waco, Texas
Profession: Manager for a handcrafted walking stick company / Freelance Journalist / Freelance Photojournalist
Website: brazos-walking-sticks.com - photowaco.com
Poultry you currently own?: Seven Delaware hens. One Delaware rooster. Two Wyandotte bantam hens. One Wyandotte bantam rooster. Four barnies. Three Muscovy duck hens. One Muscovy duck drake
About you: I'm a city boy who's gone country! My wife and I started raising chickens in July 2009, shortly after we moved out to our little 2-acre homestead in beautiful central Texas. It's been a learning experience, but certainly a fun ride. I enjoy reading, writing, photojournalism, chess, theology ... and poultry!
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Name: Chuck Hagi From: LaValle, Wisconsin
Profession: Restaurant Manager
Poultry you currently own?: Chickens: Milli Fleur D Uccle, Cochin, Sultan, Wyandotte, Black Rosecomb, Japanese, Silkie, Barred Plymouth Rock
About you: I am married and a father of two. I enjoy chickens for a variety of reasons. Not only do I keep them for meat and eggs, but also enjoy chickens as pets. Chicken keeping has fit in well with my other hobbies of gardening and woodworking. I have designed and built portable chicken coops. I hope you enjoy reading about my chicken-keeping experiences.
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Name: Harry HessenFrom: Memphis, Tennessee
Profession: I obtained a degree in Industrial Design at Arizona State University. Over the years I have worked to design products for a number of different industries. I eventually expanded into Product Planning and Marketing. I have been working at a major electronic company for 20 years plus and currently head up a development team there.
Website: For the Love of Chicken Poop
Find me on:
Poultry you currently own?: Currently we have six chickens, 2 Black Barred Plymouth Rocks, Welsummer, Easter Egger, Brown Leghorn, Buff Polish Crested.
About you: I grew up with parents that came from two different walks of life. My mother was one of seven kids in a family that lived in a rural area. So, I had a lot of aunts and uncles that gave me a taste of the country. I still remember going to stay with them for a few days. The big meal of the day was at lunch, which they called dinner. There was always three to four bowls of fresh vegetables from the garden. They all had huge gardens in the back, and yes, chickens!
My father came from a smaller family that lived in the city. On my grandmother’s side we had relatives that were craftsmen. This greatly influenced my dad who became skilled in wood working, metal work, electrical, engineering and art. Thus, helping to set my path in Industrial Design.
With my roots in Industrial Design, I am always looking for a better way to do things. I first came across this word “sustainability” in a value-engineering class. Basically: avoid waste. Wow, what a concept. So, putting together our blog is more than just about chickens; I hope it will be a medium through which to pass on the things I have learned over the years.
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Name: Liz HessenFrom: Memphis, Tennessee
Profession: My education and work background are in ceramics and fibre arts, with a smudge of medical training and work thrown in.r
Website: For the Love of Chicken Poop
Find me on:
Poultry you currently own?: Currently we have six chickens, 2 Black Barred Plymouth Rocks, Welsummer, Easter Egger, Brown Leghorn, Buff Polish Crested.
About you: I have lived in Memphis all my life (no, never been to Graceland). My several moves have led me from way out in suburbia to Midtown - figuratively and literally. We are within biking and walking distance from restaurants, shops, parks and a fairly new Greenway 6.5 miles long that connects to one of the Shelby County parks.
I think my mother was the original "kitchen compostor" (if there is such a thing)! It wasn't quite composting - more like recycling food. Nothing went to waste. She had a spot in the backyard, away from the house, that was bare of grass. All organic leftovers, watermelon rinds, lettuce, bread, etc., went to that designated area. Her priority was to feed the wild birds, but if a few squirrels came along that was okay too! She was also my inspiration for growing tomatoes and other vegetables.
Many of the things she did years ago haven't changed for some people today- for instance there were only three in our family, but she grew enough tomatoes to feed a country ...
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Name: Sandi Hopper From: West Union, West Virginia
Profession: Farmer
Poultry you currently own?: Chickens, ducks, turkeys and guineas
About you: I raise poultry for eggs, comfort, and to supply locals with their own laying flocks. I have been at this almost a decade and have made many great feathered friends. I wouldn't trade this life for any other suburban, city, or office life I've led before.
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Name: Margaret E. KelloggFrom: Fairbanks, Alaska
Profession: Office Manager at Health Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks
Poultry you currently own?: Chickens: Polish, Cochin, Silkies, Barred Rock, Dominque, Orpinton, Americana, Black Alstralope, Rhode Island Red, Asst. Bantams, Red Sex Link, Lt. Brahma and 4 Rooster so far
Ducks: Cayuga, Runners, Swedish, Peking, Campbell, Rouhen
Geese: Embden
Turkeys: Two Bronze hens- (looking for love from Tom might have to search for one on Craig's List)
About you: I was born and raised in central New York in the country. Until I was about 6, I lived on a dairy farm. We moved to Alaska because my husband was in the Air Force. We fell in love with the area and raised our two children here. We recently moved to a location with more land and freedom, so I got a few chickens and then we grew. I love gardening and nature and Alaska is such a wonderful place to be for both.
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Name: Jennifer Kendall
From: Cary, North Carolina
Profession: Marketing and Communications Manager for the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy
Website: www.albc-usa.org
Poultry you currently own?: None, but would like to have nankins if my city opens the chicken ban.
About you: Carolina born and bred, I reside in Raleigh, North Carolina, with my husband, Basset Hound and Orange Tabby, and dream one day of owning some of these heritage breeds.
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Name: Patsy MeltonFrom: Rural West Tennessee
Profession: Accountant
Website: www.contraryoldwoman.blogspot.com
Poultry you currently own?: Silkies: Two hens and a rooster
About you: I love reading blogs about farming, animals, food preservation and survival skills. I'm on a journey to learn all I can about microfarming, chickens, growing and preserving food, and becoming and living an entirely different life than I've lived for the last 30+ years.
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Name: Taylor Miller From: Lawrence, Kansas
Profession: Editor/Graphic Designer/Photographer
Poultry you currently own?: Quail: Coturnix quail of the Japanese, Tuxedo and Golden variety
About you: Growing up on a farm in rural Northwestern Kansas, I made it my goal to get as far away from the farming life as possible. It wasn't until a few years after living in the city, that I realized, "You can take the boy off the farm, but you can never take the farm out of the boy." Since then, I've been enjoying raising chickens and quails and farming a small, modest little garden all in my beautiful backyard.
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Name: Kathy Shea MorminoKathy Shea Mormino, the Chicken Chick™, is an attorney, wife and stay-at-home mom to two little girls, 50+ chickens and a coop full of quail. Her chicken-keeping hobby evolved into a custom egg carton labels business, which blossomed into a passion for sharing information and advice on a wide range of chicken-related topics for beginners and experienced chicken-keepers through her Facebook page and blog, The-Chicken-Chick.com. Kathy is a contributing writer to several publications including Grit Magazine and Hobby Farms Magazines. She is an avid cook, crafter and volunteer, serving as the president of the board of directors of a non-profit corporation that awards scholarships to young women, helping advance them academically and professionally.
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Name: Bil MorrillFrom: Cottage Grove, Oregon
Profession: Career Counselor/Chicken and Alpaca Farmer
Website: Silk Creek Farm
Poultry you currently own?: Chickens, quails and turkeys.
About you: I have been farming for about two and a half years. We raise layer chickens (currently have around 60) and each summer we raise meat chickens. We also raise quail, turkeys and alpacas.
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Name: Heather Nicholson From: Augusta County, Virginia
Profession: Teacher and Writer
Website: Scratch Cradle
Find me on:
Poultry you currently own?: 21 chickens. The majority of my flock is Basque Hens, Euskal Oiloa, which are a dual-purpose homesteading breed from Spain. I also have a trio of gorgeous German New Hampshires and laying hens of assorted breeds including Welsummer, Speckled Sussex, Brown Leghorn, Phoenix, and Easter Egger.
About you: I was raised in central New Jersey and moved to the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. My husband and I bought a home on three acres in the Appalachian Mountains where we garden and raise chickens. However, we are moving to the Boston Mountains in Northwest Arkansas this year! We have an awesome, off-grid cabin on thirty-three acres in the beautiful Boxley Valley. Follow along on our journey as we expand our efforts towards self-sufficiency and move west on Scratch Cradle where I write about husbandry, incubation, breeding, genetics, and the day-to-day life of my flock. ...
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Name: Rebecca NickolsFrom: Strafford, Missouri
Profession: ICU Nurse
Website: the garden-roof coop
Rebecca's Bird Gardens
Find me on:
-- Etsy
Poultry you currently own?: Currently six hens, but the flock continues to grow! Buff Orpington, Barred Plymouth Rock, Golden-laced Wyandotte, Cinnamon Queen, Black Cuckoo Maran and Easter Egger
About you: I have enjoyed the outdoors, wildlife and gardening for as long as I can remember. Since becoming a Master Gardener in 2007, my gardening interests have been increasingly focused on creating and protecting wildlife habitats. At our 7 acre property in Southwest Missouri, my husband and I have added gardens to our landscape including an ever-expanding kitchen garden, berry beds, and a large butterfly garden. My husband and I are also vendors (Rebecca's Bird Gardens) at the Farmers Market of the Ozarks during the spring and summer months where we sell living-roof birdhouses, living wreaths, vertical gardens and an assortment of rustic birdhouses and feeders utilizing recycled materials. In addition to encouraging wildlife to visit my gardens, I enjoy putting my hens to work as my gardening allies! My flock not only provides me with the richest fertilizer available, but they also help with the weeding and insect control! Our small flock of free-ranging hens are also a great example to my teenage daughters that the freshest, most organic food is what you raise and grow yourself ...
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Name: Barbara Palermo From: Salem, Oregon
Profession: I am an Animal Health Technician, working mostly with sheep, goats and chickens.
Website: www.Chicken-Revolution.com
Poultry you currently own?: Four hens (two white leghorns named Florence and Siena, and two black sexlinks named Shaniqua and Shaneyney).
About you: My free time is spent working as leader of the grassroots organization, Chickens In The Yard (C.I.T.Y.), where I continue to promote backyard chickens and fight for the right of city residents here, and across the country, to produce their own food.
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Name: Nancy RundelFrom: Levant, Kansas
Profession: High School English/Speech/Drama teacher
Poultry you currently own?: Chickens: Columbian Wyandotte, Cochins, Buff Orpington, Delaware Red, California Whites. Ducks: Indian Runners
About you: Me? Well, I'm basically a straight-forward person and if you ask me what I think - be ready for me to tell you. I enjoy reading, writing, traveling and gardening. Teaching high schoolers keeps me young and very busy. It also keeps me "hip" because I know the words to some of their songs.
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Name: Jennifer SartellFrom: Fenton, Michigan
Profession: Farmer, Freelance Writer, Artist
Website: www.ironoakfarm.blogspot.com
Find me on:
-- Etsy
Poultry you currently own?: I've kept chickens since 1995 and am focused on raising some of the more rare breeds. The majority of our flock include Blue Laced Red Wyandottes, French Black Copper Marans, Lavender Orphingtons, Coronation Sussex and Easter Eggers. We also have a pair of Pekin Ducks, and nine Black Spanish Turkeys.
About you: I manage our farm, Iron Oak Farm, with my husband Zach. We raise a plethora of chickens, bees, Angora Goats and Dairy Goats. We also hay our field and grow an assortment of organic vegetables including a large garden, a small field of corn and an heirloom pumpkin patch.
I share our daily farming adventures on our blog at Iron Oak Farm and our chicken and poultry adventures here at Community Chickens. My work has also been published in Grit Country Magazine and The Upsetter (a bi-monthly Blacksmith publication)
I also run our Etsy site where we sell hand forged items, fiber and hand spun yarn.
Along with farming, I enjoy writing, photography, drawing, gardening, cooking, hiking, kayaking, history and playing the violin and piano.
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Name: Lisa SteeleFrom: Southeast Virginia
Profession: Former Wall Street Accountant turned Backyard Chicken Keeper
Website: Fresh Eggs Daily and Farm Chick Chit Chat
Find me on:
-- Fresh Eggs Daily Facebook
-- Ducks Too Facebook
-- Etsy
Poultry you currently own?: Mixed breed flock of 21 chickens and a rooster which includes Andalusians, Australorps, Cochins, Buff and Lavender Orpingtons, Faverolles, Light Sussex, Blue and Black Copper Marans, Olive Eggers, and a Rhode Island Reds Also eight Pekin and Saxony ducks.
About you: I retired from the rat race of Wall Street, got married and moved out of New York more than ten years ago. After my husband retired from the Navy, we moved here to Virginia to a 6-acre farm where we have two horses, a German Shepherd puppy and cat in addition to our backyard flock. My grandparents were chicken farmers, so really I have just returned to my family roots with our chicken keeping adventure, although I dare say my grandmother didn't name all her hens and certainly didn't put up curtains in her coop! I'm taking chicken keeping to the next level via Facebook and my blog by trying to inspire others to embrace a simple, natural farm life.
Accolades: I have been featured in Your Chickens, Southern Living, Hobby Farm Home and Hobby Farms Chickens magazines. In addition to writing for Community Chickens, I also am a contributing blogger for Farm Chick Chit Chat, Grit Magazine and HGTV Gardens as well as a book reviewer for Timber Press, Storey Publishing and Mother Earth News. Fresh Eggs Daily was named one of the Top 50 Farm Blogs for 2012 by Seametrics.com.
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Name: Karla TFrom: The foothills of the Tug Hill Plateau, New York
Profession: Business Analyst
Website: City Girl Bought the Farm
Poultry you currently own?: Buff Orpingtons, Rhode Island Reds, Partridge Cochin, Easter Eggers, Wyandottes and a single Japanese Bantam
About you: I'm originally a city girl who has been transplanted to the country, and I'm loving it (usually)! I'm a mom to three great kids, and I've been married to a wonderful man for 20 years. We grow vegetables and herbs and raise chickens for their eggs and entertainment value. I also have a Jack Russell Terrier and a guinea pig.
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Name: Wendy EN ThomasFrom: New Hampshire
Profession: Writer, Journalist, Mother of Six
Website: Lessons Learned from the Flock
Find me on:
Poultry you currently own?: We currently have 34 chickens ranging in size and color. Some of our chickens are standard layers while others are more delicate and prefer to grace us with an egg only on their terms.
Many of our chickens are named after prominent authors who have agreed to be interviewed (like Judy-Blume, Chris-Bohjalian, and Meg-Cabot) and some of our birds are named after famous pairs, like Tom and Jerry, and Currier and Ives. One bird; Charlie, ended up living in our house for six months as a result of delicate surgery performed on her when she was only days old.
Diversity in the flock is something we continually strive for. It’s how we learn our lessons and apply them to our lives.
About you: As the mother of six kids, I have always used real-life experiences in order to teach my children life lessons.
As a journalist, I often wrote about our family’s experiences. I wrote a long-running column for The Nashua Telegraph: Simple Thrift. It described simple, real, honest-to-goodness things you can do to save money, because after a while even pennies tend to add up. I’ve also written several newspaper series. One chronicled my decluttering adventure where over the course of a year my kids and I removed over 5,000 pounds of unwanted stuff from our house. Another series described seasonal thrift saving tips and ideas.
One of my readers challenged me to get chickens as a way to be thrifty and since then, I can’t imagine chickens not being a part of our lives. On my blog (www.simplethrift.wordpress.com) I currently chronicle the experiences we have while raising backyard chickens as a source of food (eggs only – I refuse to eat anything that has been given a name). What had started off as a challenge to be thrifty has turned out providing endless hours of entertainment, as well as valuable life lessons and stories that we are more than willing to share with others.
Read all stories by Wendy EN Thomas
Name: Michelle TullisFrom: Bend, Oregon
Profession: Photographer
Website: bendhens.tumblr.com -- www.tullisphoto.com
Poultry you currently own?: Six chickens: 1 Ameracauna, 1 Black Astralorp, 1 Buff Orpington, 1 Delaware, 1 Rhode Island Red, 1 Wyandotte, and 11 hatching chicks
About you: It's hard to write about yourself! I'm a happy mother, designer and lover of projects! I've found the most satisfaction in keeping chickens and constructing habitat.
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Name: Susan WaughtalFrom: Squash Blossom Farm in Southeast Minnesota
Profession: Artist, Sprout-grower and novice Farmer
Website: www.squashblossomfarm.blogspot.com
Poultry you currently own?: Twenty laying hens, mostly Buff Orpingtons and Americaunas, plus a few assorted pretty hens I couldn't resist and about 30 young offspring. One Black Indian Runner duck (the owl got her mate), and 7 French Guineas. We recently harvested our 50 meat chickens and 5 turkeys.
About you: Two years ago my husband and I bought a storybook1920 farmstead and dived into our dream of creating a diverse little farm - complete with cows, pigs, turkeys, bees, a big garden, and, of course, chickens. I am am also an artist. Since moving here most of my paintings involve farm critters.
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