Hi Folks! I live in Tucson, AZ with 5 feathered divas aka "the goddesses" (2 buffs, 2 americanas, 1 austrolorpe) and 3 furry cat children (gray tabby, tortie calico, & a tuxedo). They are all extremely spoiled, ungrateful, and never clean up after themselves, sorta like teenagers. My feathered kids turn 4 on Earth day. (ahhh they grow up so fast....) They are all named after goddesses because I felt it was appropriate given the day they were born...er..hatched ;-). Artemis (the talker), Annapurna (the whiner), Demeter (the observer), Persephone (the lap chicken) & Isis ("Miss boundaries"). I have always been a city girl (when I lived in FL) but when I moved here to Tucson 5 yrs ago I became Miss Green Acres. So I am coming to terms with being a closet farmer. Ironically, it runs in my family on both sides. I'm just reclaiming and embracing my heritage I am hoping to expand my brood after I finish upgrading my coop because the girls are starting to slow in production which of course is normal. I have recently moved to the heart of downtown and had to leave my coop behind at my old place. Right now they are in a salvaged coop that I threw together and I am looking for some easy and inexpensive plans to get them into something better and safer since there are raccoons moving into the city more and more. Not too mention coyotes. Being downtown with many feral dogs and cats I haven't had a problem thus far with predators (knock on wood). But I would rather be safe than sorry. Especially since I want to get more. So far Gallo del Cielo has the best coop (and feeder) I have seen that is Sonoran desert adapted. Closed coops aren't the best idea here because of the extreme heat. They are completely free range except at night when I lock them up. I also raise them on organic feed and organic veggies I grow in my garden or I get from the CSA. In Tucson we are lucky to have City Chicken Coop tours and I just joined a chicken co-op called Zen Hens where we pool are eggs together and sell them at the Food Co-op, and a few farmers' markets. We also all pitch in and share the costs of feed. So you can say that Tucson is part of the backyard chicken revolution! I am a certified permaculturist, organic/urban gardener & worm farmer. I hope to get some rabbits, goats, alpacas, and whatever else I can get my hands on, some day. Of course, I also want a nice piece of land to go with all of my future farming dreams. I am also a grad student, so I better keep focused on my studies and dream of farming after I graduate. It's so exciting to see just how many people are part of this group. Anyways, it's nice to meet and commune with kindred spirits!
Hi and welcome! I am also in Tucson. I saw you post in the AZ thread...feel free to come back and hang out. There are a lot of us here in the desert, and it is a very friendly group!
