Vote for me to help me get my chickens please?

[HeidiEmbrey]

Voted!

I'm so excited for you! Can't wait to see pix of coop & chickens as you get started.

I just got mine this spring after wishing & hoping for years. Took me moving across the country from NY to Oregon to finally get them!!

Keep us posted & ask lots of questions!

So happy for you too! I can't believe people are allowed to have dogs and cats everywhere but not chickens! What are they just too awesome or something? Now that you have them do you think it is harder, or easier to care for them than you thought? I had ducks as a child and took very good care of them all by myself, they were mine, even as a kid, so I think I'll be ok!

 

[HeidiEmbrey]

The perch in front of nesting boxes are a good idea. And as for our chicken coop we have Some clear roofing and some aren't so it doesn't get too hot during the summer. We're making a second chicken coop since we planing on adding 50 more chickens next year so I can share some pics of the outside and interior for some ideas if you want. We're just about done with it just have to finish our nesting boxes and rooster which were using small-ish cut some trees that are about 16 feet long.

wow 50 more chickens..how many do you have now? are you eating them or just for eggs? honestly I would love that. And then I would know every chicken I ate had a good life and was well treated to the end. I am just going to keep the 3 or 4 hens I'm allowed, for eggs, here in the city, though I may cull them. Thank you so much! I wasn't sure if the clear roofing was ok where they sleep, it doesn't disrupt their sleep? oh..I do have a lot of light at night from houses here.. If it's not too much trouble I would Love to see photos. I'm having a blast trying to dream up designs for their housing..maybe if you share photos though you should do it in the group under a ..like a thread? is it called a thread? so everyone can see them, so more people can see? I'm so excited to be in this group. What a great active group, and i have 1000 questions, it's so much easier to get infomation directly from people than searching through trying to find it. Loving it! Thanks!

 

[HeidiEmbrey]

Wow! I'm about 45 minutes from Hammondsport. Its beautiful there, My family has vineyards in Penn Yan. Haha It is a small world. I'm not sure if chickens are allowed in Ormond, definitely NOT at the condo! lol. I will have to look into visiting the lagoon in Edgewater. I spend a lot of time on the Halifax river when I'm there. And Blue Springs is always on my list of to do also. Last year a group of 3 manatees came up to me while I was swimming at Blue Springs. I was able to touch them and swim with them for a bit before I got kicked out of the water!

There is a park in Bethune past New Smyrna that at a certain time of year..winter, spring, has 100s of manatees and is so great for kayaking. At a certain time they come there to mate and it's just incredible how many and how active they are. The Indian River Lagoon here in Edgewater is not so great, it used to be crystal clear and teaming with manatee, sea turtles, bioluminescent algae, sea horses, star fish, oysters, now it is just muddy, red tide and mud, no sea grass, oysters dead, couldn't eat them if they were alive from the gas the boats leak into the water, the run off dog poo and fertilizer and pesticide run off into the water.. no manatee except every once in a while you will see one Covered in scars from the speedboats and wonder how it survived. It breaks my heart that I can't get people to see the value of what we have here, I think they like their property values low, they won't even give up the chemical trucks spraying fertilizer on the front lawns when they are right on the lagoon, and the speed boats! Maybe one day, I hope it's not too late to fix it. They just dumped 100s of 1000s of tons of sewage in the rivers here from power outages and overflows from hurricane Irma. Maybe if you come here tell people here to take better care of our natural world if they want more tourists to what could be a tourist hot spot for people from all over the world if our bioluminesent algae wasn't extinct from stupid speed boats. Get a kayak ya'll! Sorry..ranting again, i rant a lot .. Love the springs here in Florida! Born in Orlando and most of my life here. Love the Keys <3 If you do come to Edgewater you should let me know? I can show you around

 

[DwayneNLiz]

That's ok, I love nosey people! I'm a nosey person too, we share more in common than name and love for chickens even! Though I prefer to call it intellectual curiosity lol. I love answering questions too The Florida Permaculture Convergence, a small non profit group here in FL, raised money over their operating costs last year, so they are offering two $500 grants to the two permaculture projects who get the most votes. You can find more information on their website here http://flpermacultureconvergence.org/fpc-grant-program/ .. I run an informal nonprofit. Zero money involved. I distrubute 1000s of free locally adapted edible plants and seeds free to people in my community every year, have been at it about 10 years now. My yard is a demonstration yard, lots of visitors come here to learn sustainable agriculture practices and ways to easily reduce our carbon footprints, in a fun way, conservation does not have the be a drag!! I mean which is more fun, eating fruit off a tree in my yard or mowing their lawn? (soon the question will be playing with my chickens or mowing their lawn!!) My getting chickens would be a very good thing for my entire community. I will get them one way or the other, win or lose, if I win I can get them this spring. If I lose it will probably take me till the spring after to be able to get them, but after all these years of wanting them, being allowed to have them now, I will get them, win or lose!! This grant coming along at this time is just kismet. Their generosity at Florida Permaculture Convergence and yours here in this group, the city listening to reason and lifting the ban on backyard chickens, is all giving me so much hope at this time! Thanks so much everyone here for your help!

what you are doing sounds great! Do you have pictures of your yard? it sounds amazing

 

[HeidiEmbrey]

what you are doing sounds great! Do you have pictures of your yard? it sounds amazing

Thank you so much! I'm actually sprucing the yard up to take pictures of it really for the first time right now, I told Florida Permaculture Convergence I would send some, and if the neighborhood kids can come over this evening (plus i have 3 of my own) I'm going to get photos of everybody playing in the yard and photos of the yard tonight. I actually just finished the yards backbone last year..in November..It was all bad elevations and I had to fix it so it would trap the water off my roof and ..I could go on forever about it..but it's just now getting to the point where there is really something lovely to take photos of you know? so now it is really getting very cool! I'm working right now on my little fish pond finally and almost finished so plan to take photos of that too this evening. I am lining the pond with sodium bentonite clay because I did not want plastic or anything, but something natural, non toxic, eco friendly, and guess where I found a super cheap source of sodium bentonite clay to line the pond? Clumping Kitty Litter! hahaha is 100% pure sodium bentonite clay. WAY cheaper than trying to buy it by its name! You line the pond with clay and then cover the clay with sand, and also stones and whatever you want.. It's going to be awesome, clay lined ponds last 100s of years compared to a pond liner which lasts mayb a decade..they are 100% eco friendly, and the whole pond will cost me around $10. I'll post photos within the next few days. You all are giving me incentive do it. Thanks And thanks again for the complement! I have taken A LOT of flack from the City of Edgewater and my neighbors for refusing to have a turf grass lawn, but people are starting to come around to it

 

[theuglychick]

Crazy Chicken people are some of the best people

Thank you so much. And thank you for your warm welcome here. i teared up twice yesterday that so many of you all would be so generous and take the time to email and post welcome messages to a stranger here is just.. restoring my faith in humanity a little bit..thank you all <3

 

[theuglychick]

That's ok, I love nosey people! I'm a nosey person too, we share more in common than name and love for chickens even! Though I prefer to call it intellectual curiosity lol. I love answering questions too The Florida Permaculture Convergence, a small non profit group here in FL, raised money over their operating costs last year, so they are offering two $500 grants to the two permaculture projects who get the most votes. You can find more information on their website here http://flpermacultureconvergence.org/fpc-grant-program/ .. I run an informal nonprofit. Zero money involved. I distrubute 1000s of free locally adapted edible plants and seeds free to people in my community every year, have been at it about 10 years now. My yard is a demonstration yard, lots of visitors come here to learn sustainable agriculture practices and ways to easily reduce our carbon footprints, in a fun way, conservation does not have the be a drag!! I mean which is more fun, eating fruit off a tree in my yard or mowing their lawn? (soon the question will be playing with my chickens or mowing their lawn!!) My getting chickens would be a very good thing for my entire community. I will get them one way or the other, win or lose, if I win I can get them this spring. If I lose it will probably take me till the spring after to be able to get them, but after all these years of wanting them, being allowed to have them now, I will get them, win or lose!! This grant coming along at this time is just kismet. Their generosity at Florida Permaculture Convergence and yours here in this group, the city listening to reason and lifting the ban on backyard chickens, is all giving me so much hope at this time! Thanks so much everyone here for your help!

 

[Junochick]

I live on a small rural lot. I have a peach tree, apple tree,grapes,raspberries,cucumber,cantaloupe,tomatoes,gourds,squash and some others. I have mango sprouts that I need to dig up to bring inside when are temps drop. I also have many plants inside. Goat and chicken poop are great for fertilizer. I also sell some of my aloe Vera. Oh I am growing pineapple and avacodo inside. What could be better than growing my own food? It makes me feel like I accomplished something to help the world. I share produce and eggs with good friends. Good luck in Florida I wish I could vote 2x

 

[andreanar]

Ugh....people are so stupid! They have no idea of the beauty that surrounds them. I wont be back there until August.

 

[HeidiEmbrey]

I live on a small rural lot. I have a peach tree, apple tree,grapes,raspberries,cucumber,cantaloupe,tomatoes,gourds,squash and some others. I have mango sprouts that I need to dig up to bring inside when are temps drop. I also have many plants inside. Goat and chicken poop are great for fertilizer. I also sell some of my aloe Vera. Oh I am growing pineapple and avacodo inside. What could be better than growing my own food? It makes me feel like I accomplished something to help the world. I share produce and eggs with good friends. Good luck in Florida I wish I could vote 2x

You feel like you have accomplished something in the world because you have! I think explosive energy, and the excess nutrients in the ocean from monoculture, and monoculture causing global ground water crisis etc., are our two biggest problems we have to solve like..right now. The distance our food is travelling and the way our food is being grown is silly, pointless, waste of energy, oh and also destroying the planet lol.. Oh gosh I'd like a little goat, after all the ''oh like Heidi and the goats'' jokes all these years, to make it true?.. Do you know about permaculture? It is so helpful, just a bunch of helpful information really that makes growing food so incredibly easy..Conventional ways of growing food these days they make it really difficult, I don't know why they do it the way they do..all one kind of plant that doesnt even belong there, native to some other zone entirely..strip the soil, you know you shouldn't break the soil? it's like skin when you break it weed seeds sprout and it kills benefitial organisms in the soil when you break it, and so instead they till everything up! They till it! That compacts it, kills it, and makes it worthless! Permaculture is no till, chop n drop mulch for fertilizer and to kill weeds. it's about matching your plants to your zone and soil and climate not trying to change your surroundings to match a plant that doesnt belong there.. and about layers, you plant in layers and the plants help each other grow, create protection for each other and provide nutrients for each other. When you have one crop, every bug from around the world that eats that crop comes to eat it ..when have 100s of different plants..the bugs that like one plant will be eating the bugs that like another plant and they create a balance..no pesticide..no tilling..no fertilizer..no fungiscides ..nothing, dont need any of that. This was my introduction to Permaculture as I first started getting really into growing my own food.. So I'm always sharing it around

I do plan to raise my chickens the permaculture way, in a sustainable way. Thanks so much for the chat, and for saying you would vote for me twice that is so sweet! <3 Curious what zone are you there in Arizona? I could recommend some more permaculture plants for zone 9 that grow like weeds if you want! Like tree spinach=chaya you have to cook it to eat it but omgosh it is so good..natal plums, barbados and surinam cherry, I love cherries.