Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Flurry of Feathers!!

Wow. SOOO much going on, my head is spinning!

As I'd mentioned in the last post, Red Deer City Council met yesterday afternoon to discuss the Urban Hens Pilot Project -what happened over the last year, what kind of feedback they'd had and where to go from here.


After a brief presentation by Joyce in Inspections & Licensing (I&L) and some questions from several of the Councillors, I started to get excited: the overall impression was that they all (but one) realized that it.is.working.

But Council feels that it still needs work, and I do agree. The initial 12 month pilot was just too open-ended, "Let's have a pilot project!" and just leaving it at that wasn't enough for the City to be able to draft clearly defined rules. While CLUCK has had a pretty good idea of what works (based on our experiences and those of other municipalities who already allow & monitor Urban Hen operations), we just did not have enough people sign up to say for sure that Red Deer can do it, too.

I am, myself, guilty of being one of the hesitant, under-the-radar chicken wranglers, but that's going to change. I understand the underlying fear of registration, the questions:  What happens if it falls through? What is going to happen to my pets? How am I going to tell my children? These are good, valid questions and by no means are we at CLUCK lining everyone up to be targets for chicken-removal. I feel very confident not only that it's the right thing to do (in the best interest of the entire community) but also that my hens will be safe, and I'll happily tell you why.

Listening to each of the Councillors ask questions and then take a moment to express their concerns and opinions, I knew that they had our backs. That they do see that it's working and that, in the best interest of ensuring it continues to work, we just need to help them gather more data. Councilor Lynne Mulder (who was our Honorary Judge at the Urban Hens Party in December*
) brought up the fear issue herself, suggesting that perhaps those who are registered and have proven that they are responsible coop-managers be able to keep their coops in the event that Urban Hens get banned. Mayor Morris Flewwelling agreed that it's an idea that can be discussed when the issue is re-addressed in 2014 and a final decision is made regarding the bylaw. (But I don't think that it's going to be a problem.)

I cannot tell you how happy and relieved it made me to hear Councilor Mulder bring it up. Besides the fact that she's clearly in support of Urban Hens, she's acknowledging that we have each of us made investments into our coops and hens -money, time, energy, attention and love. Yes, love. These are our pets. I am no less attached to them as I am to my cat, or my beautiful dog that we had to let go just over a year ago.

Anyway, back to Urban Hens...

I&L also want to do coop visits. Joyce said that they would be done with notification (at a time determined agreeable to both City staff and the home owner -they will not be surprise visits!) and, again, Lynne Mulder addressed this, suggesting that perhaps a member of the CLUCK crew could also be present to ensure that someone with experience and knowledge about Urban Hen is there. I think this is a fantastic idea, it will enable those who work in I&L to learn what to look for (since they will not yet have had experience checking out coops) and give us the opportunity to answer any specific questions you may have.

I had to leave early to pick my son up from school so I wasn't present for the final voting, but Kristina texted me that they voted in favour of continuing the Pilot Project and registration. They also voted against initiating an Ipsos survey.

After I got home with my son, the media started calling! I had a photographer from the Advocate come within a few minutes (read the article here) and this morning I had an e-mail from Adrienne asking if I wanted to talk to a reporter from CTV Edmonton (I did, the segment is set to air tonight on CFRN). I had a phone call from the Calgary Herald, Kristina spoke to someone from the Advocate and tomorrow morning I am hosting a Shaw Red Deer crew. It's all a bit tummy-lurching for me, I'm an introvert, but I am also grateful for the opportunity to express the CLUCK point of view and how happy we are with Council's decision. (I'm also one of the few who are at home, so it's convenient for me to meet with the media during regular hours.)

I'm proud of Red Deer. I'm proud to be a citizen of Red Deer. I'm relieved that, at this point, it seems to be less a matter of Can We Allow Urban Hens and more a matter of Let's Make Sure We Do It Right.

SO. What's next? Register your hens, please! We will never give out your information ourselves, that is your business and decision to make, but I am confident that we do not need to be afraid. I&L indicated that they would have the registration forms ready today!

If you have ANY questions at all, PLEASE do not hesitate to leave a comment here or e-mail us cluckreddeer@gmail.com.

*In writing this, I realize I haven't yet posted all of the photos from the Urban Hen Party! Yikes!! I will make a point of finding the time within the next few days, promise!!

Friday, February 15, 2013

CLUCKing in the Media

Since my last post, we've had a bit of media attention. Adrienne was contacted by the Red Deer Advocate to see if a couple of us could meet with a reporter to answer some questions and get some photos. I was available, so on Saturday Adrienne popped over and shortly after, Murray Crawford came over. We sat in my living room, chatted a bit, then went out for some photos. 

I admit, I was expecting some tougher questions. It appeared that Murray hadn't read up on all of the past media CLUCK Red Deer had received -particularly the concerns after Kristina's initial open-coop and the decision by Council to initiate the pilot project. That said, he did ask us the questions that mattered -how many ways are we finding it a positive experience to be chicken-keepers.

You can read the on-line article here.

I'm not sure why the comments on the on-line version keep disappearing, but I want to be sure some assumptions are cleared up: I have only had my hens since October. My information has not been submitted to the City as a formal participant of the pilot program (for a few reasons, if it comes to a need for registration and/or licensing, my name will be way at the top of that list). Clearly, my involvement at this point indicates that I am not trying to be sneaky, hehe.

But most of all: I DO NOT HAVE A FARM. I know that the term 'Urban Farming' is a hot one right now, but a farm is a business. This is not a business for me. I am keeping hens (just as I am gardening) for my own family's use ONLY.

Anyhoo, Tuesday morning I received a call from CBC Radio in Calgary and was asked some great questions, then offered the opportunity to be interviewed live, on-air about the Urban Hens shenanigans!

You can hear the podcast here.

Council is scheduled to address the issue on Tuesday, session begins at 2pm. Inspections & Licensing is recommending that the pilot project be extended with greater enforcement of registration. Does the city need to do that? Do they need to spend the money on something that we can all see is already working? Can they not agree to accept it and go right to drafting up the bylaw with limits and rules so we can get our birds licensed and keep on CLUCKing along?

**Just for the sake of ensuring that readers know what it is that we recommend as parameters for maintaining safe, healthy, quiet, non-smelly flocks in an urban environment, it bears listing here:

1. NO ROOSTERS -not only are roosters noisy but they are smellier than hens
2. Quiet hens
-while hens are typically quiet, crooning or clucking in excitement when they see the snack-pail coming, some are just louder than others. Buying your hens from a reliable, small-scale heritage breeder ensures that the personality of each bird can be gauged and determined whether she's fit for urban life (or not).
3. Ensure that hens are older than 4 months old at time of purchase -prior to this age, it is often difficult to determine whether a chicken is a pullet (female, young hen) or a cockerel (male, young rooster). Chicks are super cute, but they have high mortality rates, it'd be terrible for your children to get attached to a fuzzball only to have it die.
4. No more than 6 hens per yard. Keeping things low-key requires some moderation.
5. Well-constructed coops -our winters can be HARSH. Hens are very good at keeping themselves warm under all those feathers but they can only do so if they are given a well-insulated, well-ventilated home (and have other hens to cozy up to). Coop size is also important -hens require 4 square feet of coop space EACH plus 10 square feet of run space. Any less than that can lead to overcrowding, which, in turn, leads to unwanted behaviour (excessive pecking, preening, fighting, &c).
6. Well-enclosed runs -while chickens are not the best flyers, they can fly well enough to save their own lives and will do so, if they see fit (or are bored). A well-secured and enclosed run will not only keep your hens contained, it will keep potential predators out. If you intend to let your hens range in your back yard, their wings MUST be clipped, your fence must be adequate to keep them enclosed and they must be supervised. 

7. Well-monitored flocks -regular (monthly, at least) check-ups by you to watch for parasites (see my previous post on parasites here), to gauge body weight (weight loss is a sign of illness), and ensure overall hen health.  
8. Regular coop-cleaning -even in our sometimes harsh winters, we get a warm spell every few weeks that enables us to get out and give the coop a cleaning. Removing soiled bedding ensures not only that your girls will be cleaner, it also reduces moisture build-up inside the coop. Moist air combined with cold temperatures can easily lead to respiratory infections in chickens. It also causes the much-feared Chicken Stink -which nobody wants. Bales of wood chips can be found at local stores (including Peavey Mart) for a very good price.
9. Speak to your neighbours -communication is the key to keeping everyone (including you and your birds) happy.

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Catching Up With CLUCK Red Deer

Hello again! Unfortunately blogging hasn't been much of a priority here (clearly) but that doesn't mean things aren't CLUCKing along merrily around us.

February 2013 marks one year from the initial decision by Red Deer City Council to instigate a 12-month pilot project for allowing Urban Hens. We weren't really sure what was planned by the City, if anything -we hadn't heard anything.. which we figured must be GOOD. We figured that if there were any problems, we certainly would have heard about them.

Just to touch base with each other, we had a bit of a meeting, anyway. Only a few of us were able to attend and we discussed a few items but it all boiled down to: no news is good news, just sit tight.

A couple of days later, Adrienne received an e-mail from the Inspections & Licensing Dept (I&LD) letting us know that they were submitting a report to City Council and that if we wanted to do the same we could -but we had to do so by noon the next day. It was quite a surprise and a bit of a scramble but we managed to share some ideas and I was able to put them into a reasonable format and get it in the next morning.

I&LD advised us that they have received 'minimal' complaints about Urban Hens in Red Deer. While 'minimal' is somewhat vague, we know of no direct complaints about CLUCK members. Off the tops of our heads, we tried to count the number of families that we knew had coops and hens IN Red Deer right now. We came up with 16. Adding to that the certainty that there are others who may or may not be members of the Facebook community, we estimate 20-30 coops. THIRTY. MINIMAL complaints.

Know what that means? IT MEANS THAT IT WORKS. That it is truly, clearly possible to keep chickens in the city without bothering people. *Insert happy dance.* That small flocks (6 hens or under), in well-managed (clean) coops, without roosters (quiet) can be good neighbours.

I mentioned this in the report (but without the bold & italics and happy dance) and mentioned (with references) current RD City initiatives with which Urban Hens can play a significant role:

Waste Management Master Plan -Urban Hens happily turn kitchen scraps (with balanced layer rations) into eggs, reducing household waste! **From the Winnipeg Urban Chicken Association’s Report for Council (Dec 2012);
(1 hen) (7 pounds food waste/month) (12 months) = approx. 84 pounds Big deal, you think. That’s not so much. But what if Winnipeg had 2,000 homes with 6 hens? (6 hens) (84 pounds of food waste/hen/year) (2,000 homes) = 1,008,000 pounds (504 tonnes) of biomass diverted from the Brady Road Landfill, and a savings of $21,924 in tipping fees ($43.50/ tonne) per year. The tax savings in not having to handle, transport and store all that biomass waste by reusing them onsite is staggering, especially since no operating costs exist.” (You can read the whole report here, it is many, many kinds of awesome.)


Composting -(This is the one I am personally VERY excited about) chickens are the.best.composters! Who needs aerating tools when hens get such joy in scratching, turning your piles, snacking, fertilizing, and keeping pests at bay?

Environmental Master Plan -Yes, Urban Hens are environmentalists. Fewer emergency trips to the grocery store for eggs=reduced vehicle emissions. Snacking on slugs, ants, mosquitoes, cutworms, dandelions, creeping bell flower (*I shake my fist at bell flower*) means less desire for pesticides.

So.. we will now have to just have to wait to see what Council decides to do at this point. Update: the reports will be addressed by Council on Tuesday, February 19th.
In the meantime, we'll keep on CLUCKing, enjoying our super fresh eggs,  and eagerly rub hands to watch slugs turn into eggs this spring.

I would also like to take a moment here to mention that in the Fall of 2012, CLUCK Red Deer was specifically asked by Olds College if we could teach a course there as a part of their 2013 Hort Week! How awesome is that?! (Very!) We determined that Deborah and I would be available this summer so we will be co-teaching a half-day course on, you guessed it, Keeping Urban Hens! They don't have the courses listed yet on their site and we're not sure what the cost will be, but once we have more information we'll be sure to post it up on the Facebook page and here. (I promise!)