I came for the flowers, but stayed for the chickens. A few weeks back I came across Jennifer Small of Flying Pigs Farm at a Greenmarket demonstration speaking about raising chickens, farm life, and answering questions from people who were curious about raising chickens in the city.
View your invite for the upcoming Native Plants Demonstration on May 3rd and a few shots from the market from these past weeks...
It was very nice to meet Jennifer Small, learn about what she does and also learn more about the story behind what she sells. These events seem perfect for giving the public a chance to ask the talented and experienced Greenmarket vendors questions about all aspects of what they do - without holding up the line at their stand!
Some vendors have moved to Union Square South while there is construction on the north side of the market. This also has affected the market's abilities to host events - but next weekend's native plants and wildflower events are still on! Stop by to learn and grab some free information and seeds~
matt at apartment therapy dot com
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
yes! I love this. We are hoping to get 2 laying hens in the next couple months. We have a good-sized yard so I think it will be relatively painless for us. But the eggs are so worth it!
view AndreaU's profile
it's too bad people don't realize that the vast majority of eggs that are are purchased come from hens that live their entire lives stuffed into a cage like that seen above, except with two or three other hens in there with her.
they can't spread their wings, never see the sun, never peck in the dirt. it's easy to picture this pastoral farm setting that these laying hens live in. but those days are over. 90 some percent of the eggs you buy and are in products you buy are made in factories with concrete floors and cages stacked high. the animals are treated like inputs in a mechanism and not living breathing creatures.
http://www.farmsanctuary.org/issues/factoryfarming/eggs/
view eightdouble's profile
Ah chickens, my friend has a couple Rhode Island Reds in the backyard. Currently those ladies are producing 2 eggs each per day. Pretty impressive. You really need room for them to graze, and they will eat up all your new growth in the yard (don't let them into the garden). There is a chicken coop tour here in Portland, check it out!
http://www.growing-gardens.org/portland-gardening-resources/chickens.php
view PDXBill's profile
You're right, eightdouble. Hopefully, the AT community will come to see factory farming as an important green issue. Here's where most eggs we buy come from: http://www.cok.net/camp/inv/cff/photos/general.php
Europe is way ahead of us on this. Long live the Greenmarket!
view sonnet's profile
please don't jump on my back for asking this b/c it's something i'm really just wondering about, but isn't it impractical to think that we could feed our huge population with eggs/meat from free-range chickens? where is all this land going to come from? farmers will have to be subsidized, which means they won't be using the land to grow other products (think: current corn crisis). and if the animals are being raised for meat, then who or what's going to chase them around when it comes time for slaughter? chickens scatter, they don't herd. chasing chickens or developing new machinery to do the job could drive prices up to the point that the working poor can no longer afford chicken! i do think chickens are poorly treated by modern standard practices, but there seem to be some bigger problems lying hidden within free-range than are being considered. these problems are important and could have major impacts on American families and world food supplies.
view fibsci's profile