Chicken Coops for Sale in Portola Valley, California
Chicken Coops for Sale in Portola Valley, California
Changes in the Chicken Coop
Courtesy of Natalie Honan
Changes in the Chicken Coop
By Natalie Honan
Many students have realized in passing that the chicken coop has been looking a bit more crowded than usual. Recently, a group of new chickens were introduced into the current chicken habitat south of the Grove House.
Six chickens, who originally lived off campus, were about to become homeless, when Teddy Menard PZ’16 volunteered to house the chickens at Pitzer. To make room for these new birds, members of the Garden Club built a chicken coop which was located in the grove and backed onto the fence surrounding Harvey Mudd’s field.
During a Garden Club meeting, Jim Miller PZ ’18 and Gabe Elliot PZ ’18 spontaneously volunteered to assume some caregiving responsibilities for the new group of chickens.
“Our basic duties were just to make sure that they had food and water and to collect their eggs. We also wanted to spend some time with them because even a little human companionship can brighten up their day,” Elliot said.
The new chickens were content in their original home in the orchard until one night, when a creature made its way into the coop and ate one of the chickens. Apparently, a long tree which extended over and around the coop allowed for an unknown animal to enter the chickens’ habitat.
After the first attack, Miller and Elliot decided to confine the chickens into the physical structure within their coop to try to keep them safe. Once the chickens were inside, rocks were placed against the exit as to keep the chickens in and the killer out.
However, after two days had passed, one morning students discovered the rocks had been moved and another chicken was found dead.
Miller and Elliot are guessing the creature was either a raccoon or a bobcat. The creature was nimble enough to remove all the rocks out of place, pointing to a raccoon. However, bobcats are physically stronger and could slaughter a chicken a lot easier than a raccoon might have.
“We’ll just call it the creature,” Elliot said.
Menard also speculated that whatever the creature was, it had to be able to climb a very tall fence, strong enough to kill a chicken, and agile enough to break into the hutch.
“To get up the fence, the creature would have had to climb seven or eight feet and then climb down the tree into the hutch. So maybe it was something small, like a fox,” Menard said.
Many animals have been wandering towards more urban settings as a result of the drought wiping out food sources in their natural habitats.
To keep the remaining chickens safe from the creature, the Garden Club decided to relocate the chickens into the original chicken coop. Miller and Elliot explained that the group did not initially want to combine the flocks, due to the dangers of discord and disease within the two chicken populations.
“They grew up separately, they each have their own defined pecking orders and by putting them together, we were worried that they would fight to try and establish dominance over each other,” Elliot said.
“There’s also the issue of disease. One flock of chickens is used to a different set of germs, bacteria, and parasites than the other. So when you introduce them together, there’s the risk that one group will not have built an immunity that the other one has,” Miller added.
Regardless, the creature was a more direct and guaranteed threat to the safety of the chickens than the risks that came with combining the flocks. Left with no other choice, the Garden Club moved the four remaining chickens of the newer flock in with Pitzer’s original flock.
Upon first introducing the two flocks to each other, the chickens were met with some disagreement. The chickens did not socialize with each other and chased each other around when they were fed.
“There were definitely cliques formed, they did not get along. The original chicken flock would hang out closer to Mead and the other one would stay in their separate corner,” said Miller.
Miller and Elliot stated they believe the main reason for the preliminary conflict was limited space in the small tree in which most of the chickens sleep.
“There were complaints from people in Mead about all the noise the chickens were making because the chickens were fighting in the morning,” Elliot said, “This probably had to do with them all getting out of the tree in an orderly fashion.”
With time, the chickens are slowly growing more comfortable with each other. According to Elliot and Miller, they chickens have started mingling with each other. Menard reported not seeing chicken feathers (an indication of chicken violence) or hearing as much squabbling.
“I think overall it was a good transition, I think they’re safer and hopefully happier. Although, they are missing two of their comrades,” Elliot said.
Currently, members of the Garden Club are planning to expand the size of the coop as well as the housing structure to eventually have the capacity for up to 20 chickens.
Miller and Elliot both said the chickens play an important role in “bringing joy to the community.” They like to think of the chickens as the celebrities of Pitzer College. Menard added that the chickens “give students a special chance to engage with their campus.”
“They’re a very unique and interesting opportunity to express responsibility. The opportunity to have a relationship with the chickens is also important” Menard said.
Moreover, the chicken coop adds visual appeal to the grounds. The chickens are a highlight of the admissions tours and to school visitors.
“It’s a lovely space. The chicken coop is very old. It’s on display and very visible, so I think aesthetically it plays a very important role,” Menard said.
They also provide eggs for the Pitzer Food Collective and other Pitzer students.
Elliot and Miller wanted to dedicate this article to the first chicken who was slaughtered, “R.I.P. Mona.”
Chicken Coop Easy in Portola Valley, California
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Portola Valley California" into any one of the numerous search engines and a wealth of information will pop up. This information will provide links to other websites that will be informative and will provide the right direction for finding Portola Valley California chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Portola Valley, California With the big rise in chicken maintaining there has been a just as big increase in the variety of poultry paraphernalia on sale. Poultry housing is a proceedings in factor. It's also a classic instance of the excellent old bandwagon being got on as various would-be chicken real estate specialists pitch a variety of accommodation asserting to be the suitable solution to your chicken real estate needs. Typically the price looks attractive, your diy-chicken-coop-planshome looks eye-catching, heck even the clean-cut family standing there feeding the chickens look desirable. Certainly they know a top quality chicken house when they see one? There are many economical and also horrible cages flooding the marketplace. I know this as I've examined a number of them in the field, and seen a ewe run straight via one when the feed bucket showed up. The outcome was nothing but an expensive heap of fire wood as well as a tiny flock of bemused and currently homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Small in Portola Valley, California
Most of the time these mass produced versions are constructed of fast grown wood - come the initial decline of rain they swell, leaving you either fortifying a door that won't close, or ripping the doorway furnishings off in a vain attempt to launch the squawking inhabitants. The very first cozy day implies the lumber dries and also splits, the felt roof bubbles as well as boils, and also come nightfall the hens refuse to enter. This is not as a result of their disappointment at the decline of their once eye-catching residential property yet due to the fact that the hovel is now a sanctuary for, and probably crawling with, the poultry caretaker's bane, red mite. Add the fact that it claimed on the blurb that it would certainly match four huge hens when that stocking thickness was based upon the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, as well as what are you entrusted? A couple of joints and also some kindling. A good coop for thee to 4 birds need to cost you approximately ₤ 300 though this can depend upon whether you choose for a free standing house or one with a run connected. Thinking you are varying your birds in a large area and also the pop opening doorway allows sufficient for the type you keep, then the major requirements of real estate come down to three points which will certainly define the variety of birds the house will hold; perches, nest boxes and also air flow. Many types of chicken will certainly perch when they visit roost during the night, this perch ought to ideally be 5-8cm large with smoothed off sides so the foot rests conveniently on it. The perch should be above the nest box access as chickens will additionally naturally search for the highest point to perch. A perch less than that will have the birds roosting in the nest box over night (which is by the way when they create one of the most poo) bring about soiled eggs the list below day. They should not however be so high off the flooring of your house that leg injuries could occur when the bird gets down in the morning. Chickens require concerning 20cm of perch each (in tiny types this is certainly less), plus if greater than one perch is set up in your home they ought to be more than 30cm apart. They will certainly hunker up with their neighbors however are not that keen on roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird in front. Ideally the house ought to have a the very least one nest box for every 3 birds and these need to be off the ground and in the darkest location of your house. Your home ought to have adequate air flow: without it then condensation will develop every evening, even in the coldest of climate. Understand, air flow deals with the concept of warm and comfortable air leaving via a high void attracting cooler air in from a lower void - it's not a collection of holes on opposite walls of your house and at the same degree, this is just what's known as a draught. If you have a house with a run connected then the points above are still true, yet you need to additionally consider the run dimension. The EU optimum lawful equipping density for a cost-free array bird is (as well as let's encounter it, one of the motivations for keeping some hens at home is possibly improved or better welfare) 2,500 birds per hectare, that's maximum one bird per 4m settled. Take a close check out a few of the deal homes - it could well be the house has the best perches, appropriate air flow and adequate nest boxes for a practical variety of birds, but will each of the chickens have anything more than an A4 sized item of ground to spend the day on? And so as the claiming goes, "you get just what you pay for". You could believe you've got a bargain, yet you as well as your flock can rue the day you did. Acquisition the appropriate house and also it will last for a couple of decades, if not longer provided the right therapy. In the long run your chicken and your fowl maintaining experience will certainly be considerably the better for it.plan coops
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