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The birds and the bees in your backyard
The current housing market has given birth to new ideas here at EcoHome Guy. I'm expanding into the realm of homes for creatures other than human beings.
Let me 'splain.
Although the real estate market has changed dramatically over the last couple of years my desire to be a change agent as well as a real estate agent has not. Green buildings embedded within ecological communities will continue to be an answer for a more sustainable future and I will continue to promote them here. Still, the current financial crisis continues to have a serious impact on the ability of early adopters to buy ecohomes or make ecological improvements to their current homes. However, Grace dictates there is always good and beauty and opportunity in every circumstance and the God of Provision will sometimes firmly close a door so that the discovery of a new portal to better ways can be made.
So how can we do better with what we already have?
It's been said that if you want to change the world, begin in your own backyard. How can those who own a backyard make better use of it and employ it for the greener good? One obvious answer is the relocalization of our food sources which has resulted in a resurgence in backyard vegetable gardens. But it doesn't have to stop there. Bees and Chickens make for healthier, readily available food. They can be kept in your backyard with minimal management on your part if you will help them out by providing them low-cost homes of their own. In return, you will be rewarded with organic eggs and honey. With bees it can even mean doing your part in the preservation of the wider food web by helping to restore the local honey bee population decimated by colony collapse disorder.
After a lot of research, I've zeroed in on a couple of great solutions for housing your chickens and bees. Just like ecohomes, these are better versions of what's been available in the past.
For chickens, there's the Catawba Chicken Tractor. The chicken tractor is a type of chicken coop with an open bottom that can be moved around your yard.
The advantages of a movable chicken coop are that the chickens have a continuous supply of fresh grass, weeds, seeds, and bugs. The advantage to you is better tasting more nutritious eggs. By moving the coop around your yard you prevent the foul-smelling muddy ruts that are associated with chicken coops. You can learn more at CatawbaCoops.com.
The designer of this coop has taken the chicken coop to the level of art. He has designed a coop that is very easy to build and offers the plans in the form of an ebook, on CD, or in printed form for a reasonable price. In fact, as of this writing, he's offering the plans for only $9.99 [$10.00 savings], instantly available as a download.
Chickens are legal in Atlanta city limits so why keep paying $5.00 a dozen for organic eggs? In the process you get your lawn weeded and fertilized organically.
Then there's the Backyard Hive. Beekeeper Corwin Bell has created for urban beekeepers what
Catawba Chicken Coops has done for chickens; created a functional,
simple, yet elegant home for animals that is a work of art and an evolution of the traditional Langstroth beehive.
Corwin has created a free PDF download of his hive plans and also sells preassembled hives if you're not interested in building it yourself. His hives are made with beetle-kill wood speaking to that "grace makes beauty out of ugly things" thing. Visit BackYardHive.com to learn more. Corwin has also initiated the good work of Bee Guardians. By encouraging more beekeepers he is helping to encourage the reestablishment of the honeybee population.
I have plans to offer the Catawba chicken tractor for sale to the good green folk of Atlanta, preassembled out of reclaimed barn wood. I'm working with a local craftsman on the details of producing these at a reasonable price and will keep you posted.
Burke Sisco
Burke Sisco
And I see that The Secret Life of Bees is buzzing into theaters this October. Starring Queen B. Latifah, the story is set in 1964 South Carolina and revolves around the home and enterprise of the intelligent and independent honey-making Boatwright Sisters -- August, May and June.
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Reader Comments (3)
Sorry for the rant, but there is nothing more discouraging and sad to a chicken owner (especially a first timer) to wake up to their flock being nothing more than a bunch of feathers because they weren't secure at night.