April 27, 2024 (Alpine) -- With grocery prices skyrocketing and everyone looking for a way to cut back on costs, a fun and surprisingly low maintenance way to save money is by owning chickens. Now don’t mistake low maintenance for entirely no maintenance. Chickens aren’t just simply egg machines; some initial effort must be made. Here are some basic tips as well as things to avoid if you’re bringing chickens into your own backyard.
My personal experience raising hens started five months ago when the skyrocketing egg prices and avian flu reports made me give into impulse and finally start a flock. I took the longer route of raising them from a young age, and this comes with its own set of pros and cons. A big issue new owners run into is figuring out whether their chicks are male or female, especially with most cities not allowing roosters. Experienced flock owners have methods such as wing shape, but the rest of us are left guessing if Betty is in fact a Bruno until a larger comb develops on boys at about six months.
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June 29, 2012 (El Cajon )--Three cheers to the El Cajon City Council for its recent decision to give backyard hen keeping a try. El Cajon residents spoke and the city listened. The fight to keep backyard chickens began in 2004, when the people of Madison, Wisconsin took on the city for the right to legally keep hens.
So what’s the big deal? Why are so many people keen on backyard hen keeping? Aside from the superior eggs, natural pest control and nitrogen rich fertilizer, people keep backyard poultry for three main reasons: economics, property rights and food security.
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March 27, 2012 (San Diego’s East County)-- You might ask what a Pelican is doing inland at any of these East County Lakes: Lake Murray, Lake Jennings, Santee Lakes and Lindo Lake. Most people associate Pelicans with the sea coast, as do I. When I see Pelicans at La Jolla Cove it seems perfectly natural and there are always plenty of them to be seen. Of the two species of Pelicans in our area, The Brown Pelican and the American White Pelican, it’s the American White Pelican that is frequently seen at and around our lakes in the East County.
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January 27, 2012 (El Cajon) -- The Water Conservation Garden at Cuyamaca College has announced new classes ranging from raising chickens to beekeeping to aquaponics. For details, scroll down:
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August 18, 2010 (Washington D.C.) – The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) announces a four-fold increase in salmonella cases nationwide since May, including outbreaks in California and other states linked tocontaminated eggs. Wright County Egg of Iowa has recalled eggs distributed nationwide under the brand names Lucerne, Albertson, Mountain Dairy, Ralph’s, Boomsma’s, Sunshine, Hillandale, Trafficanda, Farm Fresh, Shoreland, Lund, Dutch Farms and Kemps.
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By Patrick Watkins
August 18, 2010 (Washington D.C.) – The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) announces a four-fold increase in salmonella cases nationwide since May, including outbreaks in California and other states linked tocontaminated eggs. Wright County Egg of Iowa has recalled eggs distributed nationwide under the brand names Lucerne, Albertson, Mountain Dairy, Ralph’s, Boomsma’s, Sunshine, Hillandale, Trafficanda, Farm Fresh, Shoreland, Lund, Dutch Farms and Kemps.
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