On May 28th, local growers gathered to kick-off a new series of WSU Regional Small Farms classes called Living on the Land Workshops. The class topic was Chicken Care for Beginners and took place at Duntun Farm, a local farm in Port Townsend. The participants were a mix of small farmers, people living on small acreage, and people interested in someday having their own flock chickens.
The class started with a farm tour, where farmer Mickie Dutton and Ronni Crusta talked about what infrastructure they’ve tested over the years. Examples included two different chicken runs that allowed the flock to wander beyond their stationary coops and explore fresh pasture. One chicken run was purchased; it was sturdy but carried a hefty price tag and was about ten square feet. The other run was built from chicken wire; it covered significantly more square footage at a fraction of the price. Sharing experiences such as this showed class participants that ingenuity can save money while increasing the health and happiness of the chickens.
Other topics discussed on the tour included feed, coop design, choosing breeds, biosecurity measures, and keeping birds safe from predation. Daniel Samuel-Velasquez demonstrated how they’ve integrated the chickens into their farming system by giving the chickens a temporary, supervised run that allows them to graze their cover crop. The field of rye will soon be planted with vegetable crops; until then the chickens get to roam the lush, green field, where they can scratch for worms and eat new growth.
The second half of the class was taught by Lisa Van Horn, who is a local chicken breeder and founder of the now retired Peninsula Poultry Breeders. She shared her knowledge on chicken health, including showing the contents of her first aid kit and talking about methods for treating a variety of chicken health issues and how to respond to serious injuries. Participants also asked her questions about breeding and she was able to share resources for further study of the topic.
There will be another introductory class on chicken care on July 15th from 10am-12pm in Poulsbo, WA. Follow the link to register and sign up for the Regional Small Farms newsletter to stay informed about all upcoming classes and workshops.