Who We Are, And Why..

Never does the question "why" cease to amaze, and amuse me. Whether it be pertaining to "Why do you want/have/need chickens? Or even "Why do you have a garden, what are you going to do with all that food?" Or even more bizarre "Why do you make your own butter?"

My simple answer is "because I want to.." But the real reason is so that we may reconnect to lost skills that our parents and grandparents grew up on and knowledge used on a daily basis. And its just plain fun. Have you ever tasted homemade butter? Have you savored the first bite of the first tomato of the season out of your very own garden? Have you ever watched chickens run around in circles chasing each other, flapping their wings... playing a game of chicken tag I suppose.

So who are we? We are a family of 3. We live in a small town. We have 2 cars and a mortgage. We have an upstairs and a downstairs. We have a front yard and a backyard. We have a cat (possibly a distant cousin of Garfield) We have a garden. We like d.i.y, we like knowledge. We like good food, we like abundance. We like chickens....

We decided that we wanted chickens. Im honestly not sure where it came from. We talked about it off and on. Finally I went to our town hall to discuss the issue. I was told that chickens are considered farm animals and thus not allowed. I was given a copy of the ordinances pertaining to such matters and sent on my way.

After I read the 13 or so pages I came to the conclusion that the ordinances themselves were poorly worded at best, contradictory at worst. I made another trip to the town hall to point this out. The individual that was assisting me, in not so many words, congratulated me on my astute logic and approach to the situation. She then asked me "will the chickens be confined?" "Of course they will" I replied. The employee then proceeded to explain to me that the city had better things to do then hunt down chickens, and unless someone complains, it wouldn't be an issue.

We naturally completed the next logical step. Order up some chickens. Eventually the chickens arrived, and I went to work building a chicken coop. Occasionally I would be asked by a neighbor or passing stranger, "what'cha build'n out there?" My response, "a chicken coop". Never once did a sour expression come across the face of the questioner, only a smile or more questions. Never once did anyone say "what? are you some kind of idiot?" That never happened. Everyone I talked to was friendly and almost happy for us. That or they were lying to my face, which is possible! I did have one neighbor who said he would love to have a pig... but thats for another story.

The hens had been outdoors only two whole nights when our "Urban Farm" got raided. Well, not so much raided as more a friendly visit from the city police. I knew what was going to happen next. I was handed a copy of the ordinance and told that someone had complained. The chickens had to go. Sad indeed.

We decided to go to the next city council meeting and discuss modifying the ordinance to allow a small backyard flock. Check out that post to see what happened.

In short, the negativity at that meeting resulted in our mission to allow city chickens. We are fueled by desire, by the love that chickens can offer. And the tasty eggs. :0)

Join our mission. If you live in the Barboursville, Wv area and have a desire to see diverse agriculture come back, shoot us an email. I would love to hear from you.