Chicken Plan for Community Gardens on Vine
Overview:
The Community Garden on Vine is proposing to the Grounds Committee of the Quaker Meeting a small area for raising chickens within the confines of the garden. The area would not house more than 12 chickens for the 2010 year. The chicken area is experimental to determine if the project is plausible and sustainable for this community garden.
Chicken Project Participants:
Shannon
Matt
Kristina Brown
Brad Brown
Luanna Heikes
Karen
Jacquie Adams
Space:
The proposed chicken area is at the back of the garden at the northeast side. Please see the sketch in attachment 1a. (TBD)
Cost:
The cost for the chicken coop, chicken feed, and young chickens will be absorbed by the community garden members participating in the chicken project. The expected costs are as follows:
Chicken coop building materials: approxmately $200 using materials from The ReSource
Chickens: $2.75 each from No. Colorado Feed Supply
Chicken feed for the season: Approximately $.50 per pound
Time:
The time for taking care of the chickens will be divided evenly amongst the community garden participants. The majority of the chicken project participants live within a half-mile radius of the gardens, so the chickens will be cared for on a daily basis. In the event of any persons going on vacation, the responsibility for the chickens will be handed over to someone voluntarily for the time that the person is away to be resumed upon their return.
Use:
The chickens will be cared for daily, and the eggs will be dispersed among the chicken project community garden participants equally. A few chickens will be processed at the end of the season and dispersed among the chicken project participants.
The chicken's feces will be used as natural and organic fertilizer for the soil, and compostable vegetables can be fed to the chickens from the garden as well.
The chickens will be cared for through the winter. They will be closed in with a heater on cold days and allowed out on nice weather days.
City & County Regulations:
Fort Collins City regulations require that residences only house 6 hens at a time; however, the property of the Community Gardens on Vine are outside of city limits, and are, therefore, subject to county regulations, which are much less stringent.
Larimer county does not have a restriction on the number of hens or roosters a residence can have as long as the animals are well cared for. The chicken plan being proposed is only requesting for hens to be raised, no roosters.
Resources:
A great resource that helped me find some of this information was:
http://urbanchickens.org/blog/urban-chicken-keeping-legalized-ft-collins
Also, the Northern Colorado Feeders' Supply on Linden St. were very helpful, and we personally bought five chickens from them for our home. They have a chicken workshop in March to provide information to those who don't know how to raise chickens.
The Rocky Mountain Sustainable Living Association has year-round workshops on sustainable living, which includes gardening and raising chickens.
