Cats in the Pantry
December 20, 2010At my urban farm, I have four cats who live in the house. Two of them—Cheddar and Stanley—are real terrors, and truly make life a challenge.
The Miracle of Chicken Diapers
December 13, 2010Courtesy Audrey Pavia Maddie the Cochin hen will soon be spending all her time indoors. When you keep livestock in the city, word gets around the office. I’m known throughout my department as someone who keeps chickens, and I’m occasionally posed with a question or two about chickens and their daily lives. But the other […]
Chicken Expressions and Lessons
December 6, 2010The English language is full of references to chickens. I never really paid much attention to these expressions until I became a chicken owner. My flock as helped me understand the true meaning behind many of these terms—on a personal level.
Back to the Flock
November 29, 2010It wasn’t easy getting Bobbi Jo over her bout with fowl pox. Unlike her niece, Baby Jo, it took her more than a week before I felt she was well enough to return to the flock.
Dropping Like Flies
November 22, 2010Photo by Audrey Pavia Flies like to hang out in the stall roof. Urban farmers in Southern California don’t normally have to deal with rain. Doing chores in wet weather just isn’t on our regular agenda. But this past weekend, one of the first storms of the season blew into town and I had no […]
APOXalypse Now
November 15, 2010Last week, my youngest hen, Baby Jo, came down with the fowl pox virus. Since then, another one of my hens, Bobbi Jo, was also stricken by this nasty disease.
The First Omelet
November 1, 2010Photo by Audrey Pavia My happy chickens that give me healthy eggs for omelets. I’m embarrassed to admit it, but the first time I was faced with eating eggs from my own backyard chickens, I felt squeamish. Like most city people, I was used to my eggs coming from a carton bought at a grocery […]
Searching for Gwennyth
October 11, 2010Photo by Audrey Pavia Gwennyth is off sitting on eggs somewhere. Gwennyth was our first hen. We actually thought we had gotten three hens, but it turned out two of them were roosters. Gwenny was our only girl. The tamest of all our chickens, Gwennyth is special. She doesn’t look like the other hens, all of […]
A Hard Lesson
October 4, 2010Photo by Audrey Pavia Foxy loved her life as an urban barn cat. Everyone who has a barn cat knows the risks. Outdoor cats are susceptible to all kinds of dangers, and tend to have a shorter life span than their indoor counterparts. I know this and believe it. Yet I took a chance by […]
Rooster Chivalry
September 27, 2010Courtesy Audrey Pavia Mr. Mabel the rooster escorts one of his hens around the urban farm. Whoever said chivalry is dead never spent any time around roosters. Sometimes I just can’t get over how gracious and doting roosters are with their hens. At my urban farm, Mr. Mabel is the top roo (beating out his […]
