Mike Nienaber's Blog
When Chickens Build Community / 06.22.11, 12:30 PM
Chicken Coops and Community – Some Do’s and Don’ts for Building Both.
Like many enthusiastic urban homesteaders my wife and I recently decided that we should have chickens! What better way to step further from the nasty “grid” and closer to the beauty of self-sustainable simple living – just saying it feels good…
My goal was simple: build the coup in true homestead fashion. You know, recycled materials, designed to collect “fertilizer” (aka chicken poop), and, of course, very cheaply! Truth be told, building community was not really part of my initial agenda.
As I constructed this ‘urban homestead essential’ I began to learn the following “Do’s” and “Don’ts” of building a chicken coops and, as it turned out, a thing or two about building community as well.
If you can see the half burned wood of a torn down house as potential…
Don’t: Buy wood from the Home Depot.
Do: Borrow a neighbors hand truck, pile it high with salvaged wood from around the neighborhood and lug it back to your house. Remove the nails and screws, cut off the damaged ends and use it to make something functional and beautiful!
If you can allow yourself to slow down and realize that the point of your new project is bigger than just building a coop…
Don’t: Be quick to enlist the help of a handyman or carpenter.
Do: Allow your project to turn into a fun, interactive and creative workshop for the kids in your neighborhood.
If you can welcome the creativity of the community rather than remaining fixated on completing the project…
Don’t: Stick to a rigid schedule of tasks, deadlines and expectations.
Do: Invite the kids next door to help you pick out names for the new Chickens. (Most creative and/or funny name wins a PRIZE!!). And don’t worry if it slows you down a bit…maybe that’s a good thing! (Matthew 6: 33-34)
I think God is teaching me about priorities through projects like this. I think He’s saying, “Sure, having chickens is fun, but don’t put a project ahead of relationships, because relationships are why I came and why you’re here now.”
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Farm City by Novella Carpenter is a great little memoir about a woman who raises farm animals/food in Oakland. For her it also becomes about the community around her. How exciting about the chickens!
By Megan / Jun 22, 12:40 PM / #
Thanks for the feedback, I’ll check out her book! Speaking of Oakland, I was just there visiting our Mission Year team, and they are helping their community raise chickens at Regeneration Church (http://bit.ly/ljh52l)- Oakland, such a cool city! Also, a GREAT how-to book that I use often for things like building my coop and rain barrels is The Urban Homestead by Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen – very helpful!!
By Mike Nienaber / Jun 23, 09:09 AM / #