kansas city

When it comes to chicken housing one has many design and style decisions to make and aside from some very basic needs -- todays chicken can thrive almost anywhere -- your chicken house can be as whimsical or as functional as you like.

I've looked at hundreds of chicken housing designs on the intarweb and in books but the single greatest source of ideas while designing my own chicken housing has been Chicken Coops: 45 Building Plans for Housing Your Flock. Aimed at the urban chicken owner the book reaches far beyond this arena to bring working designs from the down right temporary to housing for 700 broiler chickens on working farms. I find that this is a great approach because it reinforces the basic requirements of food, water, protection and shade and illustrates the different ways other owners have implemented them.

Plans in the book are by no means complete but each design includes several sketches with measurements, a bit of background on the builders' requirements and sketches of interesting design details. The final section of the book includes color pictures of most of the designs featured in the book. I found the measurements to be helpful to give an idea of scale, I think the single most voiced question by a new chicken owner is, "How big [or how small] does my chicken coop need to be?" A valid and important question. It was my first question and while this book doesn't explore the more technical details* it gives an excellent idea of the possibilities.

Be sure to spend plenty of time designing your structure, I found that my design changed through mock-up and implementation (and I've even found a couple of design changes I'd like to make if I only had a time machine).

*[For a concise discussion of technical space requirements you should check out Building Chicken Coops: Storey Country Wisdom Bulletin A-224]

Baby chickens arrived via the USPS this morning. The delivery was rather early today, I wonder if the endless cheep cheeping coming from the 10 by 10 box was annoying. Perhaps that was why she arrived so early. But she had a smile on her face and in her voice when I answered the door. "You have chickens!", she laughed.

Indeed I did. I was surprised that 15 chicks could fit in the package. More surprising (and a little comical) was that all of the chicks could fit themselves in one corner of the small box when I reached in to grab the first one. I was prepared -- brooding cage, feed and water dispensers designed for chicks, necessary because sometimes chicks will fall asleep while drinking and drown, and a heat lamp that had been endlessly adjusted until the proper temperature was reached.

Grab a chick, dunk its beak carefully in the water -- this is their first drink ever and you need to play mother hen and show them what's what. Grab another, dunk the beak, grab, dunk, grab...the grabbing was easy at first but the last couple of chicks had become experts in evasion by the time it came for their grabbing. Sweep, grab, grab, dunk.

They took to the water it was, literally, the best water they had ever tasted. Within a few minutes they had located the chick feed and deciphered its use and a few moments later most had bedded down under the heat lamp and were asleep. Tiny, tiny chickens.

For starters there is a bit to learn and not all of it is in books. So you want to be an urban chicken farmer? Let's begin with baby-steps:

• The Law
  Know your rights. Most municipal codes are published on the web. Find out what the ordinances for your municipality have to say.
• The Neighbors
  Make sure you don't have assholes for neighbors -- if you do make sure you are well within the letter of the law.
• The Startup
  After you've made a conscious decision that you're going to become a chicken farmer/owner you'll need to plan to provide the following for your chickens:
• Safety: Opossums find chickens very tasty. So do skunks, raccoons and feral cats. You must provide secure shelter for your chickens at night. Keep in mind skunks are excellent tunnelers.
• Shelter: Chickens don't like the cold, or the rain, or the wind, or the sun. One would think they preferred cavorting in the dappled shade of subtropical forests just like their wild forest-chicken ancestors. There are hundreds of pictures and plans for coops and runs on the internet, for all the whimsical variety they have very similar design details. Study them. Build one.
• Health: Chickens can get all sorts of diseases but in small flocks the probability is much lower than in commercial operations. The biggest contributors to your chickens' good health are cleanliness and a varied, high quality diet.

Aside from general guidelines concerning cleanliness and odors and some very specific instructions about when to apply lime to your chicken yard the relevant portions of CODE OF ORDINANCES City of KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI Codified through Ordinance No. 090784, enacted October 15, 2009, Section 14-15 are as follows:

(a) Location of pens; enclosure required. It shall be unlawful for any person to keep or maintain any chicken coop, dove cote, rabbit hutch or other pen, cage or enclosure for the housing of fowl or small animals, except dogs and cats, closer than 100 feet to the nearest portion of any building occupied by or in any way used by human beings, other than the dwelling occupied by the owner or keeper of the animals or fowl, or closer than 25 feet to the property line of the lot on which such fowl or animals are kept for sale within a bona fide produce market, commission house or store for purposes of trade and while so kept are confined in small coops, boxes or cages, or where such animals or fowl are kept for purposes of research in a laboratory. Animals and fowl so kept or maintained shall be enclosed on all sides and shall not be allowed to run or fly at large, except for homing pigeons.

(b) Control of odors. Every coop, dove cote, rabbit hutch or other yard establishment shall be kept so that no offensive, disagreeable or noxious smell or odor shall arise therefrom to the injury, annoyance or inconvenience of any inhabitants of the neighborhood

(f) Number of animals or fowl; keeping of roosters. Except where fowl, rabbits or other small animals are kept for sale within a bona fide produce market, commission house or store for the purpose of trade and while so kept are confined in small coops, boxes or cages, or where such animals or fowl are kept for purposes of research in a laboratory, or in areas zoned for agricultural use, it shall be unlawful for any person to keep or maintain, within 100 feet of the nearest portion of any dwelling or other building occupied by or in any way used by human beings except for a dwelling occupied by the owner or keeper of such animals, more than 15 chickens or other domestic fowl four months or more of age or 50 chicks or other domestic fowl under four months of age, or more than ten rabbits or other small animals over the age of four months, or more than 25 rabbits or other small animals under the age of four months. No rooster which crows shall be kept within 300 feet of any residence or dwelling except that of the owner or keeper.

The distilled version might go something like this: You can have 15 chickens in a coop that is at least 25' away from your property line and at least 100' from your neighbors' houses and the smell mustn't annoy your neighbors.

I must assure you that it is a very apprehensive moment when one opens a bee hive for the very first time. I was concerned at being found to be wanting as a beekeeper rather than the risk of being stung fifteen-or-so-thousand times. This colony seemed gentle but I hadn't invaded their home as yet and if they were to survive the winter they would need the second hive body I was about to add.

After I fired up the smoker -- which as far as I can discern is the primary and usually sole protective device for most beekeepers -- I donned my veil and gloves and carried the new hive body to the colony. It was a sunny afternoon and the bees were busy and happy. I gave the hive entrance a couple of puffs of smoke and they started making a real racket. If you've never heard it before a box full of bees all bzzzzing in unison is somewhat intimidating. After a few moments of trepidation wondering if I were the victim of some universal beekeeper joke and that smoke is really PCP for bees I carefully lifted the hive lid off.

You will be happy to learn that smoke is not PCP for bees and they were busy ignoring my intrusion. The interior old hive body was a mess. It was setup with a nine frame layout only the ninth frame is a frame feeder -- essentially a plastic container open at the top in the general shape of a frame. The feeder was empty which is to be expected; a colony can consume its contents in two or three days.

"Why yes, Virginia, it appears that I can." Not in any legal sense -- this has yet to be determined -- but I have them. I am now a beekeeper.

I took possession of a 10 frame hive body, migratory cover and bottom board, all of which have seen better days, through a happy series of coincidences about three weeks ago. Contained in this hive body were a new, genetic queen and roughly 15,000 happy and energetic bees.

I hadn't intended to become a beekeeper. Oh sure, I had picked up a book about it a few years ago and thought it was interesting. I imagined myself husbanding numerous hives in various rural settings or collecting swarms while frightened women and children looked on. But the price for being a superhero beekeeper was too great.

Needless to say this was an exceptional deal and although more hardware had to be acquired to perform the tasks necessary to become a successful beekeeper it has its (tiny) rewards. I was surprised to discover just how much time one can spend watching bees. And after you do a bit of reading and learn to identify each job the worker bee does, wow! It's way better than watching fish.

I have finally acquired needed equipment and parts and it is time to do my first hive inspection. The bees need an additional hive body to store enough pollen and honey to survive through the winter -- they don't hibernate. And a inner cover and telescoping cover to provide better ventilation and protection from the elements. So far the adventure has been sting-free with some luck I'll be able to keep it that way.

On a side note, let's use more pesticides. [thanks, Talleyrand]

On Saturday, April 4 the Kansas City Food Circle presents its eleventh annual exhibition of local farmers between 9:15 am to 2:00 pm at the Roger T. Sermon Community Center. If you are interested in eating locally it can be difficult locating producers. I've always felt that part of being a good localvore is building a trust relationship between yourself and individual farmers or growers. This is a great opportunity to begin these relationships.

The much awaited demolition of Bannister Mall began a few weeks ago. I only know this because I've been driving by the expanse of flaking asphalt and empty buildings for many years. I knew that the Three Trails project was moving forward with tax credits and funding and that soon there might be a soccer stadium on this gentle rise near the 'iron triangle' of intersecting interstate highways.

The twinge of nostalgia I feel is so slight as to go unnoticed. A nostalgia not of the countless hours I spent playing video games in the arcade or the whole weekends I spent in the movie theater watching Star Wars. No, it's a yearning for a time before even that. It's just a small child's memory of a time when the hill was thick with oak trees, before it had a fresh coat of asphalt with designated handicapped parking spaces.

Over the next 15 years the asphalt spread -- supplemented by accompanying buildings of one commercial pursuit or other -- to almost twice its original area. The area was a commercial hot spot. I hated it, the crowds, the traffic, the endless asphalt vistas. During the holidays it was anathema to me. Then it slowly started to fall apart.

The mobile middle class suburbanites continued their great, slow migration to the periphery of the metro. They took their cash, cars and children with them. [sub]Urban decay moved in with a vengeance and it didn't take long to wipe out all that progress. Still it was a lingering death and painful to watch -- everyone knew who would win the struggle.

Enter Three Trails Redevelopment LLC (a partnership that includes Lane 4 and OnGoal LLC) -- along with $260 million in TIF and $30 million in state tax credits. They have a plan. Honestly, I was a little excited to hear of redevelopment including a soccer stadium coming to the site. A plan is good, right?

A few days ago was the first time I put a critical eye to the plan and I must say it is really more of the same only bigger. Sure, the parking spaces are interspersed with trees and the blue splotches that I assume represent tiny lakes are a nice touch but what we've added here are acres of asphalt. No, the era isn't ending we've only made it over -- bigger and better this time.

The Cowtown Computer Congress (CCCKC) is celebrating the opening of their newly installed underground laboratory (no I'm not kidding) at 3101 Mercier with a week of hacker, maker: and instructable: like events beginning Monday, March 2, 2009.

The idea to create a Kansas City 'hacker space' has been floating in the hacker community and I had heard of it on a couple of occasions via the KC perl monger list and from one of the principle members about six months ago. Finally, the CCCKC, which

"was formed in 2008 to create a shared space for local technology enthusiasts to meet, collaborate on group projects, share tools and to support Kansas City’s technology community."

has seen the beginning of the fulfillment of its vision. It is certainly a grand vision and one I support. I congratulate the CCCKC on this important first step.

The Kansas City Council yesterday had meetings with a representative from ShotSpotter, a company whose product (rendering pictured) is capable of pinpointing the location of gunfire and, in theory, making it easier for police to find and apprehend the shooter. This comes on the heels of the Star's infamous Murder Factory series highlighting the 64130 zip code, which as it turns out is not only the most violent zip code in Missouri, but within a mile from my house, so I have a certain personal interest in whether this thing can work.

Local blogger Toellner questions whether we need to be spending money on this during a time when the KCPD's budget is looking to come up 6% short. A valid question, but I'm more interested in whether the damn thing actually works. Knowing when and where a gun was fired is potentially useful to law enforcement, especially if the locals aren't keen on talking, but I suspect there are precious few killers who pop caps into a rival and then stand around waiting for the cops to show up. Unfortunately, the testimonials on the ShotSpotter web site aren't very compelling and hard data seems to be nonexistent.

Quoth the marketing material, "ShotSpotter has assisted the Redwood City Police Department in dramatically reducing celebratory and random gunfire." I suppose that is almost the same thing as stopping violent crime, if your goal is to appear to be doing something rather than doing something effective.