Q & A with SueCinPDX- official DTD contributor!!

For all of us who have thought, "Hey, I wanna raise some chickens!!" --this post could not be more useful!  So let's have a little Q & A with our very first guest contributor!!

Where are you located?
I live in Milwaukie, Oregon, a suburb of Portland

Do you have a garden as that you love as much as your chickens?
I started a vegetable garden six years ago. I grew tomatoes with blossom-end rot in a small raised bed. I now have an 860 square foot garden! I'm addicted!

When did you first decide you had to have chickens?
Last fall, I read an article in the New Yorker by Susan Orlean, where she talked about her experience with raising chickens. She made it sound easy and fun -- and it is!

How has having chicken changed the way you look at food?
I am not a vegetarian, but since getting my "girls" I think very hard about my meat purchases. I'm eating less meat and make sure what I buy is local, organic and humanely raised whenever possible. My girls get upset if I'm late opening the coop door by an hour or two, I can't imagine what cage raised hens must suffer.

Do chickens make you happy?
I work in full-time in an office under flourescent lighting. I can't tell you how rejuvenating it is to watch my hens peck and scratch around the garden. Having chickens as part of my own little eco-system just feels right. It's makes me very happy.

Tags

chickens, chicken coops, raising chickens, Urban Gardening