chickens
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USDA wants us to 'know your farmer,' FDA wants us to stay home
A new federal law went into effect last month, supposedly designed to reduce the risk of Salmonella enteritidis contamination, which requires farms with more than 3,000 hens to abide by strict sanitation practices, including keeping customers out of the chicken houses. Is there something they don't want us to see?
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Chicken expert Gail Damerow answers readers’ questions
Grist’s recent Q&A with chicken expert Gail Damerow, the author of the best-selling Storey’s Guide to Raising Chickens, elicited several questions from readers. Damerow took time out from her busy farm in Tennessee to answer them via email. Q. From Jean Kaiwi: I live in the country where everyone has roosters. The local chicken guru […]
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Arsenic found in Utah kids’ pee traced to their pet chickens’ feed
Backyard chickens: Fun for the entire family! That is, until your kids get arsenic poisoning from them. The Utah Department of Health tracked worrisome levels of arsenic in two kids’ urine to the family’s backyard chicken coop, reports Judy Fahys in the Salt Lake Tribune (hat tip to Cookie Jill). More specifically, to the arsenic-based […]
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Cool digs for urban chickens [SLIDESHOW]
So you’ve consulted your city’s municipal code regarding backyard poultry — or just decided, “Cluck the neighbors, I’m getting chickens!” Next you’ll need a home for your birds that offers room to roam, warmth in winter and ventilation in summer, and protection from urban thugs like dogs and raccoons. (For details on space requirements and […]
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Chicken expert Gail Damerow answers newbie questions
Cluck, cluck, cluck. Bwaak! These are not sounds I expect to hear on a stroll in my North Oakland, Calif. neighborhood — the usual soundtrack is more like thumping bass, sirens, and the rattle of fast-food paper bags. And yet chickens are pecking in backyards on practically every block, in converted sheds and rickety but […]
