FowlBlog.com

Backyard Chickens – Then and Now

Mr. Quackers — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 22:00:32 +0000

In her book, Iva Wells writes about her regular experience with mail order chickens through the decades.

On a recent visit to our family farm, I encountered an autobiography written by Iva Wells, a neighbor and family friend. She is a woman has lived in northern Minnesota and North Dakota of her life and has chosen to recollect some of her farming lifestyle memories throughout her years. Of her many trials and triumphs living the agrarian ideal, Iva writes about purchasing, receiving, and raising chickens. Here is an excerpt from her book Family Life on a Reservation Farm: The Autobiography of Iva Wells.

Chickens and Eggs

To supplement the income from the cattle, most farm women had a flock of chickens to raise and tend. Every spring, one could walk into most rural post offices and hear the peeping of baby chicks, which had arrived through the mail. The chicks were usually in groups of 25 within each of 4 compartments in a cardboard box with small holes for ventilation. The chicks were a common spring sound in the post office as they waited to be picked up by the farmer. They had probably been on the road from the hatchery for two days. They would be in good condition with very few fatalities because they lived those first few days from the yolk of the egg, from which they were hatched.

Jim built a very nice “brooder house” for my baby chicks which would be their until fall. This brooder house was kept warm by an oil stove with a metal skirt called a “hover” around it. I always ordered 400 chickens every March. As soon as I would get them home, I would take them into the warm brooder house and one at a time, I would dip their beaks in warm water and then let them run to a feeder where they would immediately begin to pick and eat food.

The chicks would gather and lay under the hover to keep warm. The temperature had to be kept at a warm, even heat to prevent the chicks from crowding together in a pile and suffocating the ones on the bottom. Since it was only March, we could and often did have some vicious snowstorms that had me worrying all night about those little baby chicks! I would wonder if the stove was heating properly or if the strong winds had blown out the flame!

Some March storms were worse than others. One year, I had many sleepless nights and I would get up, dress, and walk in knee-deep snow every 2 hours to check on the chicks!

A backyard chicken flock from some time ago

It is interesting to see the decades old tradition of mail-order chicks from a historical perspective. The logistics and concerns of receiving chicks remains largely the same – chicks are hatched and shipped the through the postal service, their two-day journey is supported by the nutritious yolk, and warmth is the key for young poultry. However, much of the technology has changed in the process – mail order catalogs are being replaced with eCommerce poultry websites, planes now fly many young birds to their destinations, and electric heat systems now take the place of coops heated by an oil stove.

The practice of raising chickens and other poultry has been a source of income, food, and fulfillment for countless generations. As Americans look for ways to be more environmentally friendly, economically self-sufficient, and nutritionally more in-touch, examples such as these prove that we often need not look any further than the agrarian practices of the past to find guidance for the future.

Laffayette, Colorado Next in Line to Legalize Backyard Poultry

Mr. Quackers — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 17:11:40 +0000

Over the past few years we have occasionally featured stories of the countless cities across the United States which have underwent to process to legalize the practice of raising chickens and other fowl in urban backyards.

It is no secret that the popularity of backyard chickens is surging, as families and hobbyist reap the environmental and economic benefits of domesticated poultry.

One of the latest in this long line of communities seeking to officially condone this practice is Lafayette, Colorado. Lafayette, a very green conscious and socially minded city near Boulder and Denver, brought the debate before the city Planning Commission this week. Most likely, the Planning Commission will bring a recommendation before the City Council next month and a proposed amendment allowing backyard chickens will be enacted.

The package of rules and regulations proposed which the Lafayette Planning Commission are relatively common. The group derived the regulations from the ordinances they saw as most appropriate in the nearby cities of Longmont, Fort Collins, and Boulder.

Limit of 3 hens per household
No roosters
Birds must be sealed in a backyard chicken coop at night
Birds must have an enclosed 100 sq. foot chicken run
No slaughtering is allowed in backyards

One rule that many chicken owners may find a bit restrictive is the limit of 3 hens per household. An average size family which regularly consumes eggs, would most likely still need to purchase eggs with only 3 laying hens. This is especially true during the winter months, when hens do not lay as much, according to Melissa Held of nearby Longmont.

However, regulators feel the need to restrict the number of hens to deter backyard chicken owners from obtain too many eggs, and potentially selling them – a practice which could be a potential violation of regulations.

The popularity of urban poultry is continuing to rise, and currently does not show signs of slowing down.

eFowl.com Reviews and Feedback

Mr. Quackers — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 23:54:08 +0000

Reviews and Feedback for eFowl.com

eFowl.com is the one of the web’s leading suppliers poultry and poultry products. We ship thousands of birds on a weekly basis, and experience overwhelmingly positive feedback and reviews.

As we near the end of the 2010 hatching season, we thought we would share some of the kind words that have been sent to us by our grateful customers. The following are all real excepts from just a sampling of the emails that we receive everyday.

First, just want to say that we got our ducklings from the post office this morning and they are beautiful and perfect!! We have 5 other grown ducks that we got locally, and I was worried about ordering them online- ordering from you guys has been so easy! It has been a pleasure dealing with your company. – Nancy, Mississippi

The mailman just left after delivering the mandarin and wood ducks. They are beautiful…. They arrived in perfect condition and have been placed in their new home…. Your job is awesome; you guys make people happy. Thank you so much. – Luz, Texas

Good morning! I just wanted to let you guys know that I received my ducks this morning. They were in excellent shape. They are absolutely adorable. Thank you so much for everything. We look forward to making more purchases from you soon. Again thanks, they are beautiful and healthy as can be. – Brandy, North Carolina

We received our Call Ducklings yesterday, they are beautiful…. The ducklings actually were at my son’s school today for show and tell, they were a huge hit among faculty as well as students, I wish I had some business cards of yours, I think I would have made you some sales. I told them the web address and it’s pretty easy to remember so don’t be surprised if you get a few more orders from this area. It has been a pleasure doing business with you, I would give a A+++ rating if anyone asked. – Denise, Maine

You all rock! All of my ducklings are beautiful and healthy. Just took the last ones out of the nursery and they are having a ball. Not only did I receive my order prompt but when there was a problem with the hatch I was sent extras when they did come through. Thanks again. I will be a customer again. – Cheryl, Washington

We received the shipment today. There were 11 ducks (4 males, 7 females) in the shipment, and unfortunately 1 of the males didn’t make it. Thank you for sending an extra one. We are happy with the condition of the ducklings and are enjoying taking care of them. – Diane and Marko – Texas

Our little Cayuga ducklings arrived safely. They are so adorable and are already such a wonderful addition to our family. Thank you for the care you took in shipping them and for such sweet new friends! – Stephanie, Washington

I just wanted to thank you, one more time, for the extra effort you went to in handling our order. Our 8 call ducklings love Northern California and are turning into beautiful healthy ducks. – Tim and Mona, California

WOWEEEE!!!! Through the heat wave, my birds were shipped and ALLLLL of them are wonderful and healthy. I’m sooo impressed and I’m telling all my farm friends!!!! Very very nice, and THANK YOU!!!! I will order again soon! – Cassie, Maine

I got a call from our local post office this afternoon and picked up the shipment. Everyone was in good shape but were very happy to get into their new pen with food and water. Thank you for all your help. – Doug, Nevada

We love our baby ducks….They did arrive timely here in Indiana last Friday….My 11 year old son is urging them in a movie he is making….Thank you again for your excellent help….A really impressive biz you got going! – Donna, Indiana

Just an update on our ducks, they are 3 months old now and so much fun to enjoy each day! – Susan, Texas

I just wanted to thank you for my order. I received my chicks about two weeks ago and they are all doing great. I have to admit I was a little skeptic about ordering baby chicks on line and having them delivered through the mail from so far away,but they arrived in good shape and are all doing great.I look forward to ordering from you again. – Russell, North Carolina

The Runners I got from you last month are doing beautifully! They are so friendly and happy and follow me around like I am their mother. Thanks again for offering us a refund and thanks also for offering to sell small quantities of your beautiful birds! – Melissa, Maine

Thanks so much everyone for help us in achieving our mission to make the process of browsing and buying poultry and poultry supplies online as easy as possible!

Joe the Trucker and his Pet Duck Frank

Mr. Quackers — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 22:25:13 +0000

Here is a cool story about Joe the Truck and Frank, his pet duck. Joe offers the very insightful tidbit, “As stupid as it sounds, maybe if everyone had a duck in their life, people wouldn’t be so mad at eachother.”

What has @DuckInfo been tweeting about? Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-02-15

Mr. Quackers — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 10:59:00 +0000

Check out the movie Valentine's Day which features ducklings from eFowl.com http://fb.me/5kFRIAk #
In the Movie Valentine's Day the Real Stars are the Ducklings – http://tinyurl.com/yehr2xs (via @DuckInfo) #
http://icio.us/bcdug2 #
In the Movie Valentine's Day the Real Stars are Ducklings: http://digg.com/d31Iif9?t #