Tag Archives: husbandry

Chickens in the City

Ever wondered about the recent revival of keeping chickens in backyards? Backyard chickens have become a national trend with cities all over the U.S. revising their livestock exclusions to allow small flocks of backyard chickens. Learn some reasons why! In this hands-on course we will take a tour of chickens in an education setting.  

We will cover housing, healthy feeding, how to chicken-share, chickens in the educational setting, how to protect your chickens from predation as well as resources for chickens, equipment and supplies.Backyard eggs are a valuable fresh food.  Come find out why chickens aren’t just for rural areas anymore!

This class will be hosted at St. Columba’s School in the Deming Library on the ground floor. The address is 4201 Albemarle St., NW WDC 20016, but there is an entrance in the rear of the building on Butterworth Place NW that is more convenient.  Signs will be posted on the day of the class. St Columba’s is only one block west of the Tenley/AU Metro.  There is a very small parking lot that is reserved for staff from 5:00 am until 6:00 pm, but can be used AFTER 6:00pm for classes.  And there is street parking, too.

 

Teacher

Kate McLynn is a science teacher in DC schools with a focus in environmental science who grew up with goats, dogs, poultry, horses and wildlife around.  She has been hatching chickens for many years as part of a life science program and has been keeping chickens for several years.  She is a master gardener, certified beekeeper, beekeeping mentor, and has taught science, gardening, composting, and has worked extensively on developing greenscapes for schools and communities.

Backyard Chickens

Ever wondered how you could incorperate chickens into your urban homestead?Well now is your chance to learn all the ins and outs of backyard chicken farming with our educator Dale Johnson. Backyard chickens are a good hobby and a great addition to a garden. A few chickens can form a symbiotic relationship with your garden and family in the following ways. Vegetables and eggs go together in all kinds of recipes. Recycle your table and garden scraps through your layers. They miraculously transform most types of vegetable matter into nutrient-dense, flavorful eggs and the litter gathered from underneath the roost and in the chicken run can add fertilizer value to your compost that will end up on your garden. A garden and layers are a wonderful way to teach your children biology, ecology, economy, sustainability and responsibility. This workshop will cover the basics of raising poultry in a backyard. And the best part of this presentation is that he brings the chickens to you! Dale will bring his chickens and their small coop, show you how to properly handle chickens, and give you tips on keeping your urban chickens happy and healthy all year long. You won’t want to miss this!

Quail Raising and Processing

Ever tasted quail and/or quail eggs? That’ll be our first step in this workshop, a tasting.

These great little birds are a good alternative to chickens. Quail still lay an egg a day, but take up much less space and are better converters of feed to meat than chicken. This workshop will cover many “how to” topics as well as the benefits and realities of keeping coturnix quail in as an egg and meat bird.

This workshop is perfect for someone who is considering starting an urban farming adventure and becoming more self sufficient by raising more of their own food.

Following the discussion and tour we will cull and process multiple birds. You don’t need to bring anything special, but be prepared for the hands on portion of this workshop.

**Registration is limited to 12 people.

Workshop Date: July 8, 6pm- 9pm     Cost:  $35

Location: Sweet Reasons Farm, Cockeysville 21030.

Instructor(s): Kelly Carey & Mangy White Bushman

**Notice of cancellation must be given 48-hrs in advance of any of our workshops or events in order to request a refund. Cancellations are subject to a $5 restocking fee.**

About the Location:

Sweet Reasons Farm is a 1/2 acre residential home in Cockeysville, MD, where urban homesteader and do-it-from-scratch aficionado Kelly Carey raises American Blue meat rabbits and domestic quail. Kelly sells her rabbit and quail meat, live breeder rabbits, famous pickled quail eggs, quail wings, and natural rabbit ear dog treats. Kelly also makes her own cheeses from Pennsylvania Amish milk, bakes her household’s bread, does her own canning, makes her own soap, natural cleaning products, and herbal medicines, and keeps a small vegetable garden.
She’s also not afraid to pull her son out of school for a day to help her do important things like build pallet fences.

Intro to Urban Bee Keeping

The class is an overview of what it takes to keep bees in DC, and the way in which our location and climate dictates the work and calendar of the beekeeping year. This class will help you prepare for beekeeping next year, including connecting you with course offerings, sources of bees, and the beekeeping community.

Teacher Bio: Toni Burnham is the founder of the DC Beekeepers Alliance, and President of the Maryland State Beekeepers Association. She has been keeping bees for 10 years and am the national Urban Beekeeping columnist for Bee Culture Magazine, the largest circulation beekeeping publication in North America.

Rabbit Raising and Processing Workshop

Curious about raising meat rabbits?

Domestic rabbits are incredibly good natured, easy-going, and practical farm animals for small spaces, including even the smallest of urban lots. Raising rabbits can provide a household or market with a delicious and versatile meat, as well as furs, and friendly often comical company.

If you’ve been interested in raising meat rabbits but have been intimidated by the whole process this workshop is your chance to see it all first hand. Learn and observe how to raise rabbits on either a mostly or partly foraged diet (aka, your yard) in a back yard farm set-up. After a processing demonstration by the instructor, each participant will dispatch and process a rabbit.  For those interested in primitive skills and/or value added products there will also be some discussion on what can be done with the hide, intestine, ears, feet, brain, etc.

A light meal will be provided at the beginning of the workshop (rabbit of course!), and at the end of the workshop participants will have the option to buy the animal he or she processed as well as other products.
**Registration is limited to 6 people.

Workshop Date: June 10, 5:30pm- 8:30pm     Cost:  $25

Location: Sweet Reasons Farm, Cockeysville 21030.

Instructor(s): Kelly Carey & Mangy White Bushman

**Notice of cancellation must be given 48-hrs in advance of any of our workshops or events in order to request a refund. Cancellations are subject to a $5 restocking fee. **

About the Location:

Sweet Reasons Farm is a 1/2 acre residential home in Cockeysville, MD, where urban homesteader and do-it-from-scratch aficionado Kelly Carey raises American Blue meat rabbits and domestic quail. Kelly sells her rabbit and quail meat, live breeder rabbits, famous pickled quail eggs, quail wings, and natural rabbit ear dog treats. Kelly also makes her own cheeses from Pennsylvania Amish milk, bakes her household’s bread, does her own canning, makes her own soap, natural cleaning products, and herbal medicines, and keeps a small vegetable garden.
She’s also not afraid to pull her son out of school for a day to help her do important things like build pallet fences.