Urban Chicken Heads United

I was wondering how many of us are confined to the city or suburbs? It is suppose to be a growing movement.

I will move out to the country as soon as I can--but I am just not willing to wait to have chickens. Goats, maybe. Heritage hogs, definitely. But chickens, no way!

My DH, 2 teenage sons and I just bought a place not too far out of the city after living in subdivisions our whole married life. (His whole life) We bought 5 acres with house, stable, and 2 other out buildings. I know several people who are trying to move "out" and raise their own food, gardens, etc. I think with these food scares it is the only way to go. My DH thinks I'm crazy for wanting chickens and goats(he said no! on goats...for now...teeheehee). I am trying to have a healthier lifestyle for the whole family. I am curious as well to see how many are moving to this way of life.

Surely many of us are escape artists or escape artists in the making. DH and I made the move 3 1/2yrs ago to a 10acre place with outbuildings. Been building farm and learning "life skills" ever since. We chose a place within a (before $3+ gas prices)reasonable commute to 3 cities. We are healthier every year and learning more all the time. Just about ready to have our first goats butchered (ouch, help!) and have managed to do that to chickens already. Can now milk a cow and make cheese, make canned pickles and salsa, as well as save the fruits of our garden and trees (at least when they start producing)

I remember wondering about the low income levels before moving out here, but our standard of living is much higher here than it could be in the city because we have access to the outdoors and real food. We have things we could not have afforded on WAY more income in an urban/suburban setting. The only one of my sibs who really gets what we are doing is the opera singer who lives in Berlin, Ger. If he could manage the commute he would probably be out here too.

Looking forward to hearing how everyone else ended up in these forums..:-)

the trick is goin to be keeping home-gardens/crops safe from our animals and the ones in the neighborhood.

it's hard enough to protect them from deer in the country, but in the suburbs and in the city you've got to worry about racoons and opossums and coyotes (oh my!) preying on your animals AND your plants, not to mention stray cats and dogs.

Yea! And you can't go blastin' em with a shotgun here either! You country people have got it easy--I scoff at your bears and mountain lions!:0)

They don't liike that you knooow...........

I'll make sure to look out the peep-hole before I open the door. Am I looking for bears and mountain lions--or country people?

I am confined to a subdivision but refuse to live like it. I hate living like this but will probably be at least another year before we can move to the country. It is hard living in the city because I insist on having my animals I had up until a month ago 10 guineas and just hatched 1 silkie and 4 guineas my neighbors and my dh hated my guineas but oh well I have to have my animals

You are my hero, fieldsems!

I was thinking about the bears and mountain lions. the country people are probably happy to have you antagonize any critter you want to antagonize. I know I am;-)

Fieldsems, the burbs need more birds. Let 'em have it (or in this case, guineas!)

kinda what I thought but have you ever had heard of the cops being called on guineas before?! Well I have a neighbor that swears she is terrified of all birds and if mine ever once ventured out of my yard she was quick to call the cops on them. My other neighbors enjoyed my birds. But I still can;t wait till I get out into the country.

Waiting to get our place out here was awful. Know what you mean.

I too am stuck in a city :o( only because we are waiting for one more kid to graduate HS (3 more yrs) and then we are moving out of CA all to gether. DH and I both hate it here, and would move sooner...but court order says we have to stay :o(

Our plan is to sell both houses (one mountain vacation home, and one in city) here and move to WA. we both want at least 10 acres and much cooler weather :o)

Our city limits chickens to 2 unless you have a special permit...and my mean neighbor will never let me get a special permit...so I have to keep a lid on the fact that we have 4 chickies right now! lol!

once we move, I hope to have goats, chickens, peafowl and quail. oh, and my ferocious puppes! (tea cup poodle and datzie!) also want to have a huge green house for me ..... and a huge workshop for DH! lol!

until then, stuck in the city with a 10 lane freeway on the other side of my back fence :o(

We too are stuck in the burbs. The hubby (what the heck does DH stand for anyway?!?!) and I both feel like we are small town country bumpkins stuck in the city. ;) 1AnjL, you'll do well moving to WA... most that come from CA have sold their houses for a decent penny and are able to afford much more than us locals. ;~)

We kick ourselves frequently for passing up the 25 acres that would have stretched the budget at the time, but now the cost of that land has gone up more than 10 times.

Until we can afford the land we so badly desire, we garden as best we can on the land we have and have just ventured into chickens recently. City codes prohibit any other "livestock", so we won't be seeing any goats, turkeys, etc... until we move out a bit. We dream of some day starting a community supported agriculture farm.

Ahhhhh--the dream! I too am waiting til I can unload my code restricted urban nightmare and move.....somewhere else.

DH=Dear Husband or Darling Husband. I prefer the former--its sounds so Victorian. Like when women never called their husbands by their fist name--except at moments of rare intimacy and tenderness. " Mr Johnson...Tom... don't die and leave me all alone". Sigh.

i used to be in the suburbs

It's okay Josh, we still like you.

yay LOL

lol, I'm with Catscan on the 'Darling' :o)
We had a victorian wedding last year in Columbia State Park... I love everything Victorian.....
oh, and he is such a Darling Gentleman too! :oD

i usually am thinking darling, but sometimes i am a little ticked off with him and...

btw, when someone types "tf" are you thinking tf, or tamarafaye? just curious, since we are on the subject LOL

i too have been dreaming of a CSA [organic too!] since about 2003...

I think tamarafaye! :o)

i guess i have been typing it that way too long, cause even when i see tamarafaye, i am usually thinking tf. hard to remember to sign emails tamara LOL maybe cause only my mother woul dcall me tamarafaye, and only when i was in trouble!

lol, well.. with the name Annmarie.... I guess I was always in trouble!

beats MaryAnn...

so is tamarafaye your full first name or first and last name i have been thinking it is just your first name

nope.

lol, MaryAnn is XMIL name! I'll keep my name thank you! lol!
always get called maryann by mistake.... so I just adress the person as ginger (giligans island~am I aging myself?! lol)

LOL

Reminds me of Lady and the Tramp....Jim Dear and Darling ; )

I don't think I could use it... sometimes "darling" is not the first d-word that comes to mind when referencing my hubby. ;~) jk!

If it helps, I use "DEAR" (4 letters) but only when he's really in trouble...

roflmbo!

I always think of that cartoon where the fearless leader of the gang is [TF] can't remember the actual initials but it goes something like "Yup, yup, sure thing, TF."

i got the fearless part down, still under leadership training, YEP,YEP... hopefully i can alwyas keep my head as to not get "us surrounded, Pilgrim"...