Have you ever wanted to be more self sufficient? Have you ever wanted to loose some of the worries in these uncertain times? Like how to keep a good standard of living even if the grocery stores run out of food or the power company stops working. Well one family in California have figured out how to turn their small piece of property in the middle of the city into a thriving self sufficient backyard farm.
I know what some of you are going to be saying, but I don’t live in an area where I can produce food food year round if I had a backyard farm. Well that maybe so, but I think everyone can learn a thing or two from this family. There are a ton of great ideas in this video that should help get the old gears rolling. There are lots of things that you can do to become self sufficient when it comes to food and energy. Just start out small and build on what you have already done when money and time are available, and before you know it your worries of what is going to happen when the stores close and the lights go out will be no more.
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Having a couple of hens and a rooster in a small chicken coop like this would make a great start at stepping up food production if you were looking at a prolonged emergency situation of little or rationed food. I don’t know about you but I think I would would enjoy a little chicken or egg to mix into my emergency stash of beans and rice after most of my canned food has been eaten. In the case that you have to raise more chickens than this small coop and pen can handle I would recommend adding a roll of chicken wire and some long wooden stakes to your emergency supplies. Unless you plan on letting them run free in your yard so that your neighbors and every other hungry critter can take them.
Most hens produce one egg every few days, but some special egg laying breeds can produce as many as 300 eggs a year. Chicken eggs take about 21 days to fully develop and hatch. In most commercial farms chickens are butchered at 6 weeks, but free range farms usually wait about 14 weeks.
The picture above shows what I like so much about this chicken coop design. Notice the nesting box with the easy access hinged lid. This will make cleaning the nesting box out and gathering the eggs so much easier. Also I thought the top of this coop was a really good idea. They put a water proof mat down with rock and soil with drainage holes on the top of this coop. This could serve two purposes. First the soil and rock will help shade and cool the coop in hot weather, and second this would make a great little garden. Maybe for herbs or something.
I found these pictures at BackYardChickens.com stop by there if you want to find out more about chickens or to get some more great back yard chicken coop designs.
