Sunday, June 01, 2008

Raising and Keeping Chickens for Eggs and Meat - a Slow Food Kaua'i Workshop


Sunday, the 29th of June
4:00pm-6:00pm at North Country Farms in Kilauea

Raising and Keeping Chickens for Eggs and Meat
Overview of a Small-Scale Operation

Led by Renaissance Man, Sky Roversi-Deal of North Country Farms

Please R.S.V.P. by the 22nd of June to icingonthecake.kauai@gmail.com, space is limited

$15 at the door ($12 for Slow Food members), light meal included

Chickens are one of the easiest, most economical, and most rewarding livestock to keep. Even a handful of hens can provide a family with enough fresh eggs for their personal use, and turn out a constant supply of organic fertilizer for the garden. A flock of 20 to 30 hens will supply well over a dozen eggs a day, and with the addition of a few roosters or broilers, your very own homegrown, healthy meat. Keeping a flock of chickens is a great introduction for children (or adults) to the agrarian ethos of sustainability and self-sufficiency, makes an aesthetic, pastoral addition to any back yard, and fully exemplifies the living, farm to fork spirit of Slow Food's philosophy.

Almost anyone can have their own flock of chickens. And thus, the aim of Sky's workshop is to take some of the mystery out of chicken raising for the novice, and provide some information and tips to help get you started.

Sky grew up on North Country Farms, where for many years it was his job to look after a flock of two dozen layers, including feeding, coop cleaning, and other chores. As a teenager he even once tried to hatch chicks of his own using a small incubator, with some success. Recently, he has learned about keeping birds for meat as well as eggs, and is currently raising a mixed breed, dual purpose flock of 12 hens and roosters, while also keeping a flock of 18 layers.