Clicker Training Chickens

s because chickens are 100% food motivated and learn fast. Also, using hens takes away the potential mind games that occur between dog and trainer. Free of that distraction, the trainer learns the correct rhythm for training. It’s pure stimulus-response–reward. Here’s a video of a chick learning the basics. You can find others of this sort on Youtube: You might be able to find a chicken training seminar in your area, probably...

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Back on the Yogurt Train: How to Make Yogurt

...what I can. Lately I’ve realized that one consistent source of waste plastic in our kitchen comes in the form of yogurt tubs. This is a little silly, because we know how to make yogurt. In fact, I do believe we covered it in our book. Thing is, back in the day when we made yogurt, it was Erik’s job. When he slacked on it, I didn’t even consider picking it up. Chalk it up to the mysteries of division of labor in a household. An...

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The Skunk Whisperer

wing the IPM approach, just like the Skunk Whisperer, I made sure the chicken coop was well fortified and I got rid of a water feature that was a nightly raccoon attractant. Our Doberman is the icing on the anti-raccoon cake. It’s easy to see how preventing points of entry into our homes is one important part of fending off critters. Judging from the voluminous photos on the Skunk Whisperer’s facebook page they focus on screening out...

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Meet My Chickens: the continuing story of Chickenzilla

Homegrown Neighbor here. My chicken Whitey, a.k.a. Chickenzilla, has been laying some wonderful eggs lately. Of course, she is a meat chicken, not a layer. I think of her as a “rescue” chicken. Most meat chickens are harvested between just 7 and 10 weeks of age. At over a year old now, Chickenzilla is likely one of the oldest broiler hens alive.  But she is a surprisingly good layer, with a big, bad-ass personality to match her im...

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Saturday Linkages: Sedum Stumps, Chicken Steadycams and the End of the World

-on-the-sculptural-bookworm-chair/ … Holy Crap! GRANTHAM: We’re Headed For A Disaster Of Biblical Proportions http://www.businessinsider.com/were-headed-for-a-disaster-of-biblical-proportions-2012-11?0=bi … The World in 2036: Nassim Taleb looks at what will break, and what won’t | The Economist http://econ.st/KAOPVc Cornstalks Everywhere But Nothing Else, Not Even A Bee http://n.pr/Rlasks Why Phoenix is becoming more like Minneapolis:...

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How to become the chicken coop Frank Gehry

Haven’t laid my hands on a copy yet, but it looks like author and publisher Llyod Kahn has another winner, in this case a painstaking reproduction of a turn of the century catalog The Gardeners’ and Poultry Keepers’ Guide & Illustrated Catalogue of Goods Manufactured & Supplied by W. Cooper Ltd. Kahn says, on his blog, “It’s hard cover, linen-looking finish, foil stamped, printed on off-white paper — a book lovers’ book — t...

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Chicken Talk at the LA Green Fest Saturday November 17

I’ll be doing a talk about keeping chickens on Saturday, November 17 at 2:00 pm at the Los Angeles Green Festival. Topics will include: How to construct a chicken coop What’s involved in keeping chickens Predator proofing What to feed your chickens Chicks vs. pullets The Green Festival will take place at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Kentia Hall, 1201 South Figueroa Street. The convention center is right next to the Metro Bl...

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2008 . . . a year of luxury

2008 began with the sort of absurd juxtaposition we’ve come to expect from life in Los Angeles–loading 25 pounds of chicken feed into a $70,000 Jaguar (not our car for those keeping score). It was all part of a combination run to the feed store for chicken supplies and trip to the Getty Villa to scope out their Roman herb garden and ancient tchatzhahs. The reason to hit the feed store was a return of schoolyard bully behavior from ou...

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Poultry Outlaws: Chicken Laws Around the U.S.

snappy vélocouture). Considering how loud our perfectly legal Doberman is compared to the hens, these laws are ridiculous. You’ve gotta fight the Man if you want this–backyard eggs with homegrown Swiss chard and Italian parsley served on home-baked wild yeast bread:Reviewing the laws, it’s obvious that the Man wants us to shop in his crappy supermarkets....

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Talkin’ Chicken

One of the Homegrown Evolution Hens taking care of our termite problem last week We’re in the Los Angeles Times today “clucking” about chickens. We share mention with fellow Los Angeles urban homesteading bloggists Dakota Witzenburg and Audrey Diehl, who write Green Frieda. Witzenburg designed an amazing coop, complete with a green roof planted with succulents that you can see on Green Frieda here. In other chicken related new...

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