The remaking of the footprint that became the Jon Zon Community Center led not only to a new building, but a re-working of the community garden that had been on the property for a number of years. In addition, now there is a cooperative effort to raise egg-laying chickens in what the collective calls the Pleasant Street EggShare Co-op.
Andrea Cohen-Kiener, one of the administrators of the project, and the rabbi at Temple Israel in Greenfield, relayed how the project came to be, what has grown out of it, along with some good tips for raising chickens. After attending a talk by local homesteader Martin Anderton (https://www.homesteadhabitatsma.com), Cohen-Kiener and some others thought chickens would be a good addition to their efforts with the community garden.
“We thought, ‘Hey, lets put in birds to poop and eat bugs and weeds. Let’s set up a co-op,’” said Cohen-Kiener.
She added that Anderton assisted the group and “rented” chickens to them that initially — they would return to him come winter. He also has provided education and support for the group. The group donates time and money as well as traditional fundraising and sponsorships to keep the project alive.
Generally, the group needs seven people so someone is taking care of the chickens daily.
“We have three to four active members and we could use some more. It’s challenging to get seven households to work together. It takes a lot of time, communication, and patience. We have some good fights, but we end up working better together,” she said with a laugh.
Recently at the Greenfield Farmers Market, Cohen-Kiener and others set up and educational booth to provide education about the group and raising chickens.
“It was hands-on for the kids that are part of the co-op. What we do is not only local, but hyper-local,” she said.
Cohen-Kiener feels the cooperative provides multilayer benefits to the community relating to food, connection, land use, etc. The group also runs workshops such as a recent event run by Khrysti Smyth Barry (AKA The Chickeness), who has helped nearly 200 families and 1,500 birds since 2009 through her company Yardbirds Backyard Chickens. Barry has extensive experience and offers a wide range of services that include classes, chicken care training, coop and health consultations, help with permits, and regular coop maintenance services (http://www.yardbirdsbackyardchickens.com).
Cohen-Kiener said the first thing to consider is the space you have, as chickens need a “run” they can scratch around on and “stretch their legs.”
“Chickens can have a devastating effect on the landscape. Most people rotate the chicken’s run as you will need to reseed the area for it to regrow (after the chickens have been there a while),” she said.
When considering the size of coop to have, generally chickens need three to five square feet of space inside of a coop if they have access to the outdoors. “Inside the coop is also called the roost,” said Cohen-Kiener.
She said it is best to have parallel bars inside of the coop for the chickens to sit on. “If they were in the wild they would hop up on branches they could reach to avoid predators like weasels,” she said.
She added you want to be sure to have good shade for the chickens, some type of overhang, and a space that is as safe as possible from predators. Chickens need to be cared for at least twice a day and if possible, three times, said Cohen-Kiener. Chickens also “bathe” by using dust, so they need a spot for that.
In terms of coops themselves, Cohen-Kiener said “there is not one right way because there is so much diversity and choices (if you build or purchase).”
She said you want to have something for odor control. The Pleasant Street group uses the “deep compost” method of layering excrement, urine, and hay and letting it pile up as it breaks down relatively quickly.
“We have gardeners begging for the mucking, but you want to be sure you have shoes you only wear in the coop,” said Cohen-Kiener.
The composting method also has the benefit of helping to keep the chickens warm in winter, she said. Keeping the chickens over the winter is something the group does now.
Cohen-Kiener said between the composting and the body heat of the chickens, they use passive solar by covering the coop with plastic sheeting. “You want it to be warm enough that their water doesn’t freeze,” she said.
She added you can start a coop most any time “but maybe not the dead of winter.”
She also suggested the ides of replacing 20 percent of your flock annually can be challenging as “chickens don’t like changes. They will likely peck at the new ones.”
Cohen-Kiener said the Pleasant Street group uses organic layer pellets besides what chickens scratch up for themselves. She added there are differing types of pellets depending on if the chickens are layers or meat birds.
“I think the pellets for meat birds has more protein and other nutrients to help the chickens bulk up more,” she said.
In addition, there is also special pellets for chicks.
When chickens get “broody” which means they want to have babies, Cohen-Kiener said they separate the hen and give her fertilized eggs to hatch. “We put them in a dog crate. The other birds get jealous of the hen getting more attention, but this solves the problem to adding to the flock,” she said.
Cohen-Kiener said in terms of the overall health of your chickens it is best to observe them routinely. “Just watch them. See what’s normal behavior and appearance. That true for kids, pets, and chickens,” she said. She added it is helpful when deciding to raise chickens to make sure you have “allies” and resources.
For more information about the Pleasant Street EggShare Co-op, you can write eggsharecoop@gmail.com or check out greenfieldchickstagram on Instagram.
Cris Carl is an avid local gardener, licensed therapist and certified herbalist. She is an experienced journalist who has written for the Recorder for many years. You can reach her at cstormfox57@gmail.com.