Chicken Council

    Ten years after its founding, the Campus Garden welcomed its first flock of chickens. The flock gives students the opportunity to get hands-on experience working with microlivestock in a regenerative setting. 

    True citizens of a permaculture forest garden, chickens serve multiple functions:

    • Produce fertilizer
    • Eat garden and apiary pests
    • Speed up composting progress
    • Provide companionship and entertainment​
    • Eggs are just a bonus!

    Meet the Chickens

    Hilde

    Hilde (Rhode Island Red)

    • Queen of the Coop, highly food motivated, often seen bullying everyone except Margo.

    • Favorite snack: Anything that isn’t pumpkin/pumpkin seeds, loves ants.

    Margo (White Leghorn)

    • Hilde’s right wing, keeps everyone in check, breaks up fights. Is an avid frog hunter in springtime.
    • Favorite snack: Tomatoes (Note: tomato fruits are fine for chickens, but the plant itself is very toxic.)
    Margo

    Jungle Boogie

    Jungle Boogie (Ameraucana Easter-egger)

    • Scared of falling leaves, apples, and rabbits. Likes randomly running and screaming, though mostly stays hidden and generally dislikes being handled. Named after the song by Kool and the Gang, to which you should take a listen.

    • Favorite snack: Cucumbers & chickweed

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    Annie (Buff Orpington)

    • Adopted orphan after her original flock was killed by a predator. Very quiet but becoming bolder as time goes on.

    • Favorite snack: unsalted shelled sunflower seeds

     

    Annie

    Sweetlips

    Sweet Lips/Sweetheart (Favorelle)

    • As a lovely French lady, she has extra toes! She always has a lot to say about the world. Likes to inspect the shoes and pants of visitors. Loves pecking at buttons and shoelaces!
    • Favorite snack: Watermelon

    Janet (Black Jersey Giant)

    • The most adventurous chicken! Not always very sociable to humans, but is happy to hang out with her feathered friends. Has a large, floppy comb to tell apart from other giants.
    • Favorite snack: Not sure but loves fermented feed more than the others.

    Watch Janet in action!

     

    Cate

    Cate (Black Jersey Giant)

    • The smallest of the Jerseys and has yellower legs. Is very sweet and always runs to greet whoever stops by.
    • Favorite snack: Cut-leaf coneflower leaves

    (Big) Bertha (Black Jersey Giant)

    • Extremely friendly, and is harnessed trained. Has a short attention span and is highly food motivated. Likes being perched up high to watch the world! Has an odd earlobe.
    • Favorite snack: Pretty much anything.

     

    Bertha

     

    Chickens Resting in Peace

    Hilde

    Stevie Chicks (Favorelle)

    • Very friendly, opinionated, and had a lot to say. Was the most popular of all the chickens at the time. She liked going on car rides and sometimes confused freckles or beauty marks for food.
    • Favorite snack: Dried mealworms

    Amelia (Ameraucana)

    • Coming to us from Shane Brill’s flock, Amelia was a sweetheart who loved soaking up the sun and taking naps under the picnic table. She passed at the astonishing age of 11 years, and always impressed us with how much she loved life.
    • Favorite snack: Raisins
    Amelia

    Winnie

    Winnie (Brahma)

    • Blind in one eye, Winnie taught many students just how loving chickens could be. She often was seen accompanying Jo to class and club events, and loved getting pets from passerbys.
    • Favorite snack: Cucumbers

    Tangerine (Buff Orpington)

    • Tangerine loved hanging out in the cutleaf coneflowers. When a mysterious illness overcame her, we buried her in her favorite spot under a pawpaw tree.
    • Favorite snack: Sunflower seeds

     

    Tangerine


    Contact Jess Barr for more information about the Chicken Council.First campus garden egg


    Get Involved!

    • Volunteer in morning to feed and let chickens out
    • Evening lock up, making sure all our feathered friends are safe in their coop
    • Throughout the day check-ins (looser, not necessarily scheduled)
    • Friday deep clean-ups (likely during normal garden workdays)

    Eggs

    In the spirit of the permaculture ethic of Fair Share (redestribution of surplus),  the 5-8 eggs we get each week are used for garden events and Food Initiative programs.


    Chicken Care

    • Food/water
    • Provided and foraged
    • Grit
    • Clean space
    • Deep litter
    • Protection
    • Eventual guard geese
    • Lighting
    • Fencing