Raising chickens naturally and holistically has been a passion for Jordanne these last nine years. During those years she’s acquired a lot of knowledge and know how which is now available to help you naturally boost your backyard flock.
Actually I’ve come to dread going into the animal yard with a camera. Why? Because I end up with like a bazillion photos. These guys, er gals, are just too fun to be around.
So this time around Jordanne took the camera into her possession and snapped a few photos
You just saw synchronized preening and here’s [...]
They always say a picture is worth a thousand words and that would mean this entry must be worth 32,000 words!
So without wastin’ any more words, here’s another pictorial post of stuff and happenings around the urban homestead these past couple days.
Oh, and if you are enjoying these picture post as much as me then [...]
The menagerie of animals that live here on the urban homestead provides us with countless hours of entertainment and free “therapy” – bringing smiles to our sometimes stressed brows.
Here’s Lucie (aka Lucie Goosey) digging her way to China (well, grubs or bugs more likely)
Diggity dig!
Estella, seeing Lucie’s hole is bigger, stops her digging and comes [...]
I don’t know what it is, but I find it very fascinating to watch our poultry molt when new feathers emerge from pointy white sheaths.
Now that it’s officially molting season the egg production has slowed while they put their energy into growing a new set of duds. Speaking of new duds, feathers are everywhere – in the [...]
Anaïs and Jordanne Dervaes give a video tour of the Pasadena homestead where they keep chickens, ducks, and goats (VIEW ONLINE VIDEO FEATURE running time 4:00 minutes)
LOS ANGELES MAGAZINE ONLINE EXTRA
By Wendy Witherspoon LAmag.com, October 19, 2009
If you’ve ever looked at your pet dog (especially after “cleaning up” the lawn) and wondered when he was [...]
One of the chicks that we hatched back in 2007
It’s great to see more and more folks these days turning towards raising poultry and other small stock in their backyards as the trend towards eating closer to home spreads across the nation.
But there’s a dark side to this trend and it’s finally been exposed.
Video shows [...]
We spent that better part of the last couple days cleaning up and tidying the garden. As you know with any summer garden, once you get busy next thing you know you got loads of work that piles up. The compost pile needed tending – getting to where it just as high as our back [...]
The documentary FOOD INC is still a hot topic at our dinner/lunch table here on the urban homestead. We are still talking about it days later. This film certainly got us thinking about modern meat consumption and the future of local, sustainable agriculture.
Over at Civil Eats they had this interesting review. Jordanne, who’s every perspective, [...]
That’s what we playfully call our broody hens who tuck, tuck, tuck about ruffling their feathers and really are besides themselves once the coop goes under lock down in the afternoon to break the broodies.
When I put the chicken coop under lockdown the other day our bantie Estella (aka “Stells”) was frantic! Screeching and tucking, [...]
The weather is acting up again – it’s as if winter’s is fighting with her sibling summer. Hopefully the cooler temperatures will bring some rain. In fact, there is a chance of rain mid week. We are definitely praying for rain because we need all the heavens can give us before the long, hot and [...]
(please note post was written yesterday – Wednesday )
Amen and pass the pitchfork. It’s a clear and sunny day! Honestly, the rain was getting a little much – too wet all at once.
No more soggy clothes and mucking boots for awhile at least.
It’s been so dreary and wet that we had to rig up a [...]
Blackberry sunning herself with Dawn, one of our ducks catching a few rays herself
Ah lookie that face. Basically telling me to get lost. Alright I’ll leave you to sunbathe in peace
A few of the urban homestead’s chickens hanging out together.
Our Belgian Bantie – Estella.
Whatcha looking at?
Nap time for the duckies
Now preening time
Perching on an [...]
All our urban homestead critters are characters. We like to tell people we don’t have cable we have chickens, ducks and goats.
In our eclectic flock, these Belgian banties chickens are somewhat more personable than the rest. Though all our chickens are extremely friendly, there is just sometime special about these banties that just captures your [...]
Oh dear, I look so raggedy and upkempt. I must look frightful.
I wish my neck feathers would grow out, I’m starting to look like a plucked chicken – meanwhile no mirrors.
No more fluffy (or puffy) cheeks – really makes my neck look so long. Does anyone have a scarf?
While a few of our flock molted early there [...]
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Part Four: Elizabeth Chambers interviews Jordanne Dervaes about the care of the chickens and ducks and tours the chicken coop.
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Part Three: Elizabeth Chambers interviews Jordanne Dervaes about the care taking of the farm animals on the urban homestead.
“Heirloom,” “heritage,” “antique,” and “rare” are all names for animal breeds that have been around for a while and may now be in danger of extinction.
These breeds are threatened because agriculture [...]
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Elizabeth Chambers interviews Jordanne Dervaes about the care and life of the urban farm animals.
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Host Elizabeth Chambers chats with Jordanne about the benefits of citified farm animals.
Since 2002, Jordanne and her family have shared their urban homestead with a menagerie of animals — chickens, ducks, two rescued cats, red wiggler worms (which compost garbage) and two goats (Nigerian Dwarf and a Pygmy goat. [...]
That’s our nickname for when our hens go broody. Don’t you just love it when the go around puffing themselves up and shaking their little bodies – it’s hilarious.
Ms Dora (bantam gold cochin) is the broodiest of the lot (of 8 chickens) While the others, will go broody for a couple days, she likes to [...]
Well, not exactly. We don’t have a ‘goose’ per say, but it’s our nickname for Lucie, one of the Belgian bantie chickens. A small chicken with big (and quirky) personalities.
For some reason this week, Lucie Goosey, has boycotted using the chicken nest that all her fellow “inmates” use. While other are content to use their nest, [...]
More photos from the animal farm….
Old Clem, our chicken matriach, rules the animal kingdom. Always in everybody’s business.
Lucie “Hey you gotta little something there on your chin”
Sissy comes over to help Lucie out.
Sissy “Sheesh, I know, she’s soooo sloppy. “ Sairey “Who me?”
Dinner time!
Knock, knock. Hey, Fairlight, can I come in? No, you may not. [...]
Silly Sairey (middle) hangs out with our backyard barnyard menagerie
I am happy to report Sairey’s foot is doing better. The comfrey, charcoal poultice really helped draw out the staph infection – not to mention foot soaks in epsom salt and tea tree oil applications.
With her crazy habit of “running around like a chicken [...]
Everyday life here on the urban homestead means caring for plants, animals, insects (bees) and even people. The urban homestead lifestyle is not a part time hobby or hip trend “of stiff new overall wearing, organic straw eating farmers” Instead, it’s a practical (not so glamourous) lifestyle and lifelong pursuit that involves [...]
Miss Clementime, our oldest chicken of the flock (she’s going on 6 years) get’s special “senior” privledges here on the urban homestead. She’s the queen of the hennery and she keeps all the other hens in line. Clems the only remaining chicken left from the 2002 batch of hens we had. As senior matrion, she gets special [...]
Like clockwork each morning ,the citified hens hang out together
Enough photos already, lady. Sorry, guys, am I disturbing your little gathering? But look at all those purdy faces
The Belgian banties are so expressive, Estella wonders “whatcha looking at kiddo?” No kidding, this chicken not afraid to give you eye to eye contact. She’s human, or so she [...]
Dora (blonde chick): Pssst, Biddy! Hey, let’s try and crash this flat.
Knock, knock. Hey Fairlight, Dora here. We’ve just been kicked out of our penthouse, could we please crash at your place. Fairlight cracks one eye open, ”nah-uh, no way, are you kidding me sister?”
Oh, well, I tried. Sorry Biddy we’ll just have to try another [...]
Yoga has the cat, dog cow, fish, snake, lion poses. Well, our chickens have what we like to call the chicken pose — standing on one leg, wings outstretched. Ahhhhh, I can just feel the vibe.
Stretching, chicken style
Whatcha looking at? Sheesh, lady, could I at least have some privacy while [...]
It’s been a busy couple days. There have been some interesting developments but can’t really say what at the moment since it’s still in the planning stage. Hence the erratic state of posting affairs at the moment. However, all’s not quiet on the homefront. Oh, contraire!
There’s so much happening I can’t [...]
Chicken and duck eggs from our gals (like these green egg baskets, you can get some yourself here)
Our girlies are certainly popping out lots of eggs thanks to the longer days and warmer weather. We’ve been enjoying egg salad sandwiches with homegrown chives, green onions and celery.
Now I really should do something more [...]
Well, not really. No worries about headless chickens roaming around this urban homestead on account of our being vegetarian (yes we eat the non fertile eggs from our backyard flock). Instead it’s our city chickens morning preening time ritual.
Every morning like clockwork our hens gather together like woman in a beauty salon to [...]
Chickens just chillin’
Article ‘Chickens In the Backyard’
{Note: FYI, the link points to our very, very, very old original site (2002). In the works, is to upgrade all archived pages with updated information and links. So many of the links on this page are no longer valid}
We’ve seen a surge in backyard chickens [...]
Ahem, a little privacy here! Dora decides to join Bella in the nesting box.
Surrounded by a plethora of female animals, the urban homestead’s residence goats and chickens “go hormonal” now and again. Thankfully the Khaki Campbell ducks don’t exhibit too many crazed hormonal tendency – unlike chickens, the ducks don’t go “broody” which turns docile hens into wild eyed crazed frantic females. Yeah, what’s [...]
Here’s about a week’s worth of eggs collected from the urban homestead’s resident chickens and ducks. We have two of these nifty wire egg baskets (now offered on the Peddler’s Wagon) to collect the eggs in – one is hanging up in the chicken coop and the other in the kitchen. Leaving the “natural coating” on the [...]
Polish Beauties
Dear Jordanne Dervaes,
We purchased two little week-old chicks from you about 8 months ago. I wanted to report that they are doing great. We have added two more chickens to our backyard flock – 2 Easter Egg hens. The 4 chickens now get along great and spend their days in their run and coop. [...]
Chore Time
Chickens keep their nesting boxes relatively clean, but it’s good practice to change their nesting materials every couple of months. Jordanne spent much of the day yesterday, sweeping and cleaning (with white vinegar) the interior of the chicken/duck house. She and I also cut up an old piece of linoleum and place it on [...]
Bella
Backyard Chickens
Last week we received a call from a freelance writer doing a story on chickens as pets. The article is expected to be published in April and I will keep reader’s posted.
Also, Jordanne received a call one night from a guy who has a few backyard chickens of his own. It’s common for Jordanne [...]
Backyard “winter” garden
In Search of Good Food
A documentary film tour of California’s emerging sustainable food systems write about their LA experience and stop at a super productive urban farm.
Here’s looking at you kid
Chicken Behavior
In our backyard menagerie all our animals are friendly and have their own personalities but out of all our feathered friends, Estella [...]
Final results are in!
*Even with less than 3 inches of rainfall, extreme temperature fluxes (1 week of below freezing temperatures in January) along with 5 months of disruption house construction with all that and more, we were able to harvest nearly a little over 5,700 lbs (on 1/10 acre). I find this year’s tally simply [...]
Dora and Biddy touching beak to beak
Hmmm, that title got your attention didn’t it? (grin) I am sure this post will have a life of its own on the search engines. Thought it was sooo cute.
Sairey the sun-bather & Lucie the dust-bather
Bathing Beauties
It’s amazing how many people have misconceptions about chickens (and other farm animals for that matter) being smelly and dirty. Those of us privileged to raised animals in backyard across the country know otherwise. On the contrary, these animals are naturally clean, it’s how people keep them [...]
Duck portrait
Duck eggs!
Duck Eggs
This morning, while doing our regular morning maintenance of the chicken/duck house, I spotted four duck eggs! That means all four of the new duckies are laying. That should be a welcomed load off our older duck, Dawn, since she’s been laying since 2003. I can just hear her say ‘”about time [...]
PTF Spotlight
Look for a 90 second piece about gardening on Dec 14 & 15th on Time Warner Headline News San Gabriel Valley. They interviewed and questioned head urban farmer, Jules Dervaes, about gardening and growing food in the city. We don’t have cable, but if we get any further details we’ll post them.
She’s a [...]
Sairey gives me her chicken stare. “Don’t bother me I’m laying look”… ok, ok, I’m leaving.
Let’s have some fun! Readers, do you have any other snappy quips to add?
