m a smart man. I have surrounded myself with a verybeautiful group of girls who tirelessly landscape myyard, provide rich compost for my garden, dispose ofmy kitchen scraps, handle insect control around thehouse, keep me company, and even make me a fresh

breakfast each morning. These highly productive femalesin my life are not actually human. They are chickens,though I affectionately refer to them as my lovely ladylumps.

I consider my small flock of backyard chickens to beone of the best investments Ive ever made eventhough they cost very little time, energy, or money. If youare interested in having a harem of hens in your life likemine, below is some insight about how to get started.

The Perks of Raising Backyard ChickensSome of you might be wondering why chickens?

Lets get this question out of the way first. Several yearsago, raising chickens was something that only people inthe country did. Chickens were associated with farmsand wide open spaces. Not anymore! I would actually con-sider backyard chickens to be a modern cultural phenom-enon. Thousands of families are adding a small flock (2-5)to their backyard, right next to the doghouse. When Ibought my first house it only had a 20x20 backyard. Thefirst thing I did was put in a small chicken coop with threehens, which is the perfect number for starting out. Thebiggest misconception with raising chickens is that youneed to live in the country. This is simply not true. Yes,local regulations or neighborhood ordinances may impact

your decision, but many communities are very chickenfriendly or easily convinced otherwise.

In my experience, there are many benefits to raising asmall backyard flock. Lets explore some of my favorites.

My morning selection of fresh eggs.

Fresh Eggs: Fresh eggs are the most obvious reason,or as I like to call them, Hen Berries. Hens will start lay-ing eggs at about 6 months old. They will consistently layan egg every 1-2 days for several years. These eggs,especially when the chickens are given kitchen scrapsand/or allowed to free range, are more flavorful than

I

How to RaiseHow to Raise

Written by Creek Stewartof Willow Haven Outdoor

Story Originally Posted @ www.artofmanliness.com

30 fall 2014 newportnaked.com

Creek and two of his lovely lady lumps.

Backyard ChickensBackyard Chickensnewportnaked.com fall 2014 31

Megan CambrasFamilys Coop

Norman Bird SanctuaryMobile tractor

Coop

Cedars & DansCoop condo

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I often act on sudden impulses, and often enough they do not produce the expected result. However, sometimes impulses can lead to theamazing. For a while now, our family has been longing for a dog or two. Ieven pushed to have pygmy goats, but all we ended up with were twoJapanese fighting fish lovingly called Ziggy Stardust and Freddie Mercury.As beautiful as they are, it was not enough.

For a long time I toyed with the idea of having chickens, and was elated when I heard that the city allowed them. The wheels in my head started turning, and the impulse juices started boiling. So on a beautifulFriday night, before heading to dinner, I stopped at the local chickenstore and bought six baby chicks. With a rough plan in my head andexcitement in my bones, I rushed to dinner with our new brood, only tobe greeted by stunned and surprised looks, and by whispers questioningmy sanity. I began to think this impulse wasnt so great. But after somepleading, coaxing, and convincing, our six baby chicks had a new home.

Twenty weeks later our hens are averaging four eggs a day and counting. Their coop is made entirely from repurposed wood or offcuts fromthe wooden boat shop where I work. Our design was based on aJapanese tea/Tiki hut style house, and has all the room needed to housesix fullygrown hens. Except for the fencing, feeders, roof, and flooringfor the coop and chicken run, everything was made with leftover paint,wood, and miscellaneous materials from around the house. Using onlysurplus or halfused materials allowed us to save money and get creative.In the end our cost was under 125 dollars, including the chicks, and weaverage less than 20 bucks a month in feed and bedding.

Our hens are four Golden Comets named Scarlet (Johansson), Astrid(mermaid from Pirates of the Caribbean), Michonne (Walking Dead), andMark (uh, long story!), and two White Leghorns (remember FoghornLeghorn from Looney Tunes cartoons?) named Megan Fox a.k.a. Foxy and Moxie. They each have unique personalities and are very affectionate, are always cooing at us for attention. The kids helped paint thecoop, and enjoy feeding the chickens, collecting the eggs, and playingwith and petting our ladies. Its no surprise now that our family, friends,and neighbors are on a waiting list for our hens eggs. They love ourchickens, and affectionately ask about them on a regular basis. Oneneighbor even requested to occasionally stop by and visit the chickens. Iguess its a sort of meditation.

By David Redero

Kids from Left to Right: Reily (neighbor across the streets daughter), Vincent (myson), Bella (my daughter), and Lily (neighbor across the streets older daughter).

newportnaked.com fall 2014 37

esides being an excellent form of exercise,bicycling is one of the most natural and effi-cient ways to explore your surroundings. If

you're lucky enough to be around Newport duringthe fall, take advantage of the lower temperatures

and explore by bike. The great thing about this town is that there is no

set way to get anywhere. Other than abiding by theposted traffic signs and marked bike lanes, you canchoose your own course and pace without the deal-

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C. Kane

newportnaked.com fall 2014 41

Jeremy (a.k.a. J2MFK) with his neighbors dog Bebe relaxing before his ride to Folkfest 2014.

The rewards of taking it slow. A beautiful cut through connecting Ocean Drive and Ballard Park.

There are several bicycle shops local to Newport.For more information about bike sales, service orrentals contact:

Newport Bicycle130 Broadway, Newport

(401) 846-0773newportbicycleri.com

Ten Speed Spokes18 Elm St., Newport

(401) 847-5609tenspeedspokes.com

Pedal Power879 W. Main Rd., Middletown

(401) 846-7525pedalpowerri.com

Planning a bike trip in or around Newport? VisitBikeNewportri.org. or check out their bike map onthe following page.

Photo by Jeremy Kane

newportnaked.com fall 2014 43

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MAP COURTESY OF BIKE NEWPORT bikenewportri.org

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newportnaked.com fall 2014 47

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