Davis, California just became one of my favorite US cities. Thanks to Reed, one of my former students, I learned about the upcoming Tour de Cluck Bicycle Chicken Coop Crawl on May 22, 2010!

“The Tour de Cluck: A Bicycle Chicken Coop Crawl!”, presented by the Davis Farm to School Connection, offers the chicken lovers and chicken curious among us the opportunity to visit a variety of our Davis, CA community’s chicken coops. Your participation will benefit the Davis Farm to School Connection’s work to support local food in a healthy school environment.

How amazingly cool is that?

My friend Rob is turning into an amazing source for chicken coop design ideas. Check out this beautiful design. From a practical standpoint, it would be a nightmare to clean but it could certainly be used for inspiration.

Stroll into Tractor Supply and you’ll see tubs of chicks. So cute, aren’t they?

Please do not buy chicks for your kids’ Easter baskets, unless you plan to keep them, or you’ve lined up a good home in advance. Chicks are adorable for about one week (or less) and then they turn into teenage birds that only a chicken mother could love. At this point, they are messy, a little loud, and you may not know what they need for heat, light, bedding, vitamins, feed, etc.

The dyed chicks are the worst, in my opinion. Imagine taking a human baby, dunking it in purple dye, and sticking it in a basket as a decoration. No one would think of doing that to a human, so why a chicken? These are living, breathing animals that deserve our respect and care. Even if (or, especially if) you plan to eat your chickens, they should be treated with respect while they live.