I spent a full winter dealing with ice in the chicken water container coop. Twice a day, I would fetch the plastic water containers, bring them to the house and de-ice under hot water. I got tired of this, and then tried using a hammer to smash the ice out. The problem with that approach is that chickens need water, and if it’s too cold they won’t drink it. The next winter I finally spent cash on a heated dog bowl — it’s up there on my list of “the best $25 I’ve ever spent.” This is the model I use, available at Amazon.com: Farm Innovators 1-1/2-Gallon Round Heated Pet Bowl – Green Model P-60, 60-Watt

Now I change water once a day, and they have ice-free liquid all day. Definitely worth the $25.99!

Just as I thought I knew as much as I could about chicken keeping, I learned an important lesson, the hard way: Good drainage is critical for your coop location.

Our yard is quite small. We have a couple of acres, but it’s mostly a steep hill. The coop is built at the edge of the back hill. 2009 was a relatively rainy year, and the water flowed down the hill, directly into the coop. Every time it rains the water collects in the coop and creates a mushy, muddy, stinky mess. Good thing for my gals that I don’t mind some hard labor. Every time it gets muddy I don my muck boots and shovel out a layer of stinky mud. Chickens are notoriously wasteful of their food, so all the layer ration gets flung out on the ground and mixed into the mud. It smells awful when it’s wet, just a cloying, sickly smell. So, I have to shovel it into a wheelbarrow and haul it to my compost pile, and bury it.

If you’re considering a coop, keep drainage in mind. I am looking at my options, maybe digging some drainage tunnels behind the coop. Unfortunately it mostly rock and shale, so it’s going to be some hard digging!

OK, it’s been a long while since my last post. I’ve been having so much fun with chickens that I neglected this blog terribly. I will provide a high-level status update!

• Pro-chicken legislation failed; BUT
• Anti-chicken legislation was deferred indefinitely!

I still have my beloved girls, and they are full-grown and beautiful. Despite the cold weather, they have begun laying. Yesterday I had a record day: 6 chickens, 6 eggs! Now that they are up to production I am able to share the bounty with my neighbors. I am delighted to report that they love having chickens in the neighborhood, so my girls are safe from the law. At this point, the only reason I’d have to give them up would be a neighborhood complaint. I will post daily updates from now on!

The bill to make backyard chickens legal was voted down by the city council this evening. 15 voted for, 2 abstained, 20 voted against. The bill can be reintroduced in 6 months.

So, I may need to take someone up on the many kind offers to foster the girls. Alternatively, I can live a life of crime and keep my illegal flock. This is unfamiliar territory for me, law-abiding citizen that I am. Who polices the chickens? Will I be fined? Will I go to jail? And, how do you broach the subject?
(”So person so-and-so in authority, if I did theoretically decide to break the law and keep chickens, what would happen to me?”)

So, I am getting ready for the metro planning commission meeting when my friend pops her head into my room and says, “there’s a man at the door.” I screech “a maa-aaaan!” (What movie is that from? I think it’s yelled by an old hag but I can’t quite remember). Anyway,  there is Sky Arnold and his camera guy Steve. They wanted to shoot some video of the gals! For the record, I don’t normally wear patent leather shoes and a dress in the chicken coop, but I was getting ready for the meeting. You can see the story on Fox 17’s website.

Anyway, the big, wonderful news is: Metro Planning Commission Approves Plan to Drop Nashville’s Poultry Prohibition. The plan still needs approval from Metro Council, but I am feeling pretty confident that this will pass. I was shocked at how many other illegal chicken owners and their neighborhood supporters showed up last night. Kudos!