Anni and Tanja were joined this Monday on the Sustainable Living show by Chris DeCubellis and Kenny Gil to discuss backyard chicken keeping.
Chris DeCubellis was born in Pasco County, Florida and his family has lived there for over 100 years. He grew up on a small family farm and attended college at UF majoring in Animal Science. He also earned a Masters and PhD in Agricultural Education and Communication and has worked for 25 years for the Cooperative Extension Service as a County Agent and State Specialized Agent for youth animal science programs. Kenny Gil is a Public School Agricultural Sciences teacher and small scale urban homesteader. He has been keeping chickens for 5 years.
Topics discussed include:
-circular agriculture
-why keep a backyard flock
-what breed of chicken is best for you
-egg preservation
-local codes/ordinances for chicken keeping
-husbandry practices and proper coop building
and more!
Chickens Can’t Afford Condos
After years of toiling
and me gentling reminding him to search for something better…
my roommate found a new job….on a farm
My face was a birthday cake, candles for eyes
I was ecstatic to hear this!
Finally he can get some time to himself,
the quiet of clouds, the peace of pastures
I’ve become a broken record player
repeating this story to everyone I know,
and they light up and say
Yesssss! It’s about timmmmee!
and I mean, it’s not an art gallery, or a theatre
the cows do not attend performances that will be in Creative Loafing
and the goats are not exactly avant- garde
but they are bit snooty so I guess some things are the same
One afternoon my roommate brought home eggs
Don’t wash them, he said, they’re stable this way
the eggs looked at me with calm eyes and closed them,
the little bald men sat meditating or thinking
I hear them say, I’m just gonna close my eyes for a minute
like our elders before they fall asleep
my roommate continues
these babies can endure quite a while
shoulder burdens and calamities
surprising you when you least expect it
store-bought eggs are fragile, spoiled children
sterile and sanitized like a hypochondriac
they give up on themselves
letting the day wear them down
and they are lost to themselves
like a forgotten Easter egg
and that’s when you know they’re really spoiled
my roommate frowns with a passion
stout nose and broad shoulders buckle
into some kind of whispered optimism
but these babies are stronger
and they aren’t all white
most are brown, different shapes
covered in dirt and worse
but they’re honest
and they grew up here
like us- Denzel Green
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