Elizabeth's Secret Garden

  Spring is around the corner so that means…. babies! In this case my family got to experience watching Nigerian Dwarf babies (known as kids) as they pranced and jumped around. They were a sight to behold. We did get to hold them which catapulted a discussion of possible goat names. My personal opinion is that we should stick to having a category for the names we choose. We tend to stick with royal names when it comes to our animals, but I think the goats should be named after spices. Ginger, cinnamon, rosemary, and maybe even dill just seems so very appealing when you think about it. I think the name “Cocoa” would even be a good fit for the goat pictured above. With friends we even tossed around the name “Powder Puff” or “Cocoa Puff.” I think we should take a vote for the final decision. Two Nigerian Dwarf goats had been birthed on the day of our arrival. The recommended time for breeding Nigerian Dwarfs is either in Fall so they kid in Spring or breed them in Spring so they k...

Maybe you’ve heard that raising chickens is only for people out in the country. Well, the goal of my article is to convince you that that is a myth. The laws surrounding raising chickens have succumbed to the winds of change. Plenty of books and articles tackle the topic of raising chickens in urban areas. If you are seriously considering raising chickens in your area check out your local ordinances and laws.  Search ordinances for your city. Here is a link that lists some state laws. http://thecitychicken.com/chickenlaws.html   With that in mind let’s dive into the joys of raising chickens. There are some things you should consider before diving in. I’ll be sharing pictures from a urban farm from last year’s Coup d’ Tour in the Raleigh area to kick start some ideas. Read about the chicken coup featured in this blog entry on Chicken D’ Coop’s website.  http://www.tourdcoop.com/coops/2014/19.html First thing to consider is if you have the space and materials. This coo...