SP Re C IN SI RI cre ar DE N at b G io o /S n nd ! UM De a M par le ER tm G ent UI DE
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Volume 11, Number 9 | April 11, 2019
Raising up your spring chickens Roaring Fork Co-op offers peeps, eggs, information By Will Grandbois Sopris Sun Staff Don’t worry; the Roaring Fork Co-Op isn’t giving or selling baby chicks to folks without any sense of what it takes to raise them. “We’re careful they don’t go out the door until people are ready for them,” Store Manager Marvin Claridge explained. To that end, the Co-op partners with Purina for a “Flock Talk” event tackling the basics of raising chickens for first-timers and beyond. “People come in for support,” Warehouse Manager Heladio Sanchez noted. “Poultry is growing so much here in the Valley.” Purina Spokesperson Paul Hill isn’t surprised by that at all. “People want to know where their food comes from,” he said. “The pride of raising your own is huge.” His own chicken coop cost him about $300 in recycled materials and conforms to the recommendation of ten square feet per adult, including two or three inside and seven or eight outside. “I’ve seen coops made out of everything from Volkswagens to pallets,” he said. Hill encouraged people to know their local regulations. Carbondale, for instance, has a cap of six chickens per household. Those hoping to raise chickens from infancy will also need a brooder and heat lamp and a starter home with round edges to keep them from smothering each other. Even with an ideal setup and attention every two hours, and there’s a good chance some won’t make it through the first week. After that, however, they’ll be fully feathered by six weeks and laying eggs as soon CHICKENS page 6
Westin Maxon, 2, got some help from Bailey Griebel when it came time to select his chicks. In addition to the free chick offered to the first few folks through the door, the Maxon family also won a chicken coop. Photo by Will Grandbois
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