Denver Chicken Coop Tour
Guess what? Denver’s got chickens, lots of them. This past weekend we were fortunate enough to visit some of them for the Denver Chicken Coop Tour.
Nestled in quiet backyards all over the Denver- Metro area are dozens of chicken coops quiet providing homes for chickens and eggs for their owners. Among the chickens – dogs, goats and even a few ducks. And, of course, gardens.
“First, you have a garden. Then, you have chickens,” says one of the coop owners. And it makes sense. When your soil isn’t hosting vegetables, chickens do work to restore nutrients to the dirt with their endless supply of crap.
This Coop had access to another coop inside the garage. Snazzy.
Too good of a pic to NOT use.
A few months ago there was a post on the Heirloom Gardeners blog about a call to action to support lower fees on being able to have Food Producing Animals (FPAs) in the city of Denver. Since then, the interest in keeping FPAs has exploded in Denver. The Chicken Coop Tour, now looking at it’s third year, brought together a great community of current and future urban farmers and homesteaders. (Click for more info on FPAs in Denver)
Chickens are great for working soil
We visited coops that were built and maintained by people from all walks of life. One was located out near the train tracks. Others were built by a couple who lived in a historic Denver mansion. Is it just crazy hippie folk that keep coops? I suppose not. Or, maybe, there’s a bit of hippie in all of us?
The Ritz of coops we saw that day
I dig that idea.
