This is a fun and affordable community event for you, your whole family and all your friends! Chicken owners throughout Portland will open their yards so you can see their coops and meet their chickens.
The Tour de Coops is a self-guided tour; you'll have the opportunity to visit up to 25 backyard chicken coops all over East Portland - getting to know your neighbors while learning and sharing urban chicken keeping ideas.
You can also enter the raffle to win one of two coops (made by local coop designers!), chicken feed and/or gift certificates donated by local nurseries and feed stores!
Save the gas! There will be several coop 'clusters' in close proximity to one another, making it easier to bike or walk the Tour de Coops!
Pre-sale tickets available at the following locations, starting Friday, July 17:
Booklet sales will continue on Saturday, July 25 from 10:30am-1:00pm.
Tour de Coops T-shirts, stickers, and raffle tickets will also be for sale on the day-of. If you buy your booklet in advance, make sure to stop by one of the locations above!
Price: $10/booklet. Booklets include addresses & descriptions of each coop and maps with suggested Tour routes, including safe bike routes!
Raffle: $5/ticket or 3/$10. Sold separately, and available at all five pre-sale locations, starting on July 17. You could win one of two Grand Prizes - a coop created by John Wright or John Carr, two of Portland's coop design experts!
Win one of these coops! (Designers from left: John Wright, John Carr)
The Tour de Coops is organized by Growing Gardens staff and volunteers. All proceeds from The Tour de Coops go to Growing Gardens, helping us continue providing the services to our community through our various programs. For more information on our programs, visit our Programs page.
Advanced Urban Chicken Keeping
Monday, July 13th, 6:00-8:00pm
Designed for chicken owners with some experience; troubleshoot problems with your hens’ health and home at an established North Portland coop.
5th Annual Portland Tour de Coops Saturday, July 26, 2008. 11am-3pm
This tour is designed to educate Portland chicken lovers on urban chicken keeping and provide ideas for new and creative ways to house chickens in your backyard.
This year's tour includes 18 coops, a bicycle tour of the chicken coops in cooperation with Shift, and a raffle to win your very own chicken coop!
There is something for chicken enthusiast of every degree at this fun event! Come see how simple or lavish the life of an urban chicken can be while chatting with experienced chicken owners about their coops.
Tickets/Tour Booklets: These will be available for purchase a week before the event and starting at 10:30am on the day of.
Ticket Presales available July 23rd at: People's Coop: 3029 SE 21st (North of Powell). Open daily 8am-10pm. Garden Fever!: 3433 NE 24th Ave (and Fremont). Open daily 9am-6pm. Pistils Nursery: 3811 N. Mississippi. Livingscape Nursery: 3926 N. Vancouver Avenue. Open M-F: 12-6, Sa-Su: 10-5
Day-of Tour Booklets will be sold July 26th from 10:30am-1pm at: People's Coop Garden Fever!
The tour booklets are $5/person, $10/carload or $3/biker and contain all necessary tour information.
Go By Bike! Why not enjoy the fresh air as you see some of the coops the tour has to offer? Join a family-paced ride around town with an experienced bike ride leader. Arrive at People's Co-op at 12PM to fill out a waiver & get snacks, the ride will leave at 12:30. The ride is not a loop and will include some small hill climbs. Helmets are required.
T-shirts and raffle tickets for a chicken coop will also be on sale the day of the tour!
The Tour de Coops is organized by Growing Gardens and Northwest Service Academy.
"People who keep chickens find that they are thinking about where their food comes from."
- from BBC news on urban chicken-keeping 5/24
Lead and Chickens
It is just as important to test soil for lead where your chickens live or where they are ranging as it is to test garden soil.. Protect yourself and your family- For lead testing resources click lead info
Avian Flu Concerns?
To read notes from the Avian Flu Forum held April 2006,click here
Portland Chickens!
is a group of volunteers who seek to promote the joy of chickens and freedom to design and build small structures without permit requirements. We are passionate about Urban Chickens for many reasons, here are a few: They bring us closer to the chain of life, they make great pets, fresh eggs, fertilizer for the garden, and they are Voracious Insect Eaters.
The group has found a perfect match with non-profit Growing Gardens. Sign up for the Growing Gardens newsletter to receive information on Upcoming Portland Chicken Events!
Backyard Chicken Keepers Unite!
Access support, friendship, ideas, and resources online at Portland Backyard Chickens!
Finally, you can stop making your friends' eyes glaze over with stories about your wonderful flock--we actually want to hear it!
To subscribe, send an email to PDXBackyardChix-subscribe@yahoogroups.com or contact the list owner at Halfway2Avalon@aol.com. Portland Backyard Chickens is not a part of Portland Chickens or Growing Gardens
*Expect three chickens to consume a 50 lb bag of feed every 2 to 3 months.
*A 50 pound bag of organic layer feed is now $25, and chick feed about $30.
*Your chickens will also need shavings for bedding (avoid cedar) and straw for the nesting boxes (make sure that the straw is not contaminated by the herbicide clopyralid.)
Local Chicken Supplies
CONCENTRATES
2613 SE 8th Avenue
Portland, OR 97202
503.234.7501
Hours: Monday - Friday 8:00-5:30pm
Organic layer pellets, chick starter and cracked corn (kropf) milled in Oregon. Oyster shell, grit, Scratch (kropf) and bedding for both hens and chicks, also Alber's feeds.
LIVINGSCAPE NURSERY
3926 N. Vancouver Avenue
Portland, OR 97227
503.248.0104
Hours: M-F: 12-6, Sa-Su: 10-5
Sells chicks, feed, waterers & feeders, heat lamps, bulbs, books & resources.
LINNTON FEED & SEED
10920 NW St. Helens Rd.
Portland, OR 97231
503-286-1291
Chick starter, Organic layer pellets, etc. Baby chicks from middle of March through May
Lamps, feeders, waterers.
PISTILS NURSERY
3811 N. Mississippi
Portland, OR 97227
503-288-4889
Chickens, chick feed, grit, food and water feeders
THE URBAN FARM STORE 1925 SE Morrison St.
Portland OR 97214
(503) 234-7733
Chicks available beginning in March. See details on website. Sells chicken keeping supplies and offers classes.
AG WEST
Hillsboro, OR
503.648.4178
Carries organic feed (Kropf Feed) which is milled in Oregon.
VALLEY FEED
McMinnville,OR
503.472.2610
Carries organic feed (Kropf Feed) which is milled in Oregon.
AVIAN MEDICAL CENTER
15952 SW Quarry Rd.
Lake Oswego, OR 97035
Tel. 503-635-5672
Marli Lintner, DVM
Vet specializing in birds. If you notice problems with the poop, a fecal analysis may be in order and will not require bringing in your chicken. Fecal analysis is $20, very affordable and may put you on the right track to a healthy, happy city chicken.
REBUILDING CENTER
3625 N. Mississippi Ave.
Portland, OR 97227
503-331-1877
Hours: Monday - Saturday 9-6, Sunday 10-5
Supplier of local recycled building materials.
Coop Design Considerations
Light and Exposure: Selecting Your Site
Coops need access to light and air. Given Portland's temperate climate, winter warmth for your chickens is not a significant concern. However, ensure that there is sufficient summer shade and/or airflow to keep the coop from getting too hot.
If an outdoor run is attached to your coop, locate the coop in a spot with good drainage, where it will not be inundated during winter rains. A portable pen or chicken tractor may be a handy option. Ideally, a south facing, gently sloped area will give the coop the advantage of the light and the drying effects of the sun, provided it will not bake too much in the summer.
Bear in mind that you will need to access the coop to feed, water, and clean. Proximity to a year round water source may be convenient.
Space Requirements
Recommendations vary from 2 to 10 square feet per bird. If your chickens will have access to a fenced run or the great outdoors, they will generally need less space in the coop itself. Space requirements are also dependent on the size of the birds selected. Allow 10 square feet per large chicken (six to eight per bantam) if confined in coop. Allow four square feet (2 for bantams) if coop is just roosting/nesting coop. Too much room is better than too little - the litter will stay dryer and more comfortable and the coop will be easier to keep clean.
The coop should be large enough or adequate access for cleaning and egg collecting. Also consider an area for feed and water that has easy access for checking and filling.
Flooring
There are many different flooring options, each with pros and cons. A dirt floor is cheap, easy, and has the added advantage of enriching the soil beneath your coop. However, the coop can become muddy if not well drained. A wood floor will keep birds off the ground, and can be designed with removable panels for cleaning. However, a wood floor will eventually rot. A concrete floor cleans easily and is rodent proof and permanent. However, it is more expensive and elaborate to construct, and is more difficult to remove.
A thick layer of litter (5 to 10 inches) makes it easiest to keep the coop clean, regardless of the floor. With the right ratio of litter to birds, the birds stir in their own manure and it will begin to compost underneath them.
Walls
Insulating the walls of the coop is not needed, although the coop should be tightly constructed to prevent drafts. Tight construction also necessary to prevent predators. Raccoons are clever.
Windows & Ventilation
Chickens need good ventilation. Consider a series of screened holes or slots across the top of the north and south walls of coop, to provide cross ventilation, without drafts. Too much air is better than too little. Birds need to be kept cool in the summer, so windows (or openings) should be operable. Operable windows must close tightly, with a latch that a toddler would not be able to open. (Raccoons are clever.)
Doors
Doors only need to be about 1ft high and 1ft wide. If more than a few inches off the ground, build a ramp as wide as the door, and add cleats every 6 inches for traction. Doors must close tightly, with a latch that a toddler wouldn't be able to open. (Raccoons are clever.) Consider adding a larger door or access panel that will enable you to shovel out the litter.
Flat Horizontal Surfaces
While shelves and counter space are handy in an office, in a chicken coop, these will be used as a place to perch. They will become covered with poop. Best to be avoided!
Roost
Consider tree branches, an old stepladder. Roost diameter should be about 1½ inches thick, 1 inch for bantams. Allow 18 inches between roost and wall or between parallel roosts. Ten linear roost inches per hen. (five inches for bantams.) Remember the surface beneath the roost will become covered with poop. Make sure you design your roost so that you can get in to clean underneath.
Nesting Boxes
Only one box is necessary for up to 4 to 5 birds. Approximately 1 ft wide, 1 ft deep, with at least a 1 ft high opening in front. Roof should be steeply pitched. (Flat surfaces will become covered with poop!) A 4 inch lip on the front of the box will help keep the litter in. A piece of burlap over nesting box opening will prevent birds from perching on edge of box.
Electric Lighting
An amenity that may make it easier to see what you are doing when tending the birds on the short days of winter. Also, added artificial light may keep your hens laying year round if your coop and run are dark. Electric lights can serve as a heat source in extreme cold. An inexpensive timer will enable you to regulate the light to mimic daylight hours and will save electricity.
Run
An outdoor run will keep your birds happier and healthier, and also safer than allowing them to roam free. A run will also keep your birds from scratching up your freshly planted garden. They will want to be able to make large holes in the ground to dust in, with 4 to 6" of soil.
A 4' fence will be enough keep the birds in, but a wire roof is preferable to protect birds from predators. Bury the chicken wire 6 inches deep and bend the mesh at 90 degrees to the outside to discourage burrowing vermin.
Material Selection and Green Design
Consider using sustainable and reclaimed materials to save money and resources. If recycling painted wood, be aware of lead paint hazards. Chickens will peck at anything. Keep painted items out of pecking reach, and make sure that old paint does not flake onto the floor or soil around the coop.
Avoid using Sun Wood or other pressure treated wood. The chemicals used in treatment of these products are likely to leach into your soil.
Design your coop to use the least possible material, and use materials and construction methods that will be durable. Use screws instead of nails so that the coop can be deconstructed if modifications or rebuilding become necessary.
Pre-made Coops: If after taking in all this information you need to build your own coop, you still wish that someone else would do it for you, you're in luck! The made-to-order chicken coop business is growing in the Portland area.
Check out:
Welcome to PORTLAND CHICKENS!
Saturday, July 26, 2008. 11am-3pm