2011 TC Coop Loop Owners
Coop Owners: Ty and Johanna Schmidt
Coop Name: Washington Street Hennery
After getting the OK from my wife to dig up the grass in our backyard to make room for vegetables beds, fruit trees and berry bushes, I figured some farm animals were the next logical step in building our small urban homestead. Johanna and our 2 boys, Carter and Jameson, wanted a dog but what they got were chickens.
So in the spring of 2010, at a mere 3 days old, Sunny, Jenny, Georgia, Rye-Balls, AstroGirl and Jackie Joyner arrived in a peeping cardboard box to take up residence in the sun room. One year later, minus Jackie Joyner who turned out to be a he, all is well at the Washington Street Hennery.
The kids did eventually get that dog. Commander Cody, a 10 year old used lab, signed onto the team last fall and now dutifully watches over the ladies whenever they are free-ranging in the yard.
Now if only we could get the city to OK a goat or two.
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Coop Owners: The Roth Family
Coop Name:The Henergy Pod
I raised chickens as a kid and so have had some exposure to the idea. Our family is in a long-term project to reduce our carbon footprint and in a constant state of discovery of how we want to live to be more responsible, and chickens became a fun element in that mix. We also love fresh eggs!
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Coop Owners: Dan and Jan Gibson
Coop Name: Dan and Jan’s Coop
Well as soon as they said you can have chickens in the city limits, I jumped at the chance. And as soon as I made up my mind that we wanted chickens Rich & Charlie with 94.3 Fox FM had a contest, 9th caller wins four hen's and a bag of starter feed to last a year. Well I won! Now we enjoy fresh State St. eggs from our back yard! Growing up I've had ducks and geese as well.
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Coop Owners: Elizabeth Dell and Mark Waddle
Coop Name: The Chick Inn
When Mark and Elizabeth first heard that an ordinance to allow chickens in town was in the works, they began pondering adding eggs to their backyard fruit and vegetable supply. Neither had any previous experience with raising farm animals, but it seemed like a great way to continue teaching their son, Quinn, about where food comes from. Last April, Elizabeth signed Mark up for the Urban Chickens class at NMC Extended Ed. After the first class meeting, Mark was feeling very uncertain about raising chickens. The next class meeting, he visited some local coops and came home saying, “We can definitely do this!”
Last May they bought four six week old chickens, 2 Barred Rocks and 2 Silver Laced Wyandotte’s. The chicks spent their first two weeks in a dog kennel and pen until Mark finished building their new digs. The first egg arrived September 5th and they’ve been reliable layers (except for a short mid-winter break) ever since. Mark, Elizabeth and Quinn are glad to share what they’ve learned with you and hope to pick up some new chicken raising knowledge from other tour participants.
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Coop Owners: Slawnik Family
Coop Name: Le Coop-busier's Machine for Pooping
One day a few years ago our oldest son asked us why we didn't grow any of our own food. Our yard is too shady for a substantial garden sooo....chickens it is! We were considering a renegade flock when viola!, the city changed the rules.
Our very legal hens' first home was a hand-me-down coop from our neighbors the Payette family. Then my husband used odds and end materials and his creativity to turn a portion of a backyard shed into their permanent home. Our ladies still hold a bit of a rebellious spirit and go on uninvited walkabouts into our neighborhood so we'll need to stifle their freerange-ness a bit this summer with an enclosed run.
We were surprised at how easy and fun a flock could be. They are truly part of the family!
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Coop Owners: Heather and Rick Shumaker
Coop Name: Soup Palace
The Shumaker family started with three chicks in spring 2010. They loved the idea of fresh eggs and wanted to share the experience with their young children, Alex, 6, and Luke, 3. The family chose three different breeds - a Barred Rock, an Aracauna and a Buff Orpington-- and named them Baracka, Yeh Yeh (from a Claudia Schmidt song) and Soup. "Soup" helps everyone in the family remember that these are utilitarian pets. Next time they might name them Soup, Stew and Casserole since they do plan to eat the hens when their egg-laying days are done. In choosing breeds the Shumaker’s made sure to find ones that were winter hardy, good egg layers and gentle with children. Having three different breeds makes it easy to tell which chicken is which, and even which hen has layed an egg each day since the eggs are all different shapes and colors.
They got 2 eggs a day starting in September, and despite not giving the hens a light bulb, the hens continued to lay all winter. One hen didn't start laying until the following March, but now they often get 2-3 eggs a day. Rick, who is a timber-framer, built the coop and run which rolls around the backyard on wheels. In the winter, they parked the coop in one spot and used a homemade water heater to keep ice from forming in the water dish. Their youngest child loves the job of "coop poop scooper."
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Coop Owners: Ken Richmond and Family
Coop Name: Coope de Ville
It all started with a tool shed looking for a chicken and neighbors looking for eggs. Our girls—Buffy, Whitie, and Blackie—were once part of the Lautner “60” flock. They came to us as full-on layers, a year or two old. They made the tool shed theirs and laid eggs right away. The neighbors cheered.
The tool shed has become the Coope de Ville, Epsilon Gamma Gamma (Ε Γ Γ ) house for the sorority chicks. It has become the center of the universe for the neighborhood kids and all their table scraps. We can’t remember yard life before the chickens—B.C.
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2010 TC Coop Loop Owners
Coop Owners: Sarah Payette and Family
In the spring of 2009 the Payette family moved out to Benzie County for the summer to work on their rental house. Chickens were something that just seemed like a given while living out in the country. Their friend’s, the Halpins gave them 4 hens of different breeds along with a rooster. In the fall, 3 days after the ordinance passed, the hens came to town, while the rooster found another country home.
One Road Island Red, two Arucana’s and one Bantam have become “city chicks,” giving them about three eggs a day and plenty of fertilizer for their garden. They also provide endless fun for the three Payette children. And not a bad time for their family dog either.
Coop Owners: Angela Stricker and Family
Striving to eat better and know where her food comes from, Angela began her adventure as an urban chicken farmer with the help of her husband, Adam, and her two children, Gwendolyn and Dylan last September. She started her flock with four chicks; a pair of two-week-old Rhode Island Reds and a pair of month-old buffs. Coop construction started shortly after the chicks' arrival and was completed by the end of September.
The young flock survived the first winter in the elements without supplemental heat until January when three of the four girls revealed themselves to be roosters. The roosters, forbidden in town, had to go. Alone in the coop, the hen lived in the company of a single 100-Watt light bulb for warmth until it burned out and the weather warmed.
The hen, christened Molly Weasley, started laying eggs February 20th and has been a productive layer averaging six eggs per week ever since. Three new chicks arrived in March.
Bellatrix, a Dominique; Luna, an Easter-Egger and Hermione, a Golden-Laced Wyandotte have spent the last several weeks inside in the brooder but will join Molly in the coop soon.
Angela invites you to follow along on her adventure via her blog at, http://hippieingeeksclothing.wordpress.com.
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Coop Owners: Tony and Amy Seely
Raised in Northern Mississippi and relocated to Northern Michigan 10 years ago Tony and Amy both grew up with various experiences in your traditional small farms. After falling in love with the Traverse City area and settling in they became more aware of organic food practices, home gardening, sustainability, and simply good eats.
When first hearing about Urban Chickens the idea took hold and they were determined to be amongst Traverse City’s initial residents to join in on this adventure. After hearing that a fellow TC resident (Kimberly) had already taken the initiative to get Urban Chicken Farming approved the Seely’s knew it was time to act but were delayed in 2009 due to the approaching holiday season and prior commitments. Buggerall.
Finally in March of 2010 the first chickens arrived and the adventure began with an Easter Egger, an Australorp, and a pair of Silver Laced Wyandotte’s. Tony and Amy joined forces with other Traverse City Urban Chicken Farmers to organize Traverse City’s 1st ever Coop Loop, a tour of Urban Chicken Farms in the downtown area.
Tony and Amy invite you to follow along on their adventure via their blog at, http://tcbokbok.blogspot.com.
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Coop Owners: Kimberly Dante and Family
After I built a greenhouse onto my home and added garden space, I felt it was the most natural thing too do. Get chickens! I garden organically and chickens were a great way to control bugs. I eat eggs and I will have some happy girls that will love to provide food. I also fertilize with chicken manure I get at McGoughs, so I will supplement adding their extras to the compost pile.
Never would I have thought how much I enjoy them! They are my pets. The City of Traverse City embraced the ordinance change when I presented it to them last May and made it official September 2009. We do live in a cool city!
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Coop Owners: Mary Rockwood and Family
Last year my hairdresser and neighbor, Kimberly, got me hooked on the idea of having backyard chickens. I've been a CSA shareholder for several years and thought eggs from my own chickens would give me one more way to provide my family with fresh, better tasting, healthier food. I spent the winter researching chickens on the Internet and thinking about coop designs.
The coop and run were completed on May 10th; on May 12th a friend of a friend brought me four hens from her flock because she wanted to downsize. Charlotte, a Brahma, is big and calm and lays brown eggs. Faye, an Egyptian Fayoumi and Lulu, a Lakenvelder are much smaller, very active and lay white eggs. Binah, an Aruacana (probably an Easter Egger) is the most friendly and lays beautiful blue-green eggs. Summer's coming and we'll be eating tasty, fresh food and watching lots of “Chicken TV!”
Coop Owners: Ken Richmond and Family
It all started with a tool shed looking for a chicken and neighbors looking for eggs. Our girls—Buffy, Whitie, and Blackie—were once part of the Lautner “60” flock. They came to us as full-on layers, a year or two old. They made the tool shed theirs and laid eggs right away. The neighbors cheered. The tool shed has become the Coope de Ville, Epsilon Gamma Gamma (Ε Γ Γ ) house for the sorority chicks. It has become the center of the universe for the neighborhood kids and all their table scraps. We can’t remember yard life before the chickens—B.C.
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