Are chickens calling to you? Do you have a secret desire to begin raising chickens in your backyard? Join the crowd! Mad City Chickens is a wacky and wonderful documentary about one Wisconsin city’s “chicken underground” to make their poultry passion legal. The film will be shown on Saturday, July 25 at 4:30 p.m. at the Ojai Theatre in Ojai as a fundraiser ($10 suggested donation) for the Food and Agriculture Committee of the Ojai Valley Green Coalition. Following the film, Garm Beall, founder of the website backyardchickens.com, and Karen Kaminsky, chicken owner and member of two local chicken clubs, will be available for questions and will adjourn to the patio of the Village Jester next door at 6:30 for those who want more chicken chat. For further information on the event or the Ojai Valley Green Coalition, visit ojaivalleygreencoalition.org or call (805) 653-8445.
Worldwide, home-based chickens are a common occurrence, and up until the expansion of suburban housing of the last 50 years they were also the norm in the United States. Now chickens are coming back to neighborhoods across the country, and citizens are even fighting City Hall where necessary to ensure that their poultry pals can move back in. This is a film you won’t want to miss, even if you don’t eat eggs or have a hankering for feathered friends. You will laugh out loud, and sci-fi and Twilight Zone fans will especially appreciate the storytelling style of the film. One thing’s for sure, if you’ve been on the fence about getting chickens, the film may inspire you to join the growing ranks of home farmers who are committed to including happy hens as a part of their life.
Comments (1)
Thank you for this educational opportunity open to the public. As a chicken advocate since a youngster, I admit that I worked very hard to be able to afford a place to be able to raise livestock and specifically chickens! I have a rooster because we appreciate his ability to defend the girls from predators when they are free ranging the property BUT we created a Cock Condo and trained the big guy to go inside at night so that his crowing is reduced and muffled if he does let loose in the middle of the night. The coop is fully insulated between double walls and has special air ducts. It takes just a few evenings to get the rooster used to going inside by himself and all we have to do is shut the double doors for a good night's sleep and very content neighbors. Sometimes our rooster selects one of his favorite ladies to join him for the evening in his bachelor pad, think he must be showing her his etchings or watching chicken porn....
Chickens rule!
Comment #1 Posted by Rooster Rights | July 24, 2009 12:34 PM