Sustainable Chickens

    As a group, we have faced many challenges, predicaments, and changes in our plan for our Sustainability Project. Through the many stages of our project, we have come together as a group and found a project and goal that is both feasible, productive, and sustainable: A new chicken coop that will provide a space that could house enough chickens to sustain the needs of The Woolman Semester. This includes the initial blueprint of the chicken coop design and a list of materials needed and their prices.
    One problem we faced was the short lifespan of these creatures, and how a meat-free school could dispose of chickens who no longer lay eggs.
    We searched for chickens that are hardy, well-tempered, and used mainly for egg-laying purposes. Our top choice was the Rhode Island Red Chicken. This breed stands out particularly because of its egg-laying abilities. It is also extremely hardy in all seasons, but especially winter.
    The basic design for our chicken coop is a small wooden building and an area for the chickens to move about and forage. The outside area is surrounded by chicken wire to protect the chickens from predators. The chicken coop will be locked with a hook at nighttime to keep the chickens safe when there are no humans watching them.
    There are two kinds of chicken coop floors we considered: a solid metal floor with metal sides and a floor made of chicken wire with hay regularly put in. Both keep out digging predators such as foxes. A solid metal floor offers more protection and durability than a simple wire floor. However, the wire floor offers more opportunity for the chickens to scavenge and is simpler to acquire and install.
    There will also be a chicken wire fence around the area in which the chickens roam during the day to deter predators.
    Unfortunately, chickens have many predators living in the Nevada County area.  The most common are foxes, raccoons, mountain lions, hawks, and chupacabras.  Foxes have been a big obstacle for Woolman chicken owners in the past. Foxes can dig like dogs and climb like cats, so keeping them away from a chicken coop is extremely difficult. 
    Though we have faced many obstacles, we have completed our design for a chicken coop. We hope that future Woolman students will continue our work and help to build a more sustainable community here at Woolman.