Peacenik has been promoting self sufficiency for a while. Urban gardens. Foraging. Solar heat. Getting off the grid. Burying money in your back yard. All kinds of stuff to help you in the dark days ahead. But Peacenik is also a little alarmed by the cavalier attitude of a lot of backyard chicken farmers. Seems everyone wants to get in on the act. Peacenik merely wants to point out once again that bird flu, H1N5, got started in countries where humans and poultry live in close proximity. You might think having some chickens in your backyard is cool, but Peacenik says check out the cost of a bio-hazard suit first.
As Americans struggle through a dismal recession, many are trying to safeguard themselves from what they fear will be even worse times ahead. They eat out less often. They take vacations closer to home. They put off buying new cars.
And some raise chickens. Lloyd Romriell, a married father of four in Annis, Idaho, recently received seven grown chickens and a coop from a relative. The hens lay a total of about two dozen eggs a week.
“It’s because times are tough. You never know what’s going to happen,” Mr. Romriell said. Although he manages a feed store, he had not kept chickens since he was a child. “If you lose your job tomorrow, you’ve still got food.”
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