Chickens

I've looked for local feed stores. Specifically for organic feed. I thought it would be helpful to have a list of stores around for when I need it and you might find it useful too. I'm not listing any chains, just the locally owned stores.

North Portland

Livingscape Nursery
Addr: 3926 N. Vancouver Avenue
Portland, OR 97227
Tel: 503.248.0104
Fax: 503.248.0105
Mon-Fri:10-6
Sat: 9-6
Sun: 10-5
Livingscape is dedicated to enabling people to live engaged lives - engaged with their friends and family, their community, their food, and the geographic spot they call home.

Pistils Nursery
3811 N. Mississippi Ave.
Portland, OR 97227
503-288-4889
7 days a week: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
From the beginning, our aim has been to create a garden shop unlike any other in the city. Once inside, you’ll find an eclectic mix, from the distinctly modern — terrariums, specimen house plants and work by local artists — to the down-home — chicken keeping supplies, soil amendments, garden tools and more.

SE Portland

Concentrates
2613 SE 8th Ave
Portland, OR 97202
Phone: 503-234-7501
Toll Free: 800-388-4870
Fax: 503-234-7502
We specialize in "feed concentrates", and we carry an eclectic range of products for all kinds of farmers, home-owners, and businesses.

Foster Feed & Garden
10307 SE Foster Rd
Portland, OR 97266
(503) 777-2967

Naomi's Organic Feed Store
2500 SE Tacoma St
Portland, OR 97202
PH: 503-517-8551
FAX: 503-546-9755
Tuesday - Saturday 10 - 6pm
and Sunday 12 - 4pm
Our family-owned shop supplies a wide range of organic products including: soil amendments and fertilizer, seeds, straw, hay, compost, potting soils, livestock feeds, supplements, chicken supplies, pet foods, a variety of salts, hand tools & lots of books! Lending library in the works : )

Wichita Feed & Hardware
6089 SE Johnson Creek Boulevard
Portland, OR 97206-0698
Phone: 503-775-6767‎

NW Portland

Linnton Feed and Seed
10920 NW St. Helens Rd.
Portland, OR 97231
Store Phone: (503) 286-1291
Store Fax: (503) 286-9592
Uhaul Phone: (503) 285-4991
8am-6pm Monday thru Friday
8am-5pm Saturday
9am-3pm Sunday

Gresham/Troutdale

Burns Feed Store
29215 S.E. Orient Dr
Gresham, OR 97080
Phone: 503-663-3246
Fax: 503-663-7836
Monday - Friday 8:00am - 6:00pm
Saturday 8:00am - 5:00pm
Sunday 10:00am - 4:00pm

Vancouver/Clark County

Orchards Feed Mill
6017 NE 109th Ave
Vancouver, WA 98662
Phone: 360-892-3001

Pioneer Feed
21605 NE 10th Ave
Ridgefield, WA 98642
360-887-4237

Thrifty Feed and Garden
4207 St. Johns Road
Vancouver, WA 98661
Phone: 360-695-7351
Toll Free: 877-872-1788
Monday-Friday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sunday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

South of Portland

Clackamas Feed & Pet Supply
15734 SE 130th
Clackamas, Oregon 97015
Phone: 503-655-9457
Mon - Fri 9-6
Sat 9-5
Sun CLOSED

I went out to give the chickens some food and warm water when I noticed that Saunders had ventured outside of the coop. It's a little chilly out there, so they are mostly staying in the coop. Saunders did not appear to want to get her feet cold and just sat there, looking at the funny white stuff on the ground.

They have been seeing snow off and on for several days, but this is the first time it has stayed around and the first time it has been more than a dusting. Last night when I bedded them down, two of the ladies were outside the coop, just standing there. They seemed to be asking me to help them get in. I picked them up and put them next to the others in the coop. With the four little chickeny space heaters in there, it stays fairly warm, so they are staying in today.

Part 3 of the chicken coop raw footage.

A while ago I posted some raw footage from building my coop. I never posted the rest of the footage. Here is part 2:

Part 3 will come tomorrow and the final part I need to go shoot still.

I've started making on my chicken coop, finally. I hate when I want to do something and it takes weeks longer to get started than I had planned. I did get started and if I can get it done today I'll be able to get some chicks this weekend and have eggs by spring. This is some raw footage showing a tour of the frame. I wanted to polish it up, but knowing how tight time is right now, I was not sure when that would get done, so I've just sent up the raw footage for you to look at.

I don't have much money to spend on the coop, so this is made nearly exclusively from pre-used materials. You will see that some of the boards have paint on them. I did have to buy four - eight foot two by fours and I might need something for the roof, but everything else is reused material.

As I may have mentioned, I want to have some chickens. I've not build a coop yet, so I can't get chickens. Well, I have done some research on coop design and have designed me a coop. I'm going to use scraps to build it as much as possible and then clean it up with a fresh coat of paint, so it does not look like a shanty.

I've attached a copy of my hand drawn plans. Please don't laugh at my dismal drawing skills... Alright, laugh away, it is pretty bad. It does give me an idea of what I need. I will be using these plans as a guideline, not as law. I have a bunch of various scraps I'll use for it. I have some old cabinet doors that will be used for doors into the coop. I have some old heating vents that will be used for air flow vents. I have some decking I'll use for the base and some scraps of 2x4 and 2x2 that will be used for the frame. I saw an old headboard that a neighbor has a free sign on. If I can, that will become a wall for the coop (if it is in good enough condition and good enough quality).

I also have a bunch of hardware that will be used in it. I have draw pulls, hindges, hooks, hardware fabric, etc. I think I'll be able to build it for nearly nothing. I'll probably have to go buy some more hardward fabric and something for the roof. I think I can manage everything else with what I've got here. If Elizabeth allows it, I'll start on it tonight. If she does not, then I'll start tomorrow. Pictures will be posted along the way.

I've been wanting to add chickens to my family for a while. I'd love to have fresh eggs every day and one of the best pest controls around. I want to see the slugs tremble with fear as those hungry ladies come marching through.

I've convinced Elizabeth to let me. She has, however, requested that I don't get the chicks until I have their permanent home built. As chicks, they will not be spending a whole lot of time in their new home until they get larger, but it is still a good idea.

I'm in the process now. I've cleaned up the area along where I'm going to build the fence and I've drawn some plans. I'm going to fence in the west side of our lot, which I call the orchard. It includes three apple trees, a large shed, another tree that has never fruited, but I'm told is some sort of fruit tree, and a whole bunch of arborvitae. There is other stuff there that is getting removed, such as blackberry that I used an chemical spray in order to kill (shame on me).

I hope that the fence will go up this weekend, so that the free range area will be ready. I'm then going to clear about 8 square feet in the shed and build the coop right into it. I think this will be the safest place for them as the shed already has a good floor and the raccoons will not easily get at them. In the front I'm going to put a run made out of 1/2 inch metal netting that will have a bottom I'll bury a few inches down. This way they will be able to come out and play before I get up in the morning. I'm usually up around the same time as the sun, but this way I don't have to be.

The front and top of the run will open. So I can open the front, let the ladies free range, open the top and clean it out. Then close it all up again when they are safely inside. Since the run is extra, I'm going to do it last. I can get the ladies without it, I would just need to be up early to let them loose, and I'd be worried about their safety, perhaps.

Why you ask? Why not? They lay eggs, which give me extra food. They eat bugs, which reduces the work I need to do. They poop like mad, which fertilizes my yard. Yes, it is work to scoop up the droppings and compost it. They will eat just about anything, so feeding them is easy. And, if you get the right breed and spend time with them, they can be wonderfully social pets.