The Chickens of Sacramento Valley & A Giveaway!

One thing I find most gardeners love? Animals ... cats, dogs, goats, squirrels, ferrets, bunnies, birds. But, while we love our dogs and cats, it seems the chicken is the up and coming fancy pet of the urban gardener! Not the rooster, because most gardeners and their neighbors don't want to wake up at 4 a.m., , but the hen! (The one who lays eggs.)

The famous chickens of Fair Oaks Village grazing at the park

More and more cities are saying ok to this trend. Sacramento officially said yes in August, 2011 after 2 years of discussion. Folsom, Loomis and Fair Oaks have been chick-willing for some time! Sacramento County requires your property to be 10,000 square feet, or approximately 1/4 acre. Pity for me, I have only 6500! A farm girl at heart, I'd love chickens and a goat. Too bad for me...

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/07/11/5559237/capital-ranks-no-4-for-backyard.html#storylink=cpy

But I can pretend at events like the upcoming Urban Homesteading event at Talini's Nursery in Sacramento, this weekend (Saturday, from 10 - 4), and, who knows, maybe I'll find out I can have chickens! The makers of these adorable chicken coops will be there, along with refreshments and lots of info! 

Geno's Garden 5th Anniversary Giveaway

Today is the 5th anniversary of this blog, and in true blogger style, we'll be celebrating with a Giveaway! Actually, a series of giveaways ... as there will be giveaways for the next month, all of them inspired by my recent participation at the 6th annual Garden Bloggers Fling in San Francisco. 

Fling Attendees from U.S, Canada and England! Great Group!

The two items below were provided by two of my fellow bloggers, Bonnie Manion "Vintage Garden Girl" and Charlotte "Daffodil Planter" Germaine, who also does charming posts at Dirt du Jour and lives down the street from Peaceful Valley. 

The winner will receive the following:

Autographed copy of Gardening with Free-Range Chickens for Dummies, by Bonnie Jo Manion and Rob Ludlow, owner of the Backyard Chicken. I learned from this book that you can train your chickens with a clicker (!) so they know when to come to dinner. I would so love to do this!!! 

Your chickens can forage on their PVFS Omega-3 Blend

...AND, from: Peaceful Valley Farm and Garden Supply in Grass Valley 1 pound of PVFS Omega-3 Chicken Forage Blend. Charlotte tells me that this can be grown in a wire cage (you'll see the picture on the product page) so that the forage stays lovely like above, with the cage being removed when it's time to eat and then replaced so the chickens don't devour it to death!
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To enter this giveaway, leave a comment below. The winner will be drawn by a totally fair method in 5 days (August 18th). Make sure you leave or email me your email address if it's not part of your comment, so I can send you your prize when you win!!!

I close with this totally cute video from Peaceful Valley ...

Whether you need garden design, coaching, seasonal maintenance or planting, Geno's Garden can help! 

Call me at (916) 764-5243, or email hansonja@aol.com.