From the Publisher's Desk: Hatching expansion for our home

The Coop da Villa at The Eugene Backyard Farmer. The Daily Triplicate/Michele Thomas

Eugene is nicknamed the Emerald City for its lush landscape in the Willamette Valley, but the name seems even more appropriate because of the way this progressive university town embraces and promotes a green lifestyle.

The Eugene Backyard Farmer specializes in all things necessary to raise your own (small or large) flock of chickens in any urban setting. It also incorporates a variety of useful garden supplies (like extra-sturdy colorful tomato cages made in the USA) and a Sunday farmers market.

Rick and I have bantered back and forth for years about having a few chickens to produce our own eggs. The idea seems ridiculous on many levels. For one thing, we enjoy supporting ventures like the Alexandre kids and their eggs from free range chickens.  Whether we buy at the dairy, at the Saturday market or from a local store, we benefit from the direct link between the producer and the consumer. The eggs are so much fresher, we know their origin and we’re helping our local agriculture community. And that’s all good and so much easier than caring for chickens year-long in all kinds of weather.

I should know. I grew up on an egg ranch. Our 10,000 white leghorns kept my parents and me working hard. From the time I was 3 until I left for college my daily schedule revolved around egg production chores — gathering, cleaning, candling, grading, packing and distributing. Not to mention fertilizer removal.

"Everybody loves chickens," says The Eugene Backyard Farmer's founder Bill Bezuk outside his store in Eugene, Ore. He opened the business about a year ago. The Daily Triplicate/Michele Thomas

As we pulled into the parking lot the first thing I saw was “Coop da Villa” and I was hooked.

Inside owner Bill Bezuk explained why he started his business about a year ago. He was managing the local Barnes and Noble and noticed how many books about urban homesteading, raising chickens and building chicken coops were being purchased.

He combined his passion for sustainability with his business savvy, knowing that if he didn’t open a store like The Eugene Backyard Farmer, eventually someone else would. “Everybody loves chickens,” he said, and so he decided to put all his eggs in that basket. The store also features an extensive book selection. Rick picked up “The Backyard Homestead” and hasn’t been able to put it down.  Now he says we need a hive of honey bees.

We know we can purchase all the fresh eggs we need locally but there is something to be said for taking responsibility for one’s own food production. That is why we will most likely be introducing 3 or 4 laying hens into our garden this year.

You don’t have to drive to Oregon to get what you’ll need to start raising chickens. There are various plans for coops available on the Internet and Del Norte County certainly offers building supplies, baby chicks, feed and accessories.

But if you want inspiration, if you need a nudge to understand why it’s important to be self-reliant and you’d like to familiarize yourself with the tools of the trade then visit The Eugene Backyard Farmer’s web site or stop by the store.  It’s worth the effort.

  Reach Michele Thomas, The Daily Triplicate’s publisher, at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , 464-2141, or stop by 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays.