I was driving down an urban street near Hamilton and Indiana on the north side of Spokane on Friday when I saw the chicken tractor pictured to the right in a front yard next to the sidewalk.

I knocked on the door to find out the story behind the attractive design of the coop and was greeted by Will Olson, who showed me around the coop. The pyramid designed chicken tractor is his wife Cathy's project. They have three spring hatched hens; a Buff Orpington, Aracauna and Leghorn. These kind of tractors are designed to plop down on a section of lawn for awhile and then move to a new section after they've fertilized, but before they destroy the grass. Notice the handles on each end for lifting. More pictures of the coop after the jump.

The roost and nest are located above the caged area. Seems like a perfect set up for three birds in an urban setting. They are using the front yard because the dogs have already claimed the backyard.

After checking out the coop Will invited me to the backyard where I was surprised to find that he keeps bees in the adorable apiary pictured below.

I've heard about urban apiaries but this is my first time seeing one in action. He explained that you have to be certified by the state beekeepers association and must have a permit to keep hives in a residential area.

Last summer his bees produced 400 gallons of honey (he may have said lbs) which he sold at a makeshift stand up the corner from his house on Hamilton. He has sweetened the deal for his neighbors in a number ways including doubling the production of his next door neighbor's raspberry plants. 

You can find out more about Will's beekeeping efforts at his web site, Moose Meadow Apiaries.

Send me pictures of your garden/chicken coop/apiary (the list keeps growing) so I can feature it in the View from Your Garden series of posts.

 

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