Saturday, February 5, 2011

What has CLUCK been up to since that unanimous vote on January 18th??

Has Sarasota CLUCK been kicking back and relaxing since the initial unanimous vote in favor of backyard chickens on January 18th? No way! Here are a dozen noteworthy accomplishments that have been logged since then:

• We've unveiled an online self-scoring quiz to help people decide if they are ready to raise chickens.

• We've appeared on two TV new shows and two radio shows (WWPR and WSLR).

• We've been contacted for assistance by citizens in a city in Pinellas County, a rural county out east, and a city in Northeastern Florida.

• We've logged our ten thousandth pageview (and two thousand additional since Jan. 18th ) as well as adding 30 more Facebook Group (Sarasota C.L.U.C.K.) members (up to 585).

• We've ordered an initial shipment of an intriguing product, Kemira Klasp, for small scale trials. This iron-based product binds nitrogen and keeps it from escaping in the form of gaseous ammonia. The idea is this product may prove useful in emergency situations -- such as wet chicken litter after a drenching tropical depression.

• We're in preliminary dicussions for CLUCK to play a role in the Sarasota County Fair poultry exhibit, March 18th- 27th.



• We've produced an annotated guide the the ordinance (which we made available within hours of final passage).

• We've drafted a guest column  that ran the day after adoption. The purpose of the column is to get people started on the right foot when it comes to considering backyard hens.

• We've collaborated with city staff on how to provide information about the new rules to interested citizens.

• We've supported the UF IFAS/Sarasota County Extension Office's effort to offer another "Chickens 101" class (now scheduled for April 2nd). We've also heard about a privately offered introduction to chickens workshop February 25th.

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