LA Times – Chickens, they keep their owners mesmerized and add one more element to green living in urban surroundings.

Chickens as pets: city living with a farm feel

By Deborah Netburn
LA Times – December 6, 2008

In Mount Washington, furniture designer and artist Dakota Witzenburg built a chicken coop for his wife, Audrey Diehl, for Christmas last year as part of their ongoing effort to live green. When designing his coop, his priorities were keeping it easy to clean and making sure his chickens were safe by sinking corrugated metal at least 6 inches below ground so that burrowing predators couldn’t get in. But he also considered aesthetics.

His innovations included a green roof planted with succulents, and he’s considering a pulley system to make raising the roof easier. He chose yellow cedar and redwood planks not just for their sturdiness, but for the patina. “I didn’t want it to be something I had to maintain,” he said. “This will gray out nicely.”

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