Shaun Yahyahkeekoot and Bryanne Gamble won a Most Artistic Coop competition by adding a homemade feeder, nesting boxes, and extra chicken 'play structures' to their run (Facebook/Willow Cree Health Services)

By Alison Sandstrom

A Tasty Milestone

Beardy’s and Okemasis Cree Nation prepares for first egg harvest

Sep 11, 2019 | 12:27 PM

Residents of Beardy’s and Okemasis Cree Nation will soon be able to taste the result of careful chicken rearing.

The birds, which some residents have been raising since May, are expected to reach maturity and lay their first eggs this fall.

Community nutritionist Alanna Remmen said the approximately 10 coops are part of a broader response to combat food insecurity.

“I think everyone deserves access to healthy affordable food,” she told paNOW. “We’re not too far away from the city but it’s still an issue for some people to have transportation to go all the way to Saskatoon to get cheaper groceries.”

Remmen reported the chickens had a relatively uneventful summer. Initial threats posed by predators were avoided with secure coop design, with only one chick eaten by dog.

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“I thought we would have more questions and problems to troubleshoot, but it’s been surprisingly seamless,” she said.

A young resident of Beardy’s and Okemasis Cree Nation feeds chickens. (Facebook/Willow Cree Health Services)

The chicken coops are an extension of a backyard gardening program that Beardy’s and Okemasis Cree Nation began last year. There are now around 30 such gardens in the community. Fruit bushes like raspberries and Saskatoon berries are being considered as an addition next year.

“I’m super excited about it. I really hope it just grows. I mean they’re fairly small-scale, but the bigger hope is that it sparks an interest and a fire in people to keep going down that path of growing their own food and teaching others and sharing that knowledge,” Remmen said.

Chickens eating (Facebook/Willow Cree Health Services)

As for the chickens, the community will host a butchering class later this year so residents can choose whether they want to keep their birds over the winter and continue to enjoy eggs or harvest the meat.

The program is funded by the Aboriginal Diabetes Initiative through Health Canada.

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alison.sandstrom@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @alisandstrom