It’s not surprising that sustainable lifestyles are a lot easier to accomplish for those who live in rural and suburban areas. In cities and other urban areas, it can be much more difficult to find the space to remain sustainable – not to mention that ordinances are much more restrictive depending upon where you live. This being said, there are a lot of steps that can be taken to keep you and your family supplied in the event of an emergency. One of the least expensive and most practical can be to keep a few chickens at home.
Building a Coop
If you do decide to keep chickens at home, the obvious first thing you’re going to need is a coop for them to live in. This is particularly true if you’re in an urban environment with very little space. You’re going to have to keep your chickens safe and out of your neighbors’ hair, too. Fortunately, there are simple and inexpensive steps you can take to protect your chickens and keep them both happy and out of your neighbor’s yard, too.
Inexpensive, simple coops can be constructed with some carpentry nails, a few 2×4’s, some wooden dowels or other rods and some chicken wire. Depending upon your space, a couple sheets of siding or other plastic/vinyl sheeting can top off the structure.
You are going to want to build a simple frame from the 2×4’s, wrap it with well-secured chicken wire and then cover the structure with the plastic/vinyl sheeting to keep it secure and shaded. You can create a simple entrance in the front of the chicken wire, or simple build the frame so it swings open on one side.
Then, secure the wooden dowels or rods to the chicken wire with a couple pieces of wire on each side for roosting purposes. You can also construct a few inexpensive nesting boxes out of 2×4’s or even inexpensive plywood so your hens have somewhere to nest and lay.
Hens, not Roosters
Unless you want fertilized eggs, loud morning crowning and/or a gaggle of wee little chicks, you’re going to want to make sure you stock up with a handful of hens rather than roosters. If you buy you chicks from a standard feed store, you’re going to get roosters unless you specify. You know all those little Easter chicks? They too are a bunch of boys.
Roosters have notoriously poor egg production (just kidding, they’re males, they don’t lay eggs at all), so if you are keeping chickens for their laying capacity, you want hens. It’s also worth mentioning that roosters are louder and more aggressive than their female counterparts. If you want to keep your neighbors happy, it’s a good idea to stick with hens. If you do want some reproduction amongst your flock, one rooster is more than enough. They’re happier with a harem of lady chickens, and when you get more than one they tend to fight.
If you do want to keep chickens in an urban environment, it’s very important that you check into your local zoning laws. Even if they are perfectly legal, it’s important to keep their living space clean and well-maintained.
When you’re recovering from a disaster, or you’re looking to make your yard look more natural after you’ve started setting up your bug out area, you may be looking for a way to grow grass. Many people don’t know a lot about growing grass, but it’s an important skill for you to consider and to learn. Here are some of the basics that you should consider about growing grass.
do what you can to make sure that you’ve got the most control over what’s going on with them. Feed them plant food, care for them, keep animals out of the way and just watch it grow. It’s not incredibly difficult to do, but it does take time and effort on your part in order to be able to do it.
There are a lot of things that happen during economic collapses that are of concern to those of us who are preppers. One of the main things that we have to worry about is what happens to foreclosures when the banks start to collapse. How does this work, and why is this something that we have to concern ourselves with when we’re looking at prepping. Let’s take a look.
for somewhere to go. In an economic disaster, there are going to be a lot of places that will be totally abandoned for one reason or another, so you want to keep that in mind while this is going on as well. By having this information, you can take the legal action necessary to be able to survive and thrive in the future of the world that we will be living in.
One of the most important things you will need during a long-term emergency is water. A lot of people who prep regularly have bottles of water stored in their garage or basements. This can be effective, but there are other ways in which to store water on a long-term basis. Water is used for just about everything that you do so it is crucial that you have enough during a long-term crisis. 
Whether you are an experienced survival prepper or just getting started, chances are you want to ensure that you have an excellent foundation for your efforts. You know, that handful of supplies that is the most imperative your survival and well-being. Prepping is a continual effort, the longer you prep, the more you will accumulate. However, because an emergency situation can develop at any time, it’s imperative you start with the basics and have them on-hand all of the time.
EBS should be operational. 
There are many steps you can take to keep your family safe and sustained in an emergency situation, but prepping for your food and water needs top the list. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to prep and store enough non-perishable food for a long-term emergency. Not to mention that after a while, freeze-dried food and food from a can have a tendency to get tiresome. Gardening can be an excellent way to supplement and extend your food stores.