26 May
Home to Roost is back at the Chicago Botanic Garden for the following classes! Registration is not yet open, but stay tuned.
October 14, 2023, Sat. 10 am – noon: Basic Backyard Chicken Keeping, Chicago Botanic Garden, 1000 Lake Cook Road
Glencoe, IL 60022
October 14, 2023, Sat. 1:30 – 3:30 pm: Coops, Chicago Botanic Garden, 1000 Lake Cook Road
Glencoe, IL 60022
November 11, 2023, Sat.10 am – noon: Snow Birds –Winter Care for Chickens,Chicago Botanic Garden, 1000 Lake Cook Road
Glencoe, IL 60022
24 May
We will be at the Oak Park Farmer’s Market – Go Green Days 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. We’ll be bringing a live chicken too!
The Oak Park Farmers’ Market is held rain or shine every Saturday through October in the Pilgrim Congregational Church parking lot at 460 Lake Street.
More information is at www.oak-park.us/farmersmarket.
17 May
Join me for my basic chicken-keeping class on Saturday, May 20 from 1:00 pm to 3:00 at the Indian Prairie Public Library, 401 Plainfield Rd., Darien, IL.
We’ll talk about choosing breeds, chick care, care of adult birds, legal considerations, and other important topics!
Register here: https://ippl.libcal.com/event/9898062
I look forward to seeing you there!
Jennifer
16 May
Have you thought about raising chickens in your backyard? Not every community allows that. Currently, it is against the law to raise chickens in Bolingbrook. However, the nearby communities of Downers Grove, Naperville, Lombard, Westmont, and St. Charles have updated their municipal codes to allow residents to raise chickens in their backyards.
Raising chickens can help your bottom line. If you have four egg-laying hens, they could produce as many as four eggs per day. Chickens eat grubs and other pests, and chicken manure is great as a fertilizer.
Lauren Matuszak has championed the raising of hens in Bolingbrook and will be featured at a town hall meeting on May 23, 2023, at 7:30 p.m. The meeting will be held at Bolingbrook Village Hall, 375 W. Briarcliff Road.
The goal of the meeting is a proposal to change the village ordinance to legalize chicken keeping in Bolingbrook. If you support this effort, please consider coming to the town hall meeting.
13 Apr
Don’t miss out! Sign up NOW to learn how to care for your chicks and adult hens. This class is for both beginners and those who’ve had chickens for a while. $15 for 2 hours chook-full of great info!
Sign up on Gathr by Friday, 4-14-23, at noon central time!
30 Mar
Here are a few tips for your new chicks!
28 Mar
I’m excited to be presenting this class on April 29, at 2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. with Prairie Food Co-Op, For more information, including how to purchase tickets to this event, click here.
This class is a slightly scaled down version of my popular 2-hr basic chicken-keep class. It’s designed for curious folks who are considering getting chickens, as well as for those who already have their own birds. Learn how to find local laws, choose and raise chicks, care for adult birds, and more.
16 Mar
Photo courtesy of Sandy Alguire
The urban agriculture movement includes everything from gardens to goats, with chickens in between. If you’re thinking about getting chickens, you’ll want to keep in mind of a few things in advance.
1) Chicks require special care. Baby chicks need appropriate warmth, shelter and diet if they are not with a hen who can protect them and show them the ropes.
2) You’ll get fewer eggs as your hens get older. A hen’s ability to lay peaks at the end of her second year. After age two, she’ll lay fewer eggs per week. Chickens can live to be as many as 10 years old, so consider this in your plans. Are these birds pets who will give you eggs steadily for a few years? Or are they egg-laying machines that will be turned into soup when their laying slows down?
3) Chickens are different from cats and dogs. Birds and mammals are different in the ways they approach the world. For example:
4) The pecking order is an important reality. Chickens naturally rank themselves in a hierarchy to determine who is the alpha hen. If you introduce new birds to an existing flock, you may not only introduce disease, but you may also disrupt the pecking order, which can result in death for the newcomer.
5) A quality, secure coop is important. Chickens are susceptible to predators such as raccoons, hawks and coyotes. Do your research to determine how best to protect them. You should have a safe, sturdy coop ready well before your chicks are ready to move into it. You should lock your birds in the coop at dusk and let them out first thing in the morning.
6) Chickens are a daily commitment. Again, chickens are different from dogs and cats; you cannot provide extra food and water for your birds and go out of town for several days. Plan to feed, water, and gather eggs both morning and evening and find a chicken sitter if you go on vacation.
7) Diet is important. There are several different formulations of feed, each for different stages in a chicken’s life: chick starter, chick grower, and laying formula. Chickens can eat kitchen scraps, but a properly formulated feed should be the primary source of nutrition. I recommend providing supplemental calcium for laying hens and it’s important to note that treats like scratch and meal worms can cause birds to become fat, leading to laying problems and other health issues.
8) You are the first line of defense for your birds’ health. Birds hide signs of illness so it will be very important to know what is normal for your chickens: weight; food/water intake; respiration; social, sleep, and grooming habits; etc.
9) Chicken owners are chicken ambassadors. If you get chickens, you join the ranks of a group of people who are trying something new. With that privilege comes responsibility: to represent yourself and your fellow chicken keepers well to your community. Therefore, it’s important to educate yourself about chickens by taking a class (Home to Roost Urban Chicken Consulting offers several per year, as well as in-home consultations), reading quality materials (see the Resources tab on the blog Home to Roost Urban Chicken Consulting blog), and visiting the coops of successful chicken keepers. You can also join online forums, such as the Chicago Chicken Enthusiasts Google Group.
9 Mar
I’m offering my popular Basic Backyard Chicken Keeping class ONLINE on April 15, 2023, 10 AM – 12 PM central time. Click here to register by noon April 14.
Join Chicago-based chicken consultant Jennifer Murtoff of Home to Roost LLC for this popular 2-hr class. For curious folks who are considering getting chickens, as well as for those who already have their own birds. Learn how to find local laws, choose and raise chicks, and care for adult birds.
NOTE: This class was developed for the Chicagoland area, which has cold winters and warm summers. Don’t forget, you must register by noon on April 14, 2023.
NOTE: The instructor is not a veterinarian. See all class offerings at here.
27 Feb
Join me and Maria the chicken for a chicken-keeping class on March 1, 2023, from 5:30 to 7:30 at the Fossil Ridge Public Library, 386 W Kennedy Rd, Braidwood, IL 60408.
We’ll talk about choosing breeds, chick care, care of adult birds, legal considerations, and other important topics!
Register here: https://fossilridge.evanced.info/signup/EventDetails?EventId=643&backTo=Calendar&startDate=2023/03/01
When building a coop for your hens, it is important to choose a design with the right dimensions, features, and materials. Get all this information on the Chicken Coop Spec Sheet, now available from Home to Roost! Purchase on PayPal using the button below.
NOTE: I will e-mail you the spec sheet after I receive your payment. Your e-mail address will automatically be included in the notification I receive from PayPal.
Home to Roost 