29 Jul
It seems all these chickens have been stirring the creative American spirit to entrepreneurship; innovative, creative types are working to find a niche in the new chicken craze!
New products such as chicken diapers, coop kits, and chicken treat balls are hitting a burgeoning market. The Wall Street Journal reports on the new chicken products coming out.
What do your backyard friends just “gotta have”? Try marketing it!
27 Jul
The Chicken Cooperative Tour
Center for Sustainable Community (in Stelle, IL) is hosting a coop tour on August 1. It includes a tour of their land, including the chicken co-op.
CSC is an intentional community (created about 30 years ago) by a group of Rogers Park residents. About 2+ hours south of Chicago, it is literally in the middle of “nowhere” — meaning corn and soybean fields — an oasis of communal living. Midwest Permaculture is based there, too.
Ten Stelle families established the Chicken Co-op four years ago on the CSC property by written agreement with CSC. The objective was to illustrate the production of chickens for meat and eggs at cost. During the first two years of operation, the co-op raised and harvested two 100-member Rock-Cross rooster flocks, which were fed certified-organic grain blends and grazed, using home-made chicken tractors. Currently, seven families manage a mixed-breed laying flock of 30 hens (Buff Orpingtons and Rhode Island Reds) and four roosters. Eggs are shared at cost among co-op families who sell regularly to families in Stelle at a slightly higher cost. The tour will highlight the co-op’s experiences, with attention to the features of the current flock and the coop, which is fitted with solar lights, rain water catchments, and AC power.
Topics on the Chicken Cooperative Tour:
Following an optional tour of Stelle at 10:30 AM, three CSC residents will do “show and tell” about three activities on the land:
The presentation will be from 1:00 until 4:30. Price for the workshop is $35, and you can sign up and see more details by going to the website. A nutritious lunch, featuring locally grown and organic foods, will be available at noon at an additional cost of $10.
Find more information at http://www.centerforsustainablecommunity.org/.
13 Jul
Evanston, IL, a suburb of Chicago, currently prohibits chickens. However, residents are getting their feathers ruffled over the ordinance. Other Chicago suburbs allow backyard fowl, including Oak Park, where Home to Roost is based. Read the Tribune‘s coverage of the Evanston story.
12 Jul
You have two hens. You want to get another hen. How many hens will you have total? How many eggs will you get? What will this do to the pecking order? Show your work. You may use a calculator if necessary.
Seriously, introducing a bird* to your flock can be a process. There are several things to consider:
1) Disease: Your birds and/or their environment may have a pathogen that could kill the new bird. For example, a bird may develop immunity to one of the nine strains of coccidia (common protozoans that are nearly ubiquitous with chicken flocks) and may not have time to develop immunity if introduced suddenly to a flock with a different strain.
2) Social interaction: Birds are flock animals and hierarchy and social structure are based on the pecking order. Who’s on top, who’s on the bottom, and who’s in between is very important. Sudden disruptions to that system may lead to serious injury or death for a bird.
3) Environmental change: Birds, because they are prey species, are by nature suspicious critters, very wary of new surroundings, sights, and sounds. Some birds will starve to death rather than make a diet conversion. Others will take a while to settle in to new surroundings and may appear shell-shocked and uncertain in a new place for a week.
What to do?
When introducing a new bird to my flock, I follow these steps:
1) Vet the bird. Any new avian resident gets a check up at the avian vet. We check for and treat diseases, communicable or not, and assess the general condition of the bird.
2) Quarantine the bird. Check with your avian vet to see what quarantine period he or she recommends. During the quarantine period, the new bird will probably show signs of any subclinical illness that might be present. If this happens, repeat Step 1! If not, move on to Step 3.
3) Introduce the bird slowly to the new flock.
A. I hear you… Place the new bird in a place where it can hear the other birds but not see them. This allows the new one to get used to the sounds of the flock, and it allows the flock to get used to another bird in the area.
B. I see you… After a few days, I move the new bird’s cage so all the birds can see each other. The new bird has time to observe interactions, see its new flock, and interact more closely with them.
C. So you’re my new neighbor! Allow the bird out of the cage to interact with the other members of the flock. I usually suggest supervision for this step, and that it be done in an open area, so that if anyone needs to beat a hasty exit, it can be done.
D. Moving in! If all goes well with Step C, try caging them together. Keep a close eye out for picking around the head and eyes. If there is any sign of this, remove the picked bird immediately. This bird may have to be caged separately and may not be integrated successfully into the flock.
*Hint: It is generally easier to introduce two new birds to a flock, rather than just one. Also, it can be difficult to introduce young birds to a flock of older birds, and bantams to a flock of standard-sized birds.
If there is no picking, then congratulations! You have successfully made an avian introduction! Now put down the calculator and give yourself an A for the day!
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.
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