Apparently the Brits are serious about their chicken rescue operations. Women in England are knitting little sweaters for feathered working girls rescued from battery cage operations. Check out the coverage here: Chicken sweaters.
Archive for 2011
3 May
May 4: International Respect for Chickens Day
Ah, the lowly chicken! They outnumber people on this terrestrial orb. They provide eggs, meat, amusement, and poop. They are culture’s unsung heroes. It’s about time they had their day.
The following is a press release from May 4, 2005, from the United Poultry Concerns website:
United Poultry Concerns is launching International Respect for Chickens Day on May 4th. We’re urging everyone to do an ACTION of compassion for chickens on that day. This can range from writing a letter to the editor to tabling at a local mall to showing the movie Chicken Run to students, family and friends.
“International Respect for Chickens Day is a day to celebrate the dignity, beauty, and life of chickens and to protest against the bleakness of their lives in farming operations,” says UPC president Karen Davis. “Chickens are lively birds who have been torn from the leafy world in which they evolved. We want chickens to be restored to their green world and not be eaten.”
The idea for International Respect for Chickens Day traces to famed Le Show host and star of The Simpsons, Harry Shearer, who proclaimed Sunday, May 14, 2000 – Mother’s Day – National Respect the Chicken Day because hens are justly praised as exemplars of devoted motherhood.
In March 2005, Walt Disney Studios contacted United Poultry Concerns about Disney’s upcoming movie Chicken Little, starring a chicken as a hero, just as in real life chickens are heroic protectors of their families and flocks.
In Letters from an American Farmer, a study of American colonial society published in 1782, St. John de Crevecoeur wrote about chickens, “I never see an egg brought to my table but I feel penetrated with the wonderful change it would have undergone but for my gluttony; it might have been a gentle, useful hen leading her chickens with a care and vigilance which speaks shame to many women. A cock perhaps, arrayed with the most majestic plumes, tender to his mate, bold, courageous, endowed with an astonishing instinct, with thoughts, with memory, and every distinguishing characteristic of the reason of man.”
Bird specialists agree that chickens are highly intelligent individuals with social skills that Professor John Webster calls “pretty close to culture – and an advanced one at that. Chickens are sentient creatures and have feelings of their own,” he says. International Respect for Chickens Day urges people to honor chickens by performing a compassionate action for chickens on May 4th. (http://www.upc-online.org/nr/42705irfcd.htm)
20 Apr
4/20/2011 – New chicks at Belmont Feed and Seed
New Chicks at Belmont Feed and Seed
New chicks & ducklings coming in today. We are receiving: Araucanas,
Buff Orpingtons, Barred Rocks, Isa Browns (Red Stars), Rhode Island
Reds,Silver Laced Wyandottes Light Brahmas & Silkie Bantams along with
some Pekin ducklings.
3036 W Belmont Ave
(between Albany Ave & Whipple St)
Chicago, IL 60618
(773) 588-1144
14 Apr
All You Ever Wanted to Know About Chicken Poop!
Here is a great site post for those of you who faithfully watch chicken poop for signs of disease!
It features pix of poops ranging from normal to parasite laden! Yeah, it’s kind of gross, but poop is really important for knowing what is going on inside of a bird!
Enjoy
5 Apr
May 21, 2011: Home to Roost at Earth Fest in Oak Park
Earth Fest 2011, a gathering of eco-friendly vendors, grou
ps, children’s activities and live entertainment, is seeking vendors for the event set for 10 a.m. – 3 p.m., Sat., May 21 at the Oak Park Public Works Center, 201 South Blvd.
This year’s event will feature vendor booths and a variety of kid-friendly activities available outside at the Public Works Center. Some of the items available from the vendors will include clothing, personal care items, books gardening items, services for health and sustainable living, and more.
The event also will coincide with a celebration of Public Works Day, which will feature an open house to give the public an inside look at the LEED-certified Public Works Center with an up-close look at the building and equipment, snacks and much more.
For more information on Earth Fest or to reserve your booth for the event, call 708.660.1443 or e-mail maria@ghexperts.com.
5 Apr
May 1, 2011: Home to Roost at Cheney Mansion’s Green Sunday in Oak Park
Home to Roost will be at the Cheney Mansion’s Green Sunday event again this year! Come out for family fun!
More information to come!
- Margot sketched her proposed coop design, and we discussed several ideas for making chickens feel at home.
5 Apr
UIC’s Family Farmed Expo
UIC’s Family Farmed Expo was nicely done and well attended! There was a great selection of topics and vendors, and the chicken panel had a great turnout!
The panel included Martha Boyd, Program Director of Angelic Organics Learning Center; John Emrich, owner of Backyard Chicken Run; and Jen Murtoff, owner of Home to Roost Urban Chicken Consulting. Sarah Elizabeth Ippel, founder and director of the Academy for Global Citizenship, did a fabulous job as moderator!
We discussed our chicken-related interests and businesses, then did a brief presentation on the backyard chicken movement in Chicago.
Then we turned to the audience for a great round of Q&A! A fun time was had by all!
5 Apr
Healthy Hens Visit
One of the services I provide to urban chicken keepers is a Healthy Hens visit.
This generally involves checking the chickens for any signs of disease, addressing any questions the owner has about the flock, and checking out the coop.
Recently I visited an urban chicken owner in Chicago who owned a lovely flock that included a game bantam, a buff Orpington, a silver laced Wyandotte, a speckled Leghorn, and a barred rock.
The little bantam was showing signs of being picked on, and her owner wanted my opinion on the situation, as well as the health of her birds and the layout of the coop.
Tammy, the game bantam turned out to be an older bird, and the others were indeed picking on her. The others were all healthy and happy! My recommendation was to separate Tammy from the others, and I provided other suggestions about the coop, perches, food, and water. I also showed the owner how to assess the health of her birds.
Here are some pix from this healthy hens visit!
5 Apr
Home to Roost at Old St. Mary’s School
It’s quite an entertaining event when you introduce kids to chickens! It’s even more entertaining when the kids are well versed in incubation and hatching!
My chicken friends and I visited Old St. Mary’s School on South Michigan Avenue on March 15. The kids were great! They were well prepared, had good questions, and were well behaved. They asked some really interesting questions and then got a chance to touch a hen!
Check out the slides from my time there!
Home to Roost 