8 Sep
Raising Backyard Chickens
Sat., October 20, 10:30 – noon
$27 nonmember; members receive 20% discount
Back by popular demand, this class is designed for curious people who are considering raising backyard chickens, as well as for those who already have their own birds and who want to learn more! Come learn how to raise chicks, care for adult birds, and keep your neighbors happy!
Register online now at The Chicago Botanic Garden’s web site.
31 Aug
In response to the recent article in the Chicago Tribune’s Health section on the dangers of raising chickens, here is a blog post that I wrote earlier this year.
An article on Yahoo News documented over 300 cases of Salmonella illness, linked to one hatchery, between 2004 and 2012. Alarming? I’d say not – that is just under 40 cases per year. However, the CDC advises that children under 5 not be allowed to touch chickens at all. There is also a risk of salmonella with reptiles.
As one member of a discussion group I’m part of pointed out, kids have a greater chance of being injured by an automobile. While the symptoms of Salmonella include bloody diarrhea, fever, and stomach pain, the illness is rarely fatal.
As with other pets, practice good hygiene by washing hands thoroughly with hot, soapy water after touching animals and especially after coming into contact with poop.
19 Jun
As the temperatures and humidity soar, you’ll want to help your hens keep cool. A few tips for helping your hens beat the heat!
As the temperatures hit the mid-80s, your birds will probably start panting. If temperatures hit above 100, your birds may suffer heatstroke. Here are some tips, excerpted from my class on chickens and heat, to prevent that.
1) Provide fresh, clean water – and lots of it.
2) Freeze 2-liter bottles and put them in the coop to cool it down.
3) Remove excess bedding, which traps heat.
4) Feed a crumble feed, rather than a whole-grain food. Grains generate heat as they are metabolized.
5) Provide shade.
If you notice that the birds are listless and lethargic (signs of heat stress), consider bringing them into a cool basement or to an airconditioned mudroom (in a dog crate or portable cage).
As always, keep an eye on your birds and know what’s normal for them. This will help you catch problems before they become life threatening.
1 Jun
Home to Roost has partnered with Dabble to offer a chicken-keeping class in Lincoln Park at Topics on Thursday, June 21, from 6-8 PM. You can sign up on the Dabble site. 
You say you’ve always thought about raising your own coop of chickens. But the laws concerning such things are too complicated and you don’t know where to begin, so you’ve never really given it a try.
We say, bock bock. What are you … chicken?
Keeping a city coop of chickens is legal in Chicago, and lots of do-it-yourselfers are already adding feathered friends to the backyard. This Dabble class is designed for folks who are considering getting chickens, or who just want to know why this urban trend is growing … as well as for those who already have their own birds and who want to learn more. It’s also a good way to introduce city officials to best practices of urban chicken farming. Come learn how to raise chicks, care for adult birds, and keep your neighbors happy!
Prepare to leave armed with information about raising a happy, healthy bunch of chicks and be well on your way to reaping the reward of freshly laid eggs!
1 Jun
An article on Yahoo News yesterday documented over 300 cases of Salmonella illness, linked to one hatchery, between 2004 and 2012. Alarming? I’d say not – that is just under 40 cases per year. However, the CDC advises that children under 5 not be allowed to touch chickens at all.
As one member of a discussion group I’m part of pointed out, kids have a greater chance of being injured by an automobile. Symptoms of Salmonella include bloody diarrhea, fever, and stomach pain, and the illness is rarely fatal. As with other pets, practice good hygiene, washing hands thoroughly with hot, soapy water after touching animals and especially after coming into contact with poop.
1 May
I got a call yesterday from a reporter who wanted my opinion on “chicken retirement” – sending older hens who’ve stopped being productive to a local farm. Apparently there are farms in Portland that take in aged birds, allowing owners to get new egg producers without killing the nonproductive ones. (See this blog post for a first-hand account.)
How sustainable is this model of “chicken rescue?” What are the costs to the farmer who puts time and resources in keeping a flock of nonproductive hens? Does the fertilizer gained offset the feed consumed and lack of eggs?
Before you get chickens, consider the lifespan of the bird (6-8 years). Then consider that the most productive years are the first 2-3 years of life. Are the birds pets? Are they stew birds?
We are promoting urban agricultural practices in keeping backyard birds, but are we sidestepping the reality that animals are domesticated and brought to live with humans because they are a food source? In short, are we exchanging one unsustainable practice (large-scale egg farming) for another (the potential of filling rural farms with former urban pets)?
Have comments? I’d love to hear them.
18 Apr
For those teachers out there who are weighing the pros and cons of an embryology unit, here is a thoughtful post on incubation.
Also check out my post about how I got started with chickens. An embryology project kicked off my love of chickens, and we did the “window on a chick” thing – cutting an opening in the eggshell to see it develop. This chick died, which made me very sad. If you choose to go the hatching route, you can see the blood vessel networking forming, the heart beating, and the chick developing with effective candling! No need for egg windows!
28 Feb
For those of you getting chicks this spring, the chick stand could be a handy solution to the messy problem of chicks dragging poop and bedding into their food and water.
As suggested by Deborah Niemann, author of Homegrown and Handmade, as the birds get larger, people often hang the feeder/waterer or put it on blocks, but the same simple idea could be applied to prevent the birds from soiling their food and water.
28 Feb
There was a discussion on a board I’m on concerning hens whose butts are bare. While my post on molting or pecking problems may address lack of feathers in part, bare butts may also be due to laying activity, especially in birds that lay well. This article has some good information and pictures: http://www.hencam.com/henblog/2010/10/bare-butts/
Good layers can end up with feather loss due to putting protein into the eggs rather than into keratin-rich feathers. If protein deficiency is severe enough, they may eat feathers. Always feed a balanced layer ration (16-18% protein). You can supplement protein with dry cat chow (a handful per day) or with high-protein chick starter (NOT a good idea for pullets, as this can cause them to go into lay too soon).
Another possibility is external parasites, such as northern fowl mites or poultry lice. You can manage these issues by adding wood ash or sulfur to dust baths or by dusting the birds and spraying their coop with external parasite pesticides, such as pyrethrin or permethrin. There may be a withdrawal period before you can harvest and eat the eggs. Follow instructions on any parasite products to obtain optimal results and keep you and your birds safe.
Concerning feather loss, it is important to ask, what is the underlying cause? Feather loss pattern can help you determine what is going on: aggression, parasite, nutritional deficiency, reproductive behavior, something else altogether!
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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