Here’s the piece from WGN! A fun piece: Chickens in the City: Urban coops growing in popularity
Thanks to producer Pam Grimes and the WGN team for the coverage.
Interested in keeping chickens? Check out my upcoming events and classes.
Archive for the ‘Local food’ Category
4 May
Michigan Deals a Blow to Small-Scale Farmers
It’s hard to believe a basic right such as the ability to grow you own food and choose what you eat would be taken away by the government, but that’s apparently what has happened in Michigan.
Michigan residents lost their “right to farm” this week thanks to a new ruling by the Michigan Commission of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Read more at http://www.inquisitr.com/1235774/michigan-loses-right-to-farm-this-week-a-farewell-to-backyard-chickens-and-beekeepers/#i1AK46CdkMJT3hv4.99
Where are we headed next?
6 Jan
Speakers Sought for Chicago’s Good Food Festival
Are you an expert bee-keeper? A master preserver? A composting guru? We want to hear from you! FamilyFarmed.org in partnership with Advocates for Urban Agriculture, the Chicago Botanic Garden, Edible Alchemy, and Faith’s Farm, are seeking speakers for micro-workshops to be presented on the Good Food Commons at the 10th Annual Good Food Festival & Conference on Saturday, March 15, 2014We had over 70 sessions last year, and we’re open to hearing any and all of your ideas! You can learn more here: http://goodfoodfestivals.com/blog/chicago/present-a-session-at-the-good-food-commons/
Or go straight to our application form here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1lZ9X2AvRvwO1a4IrmmdgeMXRhwZWTn_I-L-nKxAW4cQ/viewformLily Baker708.763.9920Save the Date!10th Annual Good Food Festival & ConferenceMarch 13th-15th, 2014UIC Forum, Chicago, IL—
For more urban agriculture news, information and opportunities, visit AUA at http://auachicago.org/Applications are due Wednesday January 15th, so now’s the time to apply!
29 Sep
Egg Farmers Find Value in Traditional Practices
“Rather than treat them as a commodity, we allow our ladies to express their natural chicken instincts,” said Amundsen. “It’s all the things that confinement doesn’t allow them to do.”
Egg farmer Jason Amundsen is trying something new. Well, not truly new, since many of the practices on his chicken farm have been around for… centuries. His farm in Wrenshall, MN, is very low tech, but high on production of quality eggs.
“We have heard nothing but rave reviews from customers, many of whom are willing to pay more for a higher-quality egg and from a place they trust,” said Jane Jefferson, the co-op’s dairy buyer. “I often tell people Locally Laid eggs are the best ones we carry.”
28 Sep
The Golden Beet Award: Honoring Contributions to Local Food
Do you know someone who does an outstanding job promoting local agriculture? A fabulous restaurant that features in-season, locally sourced produce? A community-based organization that contributes to local food?
Nominate them for the Golden Beet award! Intended to recognize local people, organizations, businesses that cultivate local food, the Golden Beet is given by the Illinois Stewardship Alliance to recipients who exemplify innovation and achievement in the realm of local food!
Read more about this year’s Golden Beet awards here, and learn more, including how to nominate your favorite local food business, organization, or person, on the ISA’s website.
26 Sep
Home to Roost Owner Joins the Board of the Illinois Stewardship Alliance
I recently attended my first board meeting for the Illinois Stewardship Alliance (ISA). The Alliance seeks to promote local food and connect local farmers with restaurants and institutions that can use their products. The ISA also serves as a lobbying group in Springfield.
It was great to be part of a group of like-minded individuals, trying to make a difference for small-scale farms.
Mission: Illinois Stewardship Alliance promotes environmentally sustainable, economically viable, socially just, local food systems through policy development, advocacy, and education.
Vision: We envision a system where soils are treated as a precious resource, local food producers earn a fair, living wage, local food education is integrated into all levels of education, infrastructure is rebuilt to accommodate local food systems and good food is available for all.
Illinois Stewardship Alliance (ISA) is a membership-based organization. If you are local food producer, concerned citizen or food-systems related organization, we invite you to join us! Alliance members span the state and have one thing in common: they all care about the food that is produced and consumed in Illinois and want to support the increase of fresh, local foods. Click here to find out how you can become part of the Alliance.
Donor Policy: Illinois Stewardship Alliance receives grant funding and donations from entities that have a mission that aligns with our basic tenets (see above)
26 Sep
Urban Ag Featured on now.chicago
Earlier this month, Home to Roost participated in an urban ag segment on George Blaise’s now.chicago show on WCIU. Watch the footage here. Also featured were Emmanuel Pratt of Sweet Water Foundation and Greg Fischer of Wildblossom Winery and Meadery. Pratt focuses on education urban dwellers about agriculture, especially his tilapia programs. Fischer’s locally produced mead (honey wine) provides pollinators and an eco-friendly, local beverage selection.
Thanks to WCIU for the coverage!
23 Aug
Why Keep Chickens?
In the following post, Bruce Caughran of Oak Park responds to reporter Meredith Morris’ question “Why do a crazy thing like keep chickens in Oak Park?”
Education led us to the idea of raising chickens. We grow some small fruit now in our yard and we have had a vegetable patch in the past. We belong to a CSA farm share and we visit the Farmers Market. Those things help our children understand the local seasons and the origin of the food they eat. Chickens add animals to that concept. We are vegetarian, so we are interested in the eggs and not the meat. I think it is nice that our children realize that eggs come from our coop and not from a carton.
The eggs themselves are wonderful. They have a different composition from mass produced eggs. In the summer, when the birds are eating lots of grass, the yolks are almost orange. In the winter, when the food is mostly grain, the yolks are more pale. The eggs “sit up” in the frying pan more when they are cracked. I do not do a lot of baking, but folks who do think that the eggs are special. I believe that they taste better but that might just be my appreciation for the hens and for the work that my family put in.
We were pleasantly surprised that the chickens make nice companions. The first hens we had were raised from chicks (after Jen picked them out for us). They were quite tame and would perch on my daughter’s shoulders. The current hens are “rescue hens” from a flock that was being culled. They are less domesticated and their behavior helps you understand the terms like “bird brained” and “act like a chicken”. Still each hen has a personality, and it is fun to watch them interact with each other and with the children. As pets, they require frequent but very brief interaction each day: (1) let them “down” from the roost & give them food and water in the morning; (2) let them out in the yard in the afternoon; (3) feed them in the evening to get them back into the run; (4) raise the ramp at sunset to keep them safe overnight.
You can ask Jen about winter (they do fine). You can ask about predators, we had a possum get in and one bird got eaten (probably a hawk or owl). Jen is a great resource and I do not know that we would have attempted this without her. The middle school at Alcuin Montessori made the coop for me and Jen helped with the set-up, provisioning, and education. She even gave a talk to the class when they delivered the coop to me.
Caughan’s Chicken Ark in Oak Park
Thanks, Bruce, for your thoughts and experiences!
19 Aug
Accepting Applications for Windy City Coop Tour Hosts
Do you
- Love keeping chickens?
- Think you have a great coop?
- Have good chicken-keeping practices?
- Enjoy talking to people about your birds?
Consider applying to be a stop on the annual Windy City Coop Tour, Sept. 21 and 22.
APPLY BY FRIDAY, 8/23!
The Application is HERE and also as a Google form for direct entry. If you use the form, send photos by email to windycitycooptour@gmail.com.
Home to Roost 