Home to Roost Helping city folks raise chickens!

Happy 2017, the year of the rooster! This will be Home to Roost’s eighth year in operation (ninth, if you count 2008, when I first put my business cards together and had my first client).

I enjoy every minute of caring for the chickens of Chicagoland, as well as developing chicken-keeping programs and providing educational opportunities for kids, adults, and seniors. Thank you for your trust in me and your willingness to welcome me into your homes (and coops).

My business manager and office staff are long overdue for a raise, however, and they’ve been threatening to walk out. In order to appease them*, Home to Roost’s hourly consulting rates will increase in 2017. (*This is, of course, tongue in cheek; there’s nobody here but us chickens… I mean, me.)

• Non-emergency house call: $68/hour (1-hr minimum, billed in 1/4 hr increments thereafter). Mileage fee may apply.
• Emergency house call: $80  (1-hr minimum, billed in 1/4 hr increments thereafter). Mileage fee may apply.
• Phone consultation: $25 for 20 minutes
• Classes/presentations/misc.: Call for pricing.

If you find that these rates will be a financial hardship, please let me know. We can try to find a mutually agreeable solution.

Thanks for making Home to Roost a successful microbusiness over the last 8 years. Enjoy some pictures from the last eight years below!

Interested in celebration the Chinese New Year in style? 2017 is the Year of the Rooster! Home to Roost brings chickens (roosters included!) to events. We’ll be at the Garfield Park Conservatory on Jan. 21 and at the Magic Tree Bookstore in Oak Park on Jan. 28 — with roosters!

Congratulations to the Village of Riverside, IL. Last night, the village board authorized a draft ordiance for hen keeping. A pilot program will likely follow.

A feral rooster in Pittsburgh becomes the target of a chicken expert from St. Louis. Read the story here.

Have you been considering scheduling an Assessment Consultation to see if chickens would be right for you? Maybe you’re interested in a Healthy Hens Visit to learn hands-on ways to assess your birds’ health. Perhaps you want a Winterizing Consultation to discuss how to help your hens get through the winter in tip-top shape. Or would you like a personalized chicken keeping class or need to get a jump on coop design for the spring?

If you’d like a consult with Home to Roost, we’re offering an October special, 10/1-10/26: $10 off the total bill for any of our services ($30 minimum, mileage fee may apply).

Check out what we offer and contact us today. If you need something you don’t see, please ask. We’ve done everything from photo and movie shoots to coop design and nail trims. 

Bring the kids and come see the chickens, bees, and goats. Learn about composting and other green activities during this family-friendly celebration of the end of summer.

For more information, check out the conservatory’s post. 

Contact Kathryn Humphreys, kathrynhumphreys4@gmail.com

The CDC recently has linked 611 cases of Salmonellosis with backyard poultry.  While these cases are not cause for widespread alarm or banning of chickens altogether, they serve as a reminder to practice good hygiene around the birds. Their waste may harbor Salmonella and E. coli, so handwashing is important when you come in from the coop. Exercise common sense in handling your birds, as you would with other animals.

Washing your hands is one of the top ways experts suggest to protect yourself.

After you handle live poultry, feed live poultry, or touch its backyard coop or living space,wash your hands vigorously for 20 seconds or more with soap and water, then dry them with a clean towel. Have an alcohol-based hand sanitizer handy in case you can’t get to a sink right away, says Elizabeth Scott, PhD, co-director of the Center for Hygiene and Health at Simmons College in Boston.

“If possible, wash your hands outdoors, not at the kitchen sink,” Scott says. “You do not want to be rinsing salmonella off your hands and into the kitchen sink, and you don’t want to use the kitchen sponge or dishrag either. The salmonella can proliferate in both.”

You should also clean any feeding dishes or other equipment outside. Do not bring them indoors. (from WebMD)

These are fairly simple measures that you can take to ensure health and enjoy your chickens.

The Village of Riverside is considering bees and chickens this Thursday.  A showing of support could help.

Come to the meeting on Thursday, July 21, 2016, at 7:00 p.m. in Room 4 of the Township Hall, 27 Riverside Road.