Home to Roost Helping city folks raise chickens!

The town of Riverside, IL, is currently discussing legalizing chickens, as is Berwyn, IL. If you’re interested in connecting with the chicken movers and shakers in either town, post a comment below, and I’ll connect you.

Niche biz opportunity! A group in Australia is experimenting with therapy chickens in elder care homes. Check out this sweet video. 

The following came in from last week. The contact is Debra.

I need to rehome my dutch bantam chicken and rooster asap. I have hand
raised them since they were baby chicks. They are “indoor” pets. They
are trained like a dog to go outside and come in with a clicker.
Although, the rooster isn’t as responsive with the clicker, once she comes
in, he follows her. They are really sweet, but my son has developed
serious asthma and allergies. Even though I clean their cage weekly, they
can no longer stay inside my house. They have not been acclimated to
other chickens and have not acclimated to outside weather.
 
I hope you can help! If you are looking for sweet little pets, please
email me at birdman@ripco.com. They need to stay together as a pair.
 
I can deliver them or you can pick them up in Skokie.

This video from Otaika Valley, New Zealand, has quite possibly some of the happiest commercial layers you’ll ever see. A very happy video! Brings a tear to my eye!

Hi, all –

Here is my list of upcoming events:

FEBRUARY

• Feb. 27: AUA Urban Livestock Expo: more info will be posted at http://auachicago.org/

MARCH

• March 12: Basic chicken keeping and coop building at the Chicago Botanic Garden: http://www.chicagobotanic.org/
• March 19: Chicken health class at the Chicago Botanic Garden: http://www.chicagobotanic.org/
• March 26: Good Food Festival, UIC Forum: http://www.goodfoodfestivals.com/

APRIL

• April 10: Basic Chicken keeping at Oak Park Conservatory: http://www.pdop.org/parks-facilities/oak-park-conservatory/
• April 16: Kids program at the Glencoe Public Library: http://www.glencoepubliclibrary.org/
• April 23: Earthfest, Oak Park: http://www.oak-park.us/village-services/refuse-recycling/earth-fest
• April 30: Chicken-keeping class at the Chicago Rebuilding Exchange

MAY

• May 14: Chicken-keeping class at the Chicago Rebuilding Exchange
• May 21: Kids program at the Garfield Park Conservatory

JUNE

• June 4: Basic chicken keeping and coop building at the Chicago Botanic Garden: http://www.chicagobotanic.org/
• June 11: Summer care class at the Chicago Botanic Garden: http://www.chicagobotanic.org/
• June 18 or 25: Program at Kilbourne Park Organic Greenhouse

Hope to see you there!

Jen

Sign up at http://www.learngrowconnect.org/event/basic-backyard-chicken-care-chicago

In preparation for the coop tour, we should all be aware of how to keep our birds healthy. I’ve seen several cases of Marek’s disease (confirmed and suspected), and the avian flu is a big question mark for bird owners.

I’ve compiled some information to provide some guidance for participating in the coop tour and visiting other families’ flocks at other times.

Marek’s and Avian Flu

Interested in getting chickens? Want to learn more about summer care? Winter care? Coops? Health? I’ve got a number of classes coming up, and I’ve put them all in a handy, downloadable pdf: Home to Roost Class Offerings

Come join the fun! Lots of family-friendly activities! Learn about growing your own food and meet real goats and chickens!

• beekeeping demonstrations & honey tasting
• composting demonstrations
• kid’s activities and lawn games
• celebration of Jens Jensen’s Birthday with mud cakes and cards
• live music

Click here for more information.

Home to Roost will have limited availability August 4 to August 11. We will be unavailable for in-home consultations and will have limited access to email and phone messages. In case of a chicken emergency, please see the Resources tab for a list of avian vets in the Chicagoland area.