A legal clause prohibits people in Canton, NY, from raising chickens. But the townspeople are interested in changing that. For more on this story, check out this article.
26 Jan
Mike Krauser’s Made in Chicago Story
Home to Roost was recently featured on Made in Chicago! Here is a link to the page with the audio clip.
26 Jan
30 January, 2013: Home to Roost on FoxNews Chicago
Home to Roost is scheduled to appear on FoxNews on Weds., January 30, 2013, between 7:30 and 10:00 AM. Stay tuned! We’ll be doing a visit to a Chicagoland coop!
26 Jan
Arlington Heights Nixes Chickens Again
At a board of trustees meeting on February 22, 2013, Arlington Heights again rejected backyard hens. Mary Green, Matt Scallon, and a contingent of chicken supporters, including Home to Roost, showed up for the meeting and made a valiant effort, but to no avail.
Mary’s letter follows:
Dear Backyard Chicken Supporters,
Thank you all for your words of encouragement, and a special shout out to those who attended and spoke at tonight’s meeting!
The Arlington Heights Village Board voted to deny both my and Matt’s variance requests.
We were given our (brief) time to speak, but it was clear from the onset that some of the Trustees were offended by the fact that the issue was even being brought up again (Matt went before them in Feb. 2012). Some of them believed that the 7-2 vote at last year’s meeting indicated that the Board was voting against having chickens altogether. Period.
In fact, they hadn’t changed the language of the ordinance and that enabled us to bring our petitions up this time. There was a valiant effort by one Trustee to discuss how to define a “customary” pet, but overall their minds were made up.
I see the experience as successful in that we energized the discussion and had an opportunity to educate people about the benefits and misconceptions of backyard chickens.
Historically, many proposals brought before the Board in the past have been met with strong opposition (including paved roads and a sewer system). A movement like ours won’t go away, we’ll just keep doing what we’re doing and change will come.
~Mary
25 Jan
Palatine Votes Yes to Hens
Palatine has given its stamp of approval to hens.
The Palatine Village Council voted 4-2 in favor of allowing petitioner Steven Brosio to house six hens in a chicken coop on his 1.8 acres of property.
For more information, check out this article.
25 Jan
Chicken Digestion 101
Did you ever wonder how your chicken “chews” food without teeth, or what the path is that food follows through the body? Check out this helpful post on chicken digestion.
22 Jan
Reminder: Arlington Heights Chicken Meeting TONIGHT, 22 Jan., 2013
Join Mary Green and Matt Scallon on Tues., January 22nd at 8pm as they go before the Village Board of Trustees to request permission to keep backyard chickens.
They need as many supporters as possible to attend the meeting on the 3rd floor of Village Hall (33 S. Arlington Heights Road). Matt and Mary will both be speaking, and it would be great if a few residents could also speak in support of allowing backyard chickens in Arlington Heights. You can sign up that night before the meeting starts.
If you’re not inclined toward public speaking, you can write a short message in support of their efforts. Contact Mary (marysgreen@hotmail.com) for a list of the benefits and misconceptions around backyard chickens you can use in your letter.
20 Jan
Egg Within an Egg?
A video link showing a man cracking open an egg, only to find another egg inside has been floating around the internet. It has been the subject of much virtual debate: Is the video a hoax, or is this a possible occurrence?
This is a possible occurrence. The same chain of events that causes internal laying, (that is, a fully shelled egg works its way UP the oviduct, rather than down and out) causes a shelled egg to re-enter the shell gland and receive a second shell. This super-sized egg is then passed out of the body.
For more on this, check out this video.
19 Jan
Monday, 21 Jan, 2013: Home to Roost Featured on Made in Chicago
Tune in to WBBM News radio, 780 AM/105.9 FM on Monday, January 21 (MLK Day) for a brief spot on Home to Roost. Mike Krauser’s piece will air at various times throughout the day.
13 Jan
Chicks at Belmont Feed and Seed the first week in February
From Lidia at Chicago’s Belmont Feed and Seed:
Our first hatch of chicks are to come in the first week of February: Araucana, Rhode Island Reds, New Hampshire Reds, Barred Rocks, Buff Orpingtons, Black Austrolorps, Silver Laced Wyandottes, Golden Laced Wyandottes, Isa Browns (Red Stars), Black Sex Links, all Pullets and all vaccinated for Mareks. Plan to come in and make your selection.
Four Laying Hens came last week: A Barred Rock, two Red Stars/Isa browns about 8 months old and a Rhode Island Red about 6 months old.
Home to Roost 