13 Feb

March 19, 2011: Home to Roost at Family Farmed Good Food Expo

Posted by chickenwoman in Chicken care, Events, Urban agriculture. Tagged: , , , , , , , , .


Join Us for the Midwest’s Premier Good Food Event

March 17 – 19, 2011 UIC Forum — University of Illinois at Chicago

Good Food, Good Know-How, Good Fun: FamilyFarmed EXPO is a three-day conference, trade show, and food festival for farmers, businesses, the trade, individuals, and families.

Home to Roost will take part in a panel on Saturday, March 19, 2 PM – 3:15:

No Yolk! Chickens in Your Back Yard

Enjoy fresh eggs everyday by raising chickens in your own backyard. Sarah Elizabeth Ippel from the Academy for Global Citizenship will be the moderator of the panel:

  • Martha Boyd, Program Director, Urban Initiative, Angelic Organics Learning Center
  • John Emrich, Backyard Chicken Run
  • Jennifer Murtoff, Urban Chicken Consultant

For other events, see the Family Farmed Expo website.

10 Feb

Knife-Wielding Rooster Kills Man in California

Posted by chickenwoman in Weird chicken stuff. Tagged: , , , , , , .


Rooster with steel spurs

All right, so you’re at an illegal cockfight, and a rooster comes after you (probably because he’s sick of this whole cruel dog-and-pony show). He slices your calf with a knife, and you don’t get to the ER on time. You die.

Darwin award for 1) illegal activity 2) cruelty to animals and 3) being killed by a chicken.

Check out the coverage here: Tulare County man dies after being cut by knife attached to cockfighting rooster’s leg

Smart rooster. Maybe the rest of the ones involved in this nasty “sport” should take some lessons from him!

8 Feb

Traveling Chicks Land in Illinois

Posted by chickenwoman in My chicken stories. Tagged: , .


The call of the day was FedEx at OHare – with a box of chicks that had been there since Saturday. They were on their way to Arizona and got stuck in IL. I picked them up this AM.

There were eight (out of 13) still alive and healthy when I got them. I had to teach them to eat and drink, though. They were from McMurray Hatchery, hatched 2/4, and the label said barred cochin bantams (5), light Brahma bantams (1), Araucana bantams (2), Rhode Island red bantams (5). The hatchery sent a replacement shipment to AZ, so these guys are now Illini! They now have a great home on the south side!


2 Feb

Fight Rising Healthcare Costs with Chickens

Posted by chickenwoman in Weird chicken stuff. Tagged: , , .


A tongue-in-cheek, slightly snarky article about an improbable but amusing way to battle the woes of navigating your medical bills. Maybe health care would be easier if we just cut out the middle man and dealt directly with doctors – in chickens.

Senate candidate Lowden proposes bartering chickens for health care

2 Feb

March 12, 2011: Backyard Chicken Basics Workshop with Home to Roost

Posted by chickenwoman in Chicken care, Events, Urban agriculture. Tagged: , , , , , , .


It’s that time again!

Come join Angelic Organics and Home to Roost for a class on raising chickens!

Basic Backyard Chicken Care

    March 12, 2011 10:00am – 1:00pm

    chicken

    Farm fresh eggs from your own back yard?

    YES!

    Please join us for a workshop on best practices for Basic Backyard Chicken Care in Chicago and surrounding communities.

    Raising chickens as pets and for eggs is LEGAL in Chicago – and part of our growing local food and urban agriculture scene.

    Keep yourself, your chickens, AND your neighbors happy – from daily needs and year-round care to relevant city regulations.

    Our instructor is the informative and engaging Jen Murtoff of Home to Roost Urban Chicken Consulting.

    You will leave the workshop with the knowledge, recommendations, and resources you need for your own home flock – and you’ll make connections with other chicken enthusiasts in Chicago.

    For more info, visit our Chicago Chicken Enthusiasts Google site, moderated by Learning Center staff.

    For more information about the Learning Center’s registration & refund policies – click here. If the workshop fee presents a barrier to your participation, please inquire about limited work-exchange scholarships. For Chicago workshops, contact chicago@learngrowconnect.org.

    Actual costs of workshops are close to double our workshop fees. If you are able, please consider making an additional donation to help cover the full cost of your workshop.

    Price: $35.00
    Location:

    Angelic Organics Learning Center
    6400 S Kimbark Avenue
    Chicago, IL 60637 US
    First Presbyterian Church of Chicago

    Go to the Angelic Organics site page to register.

    2 Feb

    Home to Roost Lays a Golden Egg – A California Chicken Consulting Business!

    Posted by chickenwoman in Uncategorized, Urban agriculture. Tagged: , , , .


    Sometimes the oddest things happen at the oddest times. On Sept. 21, 2010, at around 10 AM, my phone rang.

    That in and of itself was not odd, but the person on the other end was a woman from California, wanting advice on starting a chicken consulting business. Yes, that’s odd.

    But it gets odder. Sept. 21, 2010, was the day of my WCIU appearance, which featured female entrepreneurs doing battle against a tough economy by following their passions.

    The woman on the phone introduced herself as Cherie. She had found my phone number on AOL’s Wallet Pop article and wanted to talk to me about my urban chicken business.

    When I told her that I had been sitting in a TV studio that morning, doing a live show on chickens, female entrepreneurs, and following our passions, we both had a long hearty laugh at the coincidence.

    Cherie, it turns out, was a woman who was, like me, a little entrepreneurial! Her grandfather had introduced her to chickens as a kid, and she rediscovered them when her son was a toddler through a 4-H  project. She learned a lot in the process and became a 4-H poultry project leader. Following a layoff, she decided to pursue chicken consulting in California. Via email, Cherie told me

    My husband didn’t know anything about chickens until he met me – then he tried to convince me that I should make a business of it. I thought he was crazy of course, but after being laid off and having days turn into months with few substantial job offers, I needed to start exploring other options. “Do what you know!” he told me, and when the article about you and “Urban Chicken Consulting” popped on my computer screen, I finally accepted that he might be right! Your story inspired me to go for it, so here I am!

    Cherie and I talked about some of the services I offer the Chicagoland area: workshops, classes, consultations, presentations, etc. and some of the lessons learned from my experience.

    It was a great conversation, and I am proud to have helped hatch another business in a tough economy!

    Check out Cherie’s site: www.chickensforeggs.com

    Cherie of Chickens for Eggs


    2 Feb

    The Urban Chicken Consultant Recommends… the Chicken Ark

    Posted by chickenwoman in Chicken care, Chicken stuff to buy, Urban agriculture. Tagged: , , , .


    If you’re getting backyard birds this year, consider the Catawba Coop Chicken Ark. Several of my clients have these, and they are a nice set up for your backyard hens!

    This coop features a roomy bottom for free-ranging fun and a secure upper section with pull-up ramp for nighttime safety. Roosts are included in the top section, and there are nest boxes on either end. Suitable for 2 to 3 hens. The coop can be picked up and moved around the yard.

    Consider running hardware cloth (a heavy gauge wire mesh) down from the sides and under the ground, across the bottom, to keep rodents from digging up into the coop. (However, if you do this, you will lose the mobility.)

    NOTE: ALWAYS let the ramp down in the morning during the summer. Otherwise you will roast your hens – literally – and heatstroke is not a pretty death. 

    Assembly required! For those of you who are not handy with lumber, hammer, and nails, you’ll need a hand (and a few extra thumbs!)!

    Wilkes’ Chicken Ark in Oak Park
    Caughan’s Chicken Ark in Oak Park

     

    What kind of coop do you have or recommend? Please post below!

    28 Jan

    What to do with the boys? The Scoop on Roosters

    Posted by chickenwoman in Chicken care, poultry welfare, Urban agriculture.


    So, you want eggs. You have hens. Do you need a rooster to have eggs? The answer is no.

    In fact, the animal control and bird rescue folks would prefer you didn’t keep roosters.

    Why? Well, we’ve been seeing a lot of homeless roosters lately, and they are very hard to place. Most people who find roosters want them to go to no-kill homes, and honestly, it’s hard to fit that bill.

    If you’re an urban chicken owner, think ahead to the question of “What if I get a rooster?” Help us keep down the rooster population in urban areas:

    • Purchase sex-linked chicks. These breeds result in chicks whose coloration is slightly different, depending on gender. Only certain breed are sex-linked.
    • Purchase sexed chicks. For those non-sex-linked breeds, it is possible to sex chicks after hatching. Not all hatcheries sex chicks, so be careful.
    • Do not purchase straight-run chicks – unless you know what you are going to do with the boys. Half of them will most likely be roosters.
    • DO NOT HATCH CHICKS – unless you know what you are going to do with the boys. Fifty percent of the hatch will be male.
    • Turn them into dinner. You can take roosters to a licensed slaughtering facility. If you are amenable to this option, you can go from live bird to dressed bird for about $4.
    • If you do have a rooster, please do not release him! Find a more humane alternative. Contact local farms and rescue agencies. Check with other chicken owners to see if they would like a rooster.
    • Keep him. Roosters make a lovely, protective addition to a flock. If you can get past the crowing, the rooster will keep a protective eye on your girls. And there is no harm in eating fertilized (unincubated) eggs!

    Remember, these are live creatures and should be treated as such.

    28 Jan

    Home to Roost at Whittier Elementary School, April 19-20, 2011

    Posted by chickenwoman in Events, poultry welfare, Urban agriculture.


    Home to Roost will be visiting Whittier Elementary School in Oak Park on April 19-20 for a two-day education series on food, sponsored by the Whittier Green Team.

    We’ll be talking about the differences between home-raised meat and eggs and battery-cage meat and eggs, and the kids will be quizzed on what they learned!

    The event is only open to Whittier Elementary School students.

     

     

     

     

     

    28 Jan

    Home to Roost at 29th Ward Block Club Convention, Feb. 12, 2011

    Posted by chickenwoman in Events, Urban agriculture. Tagged: , , , .


    Join the chickens and me (and Seamus Ford of RootRiot-Harambee Garden) at the 29th Ward Block Club Convention!

    Date: Feb. 12, 2011

    Time: 10 AM to 3 PM
    Place: Chicago Laborers’ Training Center, 1900 N. Central (5700 W. Homer)

    Showing the buff Orpington to a little guy!

    The event serves as a resource and services expo for residents, groups, and block clubs. It will allow them all to become familiar with what exactly different city and state departments offer, as well as educate them on how to improve the quality of life in their homes and their neighborhoods (i.e. beautifying the blocks by planting trees and flowers; creating a garden; recycling, etc.).

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