UPDATE 4/22/21: Unfortunately, this class has been cancelled. Please see the Classes & Events page for future classes with Home to Roost!
For those of you who have questions about chicken coop design or construction, I am teaching an online class, Chicken Coop Basics, for the Chicago Botanic Garden on April 27! Bring your questions and learn the essential components of a coop, important construction tips, and different coop styles. Use what you learn to construct your own coop or evaluate an existing design. Register now for this class at the link below.
I will be teaching three online classes for the Chicago Botanic Garden this spring, including my Basic Chicken Keeping Class, my Coop Class, and a new class for 2021: Duck Keeping 101! (UPDATE 4/15/21: Unfortunately, Duck Keeping has been canceled due to circumstances beyond our control. )
Register now for these classes at the links below. Please note that all registrations must be submitted online 2 days before your class starts.
Basic Chicken Keeping Concepts: Online — April 20, 6-8 pm Considering getting chickens, or already have your own birds? Learn tips and tricks on how to raise chicks, care for adult birds, prevent common problems, and keep your neighbors happy.
Chicken Coop Basics: Online — April 27, 6-8 pm Discover all you need to know about building a safe and comfortable home for your hens. Learn the basic needs of backyard birds, the essential components of a coop, important construction tips, and different coop styles. Use what you learn to construct your own coop or evaluate an existing design.
Special Offer
While supplies last, we are pleased to offer a free copy of GRIT Backyard Chickens magazine to everyone who signs up for a class!
GRIT Backyard Chickens magazine provides helpful information on topics such as choosing the right chicken breed, nutrition, preventing frostbite, and shoring up your coop against predators. The latest issue includes several articles authored by Home to Roost: Reasons to keep backyard chickens, the importance of gut health, and how to boost egg production.
Sign up for a chicken class presented by Home to Roost and Chicago Botanic Garden and get a free copy of GRIT Backyard Chickens Magazine!
Come out to see Chicago’s finest… chicken coops! Go from house to house, visiting and chatting with chicken owners and other enthusiasts! This family-friendly event is also bike friendly.
NEW: Home to Roost will be stationed at Location 5 from 10-12 on Saturday and at Location 6 from 12-2 on Sunday.
NEW: Complete information with maps and locations is now on the coop tour webpage.
Come out to see Chicago’s finest… chicken coops! Go from house to house, visiting and chatting with chicken owners and other enthusiasts! This family-friendly event is also bike friendly.
A cute three-in-one, eco-friendly coop, the “Pico-Farm” by Southern-Fried Scientist is a chicken coop with a rain barrel to collect water that is used to grow lettuce on the roof. Check out this fun coop! If you’re building a coop, note this important observation: “I originally installed chicken wire, but discovered that foxes and raccoons can shred chicken wire like string cheese, so pulled it all out and replaced it with 1/2 inch hardware cloth.”
I assisted would-be chicken owner Matt Scallon in an unsuccessful petition of the Arlington Heights Village Trustees for a variance to allow him to own chickens. A Trib Local reporter covered the story here. The Tribune’s story is here.
A quote in the article compares chicken coops to dumpsters and complains of odors – these are comments that suggest that a visit to some chicken coops is in order. Most coops are well kept and do not smell.
All the more reason for chicken owners to practice good animal husbandry and for people who are not chicken friendly to visit a few coops.
