20 Sep
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.
20 Sep
·Adults $10 for up to 5 tour/demo sites. Free for children 12 and under and for volunteers.·Learn more now at http://greencommunityconnections.org/green-living-learning-tour-2012
·Register now at http://2012greenlivingtour.eventbrite.com/
·Get a glimpse of what you can expect with these videos about the tour! http://bit.ly/OGECI3
· Volunteer at the tour! (http://www.signupgenius.com/go/409084BADAA2BA64-2012)·RSVP and invite Friends on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/313292212099066/
10 Sep
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.
We’re working on getting the event together, so save the date, and keep your eye on the blog for more details. In the meantime, here is the link where all information will be posted: https://sites.google.com/site/chicagochickenenthusi/events/windy-city-coop-tour
15 Sep
Home to Roost will be stationed at location #14 on the Coop Tour at 3532 W. Belden.
For more information on the tour, see Sept. 25, 2011: Windy City Coop Tour (formerly Henapalooza).
See you there
11 Sep
Time: September 25, 2011 from 11am to 2pm
Location: Chicago’s North Side (and surrounding areas), 4134 N. Monticello Ave
Website: Windy City Coop Tour page
Phone: 773-640-2402 (for bike tour only)
Thinking of getting chickens or just curious about backyard Chickens in the City of Chicago? This leisurely bike ride will take you to a number of Chicago Chicken keepers. The tour is open to all ages, and you will see a large variety of chickens breeds, coop designs, as well as the gardens and yards they occupy. Home to Roost will make an appearance at one of the sites (TBD). Each host will be able to answer questions you may have concerning regulations, feeding, coop designs, space required, egg production, and issues common to chickens in an urban environment.
So save the date of Sept 25th. This is both a group bike tour and/or a self-guided bike tour.
The group bike tour meets at 4134 N. Monticello at 10:30 am. The bike tour starts at 11 am. The biking group tour should last a couple hours and actual length will be determined by the group itself.
The self-guided tour starts at any of the 20+ host sites and just follow the map provided at each site.
The “Windy City Coop Tour” is open as a non-biking event, too.
The Official Windy City Coop Tour hours are 11am – 2 pm Additional information including web site, press release, maps, etc. are forthcoming and will be provided on the Windy City Coop Tour page. Not required, but an RSVP to the bike tour will be helpful in planning. We hope you can join us!
1 Sep
Join Home to Roost and other green endeavors for a bike tour in Oak Park!
The tour will provide an opportunity for Oak Park and River Forest residents to learn about the many green initiatives that their neighbors have implemented and support them in thinking about what they can do in their homes, schools and neighborhoods.
There will be about 15 sites on the tour, including private homes, schools, universities, community gardens, and local businesses. Home to Roost will be at a client’s home.
The tour will run from about 1 PM to 3:45 PM and will end with a gathering at 4 PM to allow participants to debrief.
Register for the tour at www.greencommunityconnections.org starting September 1.
31 May
U of I Extension Announces June 12 OPENFIELDS Farm Tour
University of Illinois Extension is working with producers in Northern Illinois to present the third annual Openfields Farm Tour on Sunday, June 12, from Noon to 5 p.m. Openfields Farm Tour is a rare, one-day opportunity in which participating farms collectively open their land and operations to the public, and visitors get a chance to tour and learn about each farm operation. This is a multiple site self-guided tour, and there is no charge to participate.
The Openfields Farm Tour presents an opportunity to visit area market gardens, CSA’s (Community Supported Agriculture), and on-farm operations, and learn more about the local foods system in northern Illinois. Participants will meet the producers and learn about their farms, products and passion for what they do. Openfields provides an opportunity to ask questions and learn about market scale production, farming and CSA’s. Connections between the grower and consumer are often limited to conversations at farmer’s markets or farm. Openfields Farm Tour will provide an opportunity for all to make connections and learn from each other.
The University of Illinois Extension is working with area producers to support the local food system in Northern Illinois. The Local Foods Directory-Northern Illinois was recently updated and currently available on the U of I-Winnebago County website. 100 producers are listed in this directory along with 13 area farmers markets. A second directory, compiled by the Northwest Illinois Audubon Society and U of I Extension-Stephenson County, lists 38 local farms in Northwestern Illinois. Extension also provides support and training opportunities to farmers, farmer’s market managers and area restaurants interested in sourcing local food.
To download an Openfields Farm Tour map, or for more information on programs and events related to local foods, please visit www.extension.illinois.edu/winnebago, or call 815-986-4357.
16 Oct
Backyard hens had a chance to meet a number of two-legged mammal critters on October 3, during the Hen-apalooza Coop Tour in Chicago on October 3, 2010.
Encompassing several neighborhoods that have been overtaken by barnyard fowl, the tour, organized by the Chicago Chicken Enthusiasts and Martha Boyd of Angelic Organics Learning Center, offered chicken owners, would-be owners, and the curious public the opportunity to take a peek inside the city’s backyard poultry fad.
Chicago’s chicken keepers and folks as far away as northern Indiana had a chance to swap tips, see new ideas in action, and connect with other chicken keepers. Home to Roost Urban Chicken Consulting presented a short six-point inspection–a quick chicken check-up to assess a bird’s health.
The Chicago Sun-Times deemed the event worthy of coverage, and their scoop on the coop tour is here.
Despite it being a crisp, fall day, the turn-out at the 15 featured coop locations was impressive considering the short time frame from inception to event. The Chicago Chicken Enthusiasts are working on a bigger and better Hen-apalooza for the future! Stay tuned!
28 Sep
Are you thinking about raising chickens but wonder what it’s like to do so in an urban or suburban area? Or are you already raising chickens and wonder how others are doing it? Or are you just interested in taking a fun tour through the Chicago area?
On Sunday, October 3rd, 2010—rain or shine—the first annual Hen-apalooza Chicagoland Chicken Coop Tour will take place at 15 locations throughout the area. Hen-apalooza will be a self-guided tour, so visit as few or as many local chicken-keepers and their fowl friends as you like. A map of tour locations is available at http://tiny.cc/8630w.
Home to Roost urban chicken consultant Jennifer Murtoff will be on hand at 2 PM at the Logan Square Co-op (1936 Sawyer Ave.) to talk about her experience and services. She’s also give some quick tips, a “six-point inspection” to assess the health of a chicken.
For more information and a Hen-apalooza Passport to track your tour progress, please see http://tiny.cc/hen-apalooza or the Chicago Chicken Enthusiasts Google Group at groups.google.com/group/chicago-chicken-enthusiasts.
Children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult. No dogs or other pets please. Street parking available at each location. Please consider biking or using public transportation.
Hen-apalooza Chicagoland Chicken Coop Tour is presented by the Chicago Chicken Enthusiasts (groups.google.com/group/chicago-chicken-enthusiasts) and generously supported by Angelic Organics Learning Center (learngrowconnect.org), Backyard Chicken Run (backyardchickenrun.com) and DoubleTake Design (doubletakedesign.com).
27 Jul
The Chicken Cooperative Tour
Center for Sustainable Community (in Stelle, IL) is hosting a coop tour on August 1. It includes a tour of their land, including the chicken co-op.
CSC is an intentional community (created about 30 years ago) by a group of Rogers Park residents. About 2+ hours south of Chicago, it is literally in the middle of “nowhere” — meaning corn and soybean fields — an oasis of communal living. Midwest Permaculture is based there, too.
Ten Stelle families established the Chicken Co-op four years ago on the CSC property by written agreement with CSC. The objective was to illustrate the production of chickens for meat and eggs at cost. During the first two years of operation, the co-op raised and harvested two 100-member Rock-Cross rooster flocks, which were fed certified-organic grain blends and grazed, using home-made chicken tractors. Currently, seven families manage a mixed-breed laying flock of 30 hens (Buff Orpingtons and Rhode Island Reds) and four roosters. Eggs are shared at cost among co-op families who sell regularly to families in Stelle at a slightly higher cost. The tour will highlight the co-op’s experiences, with attention to the features of the current flock and the coop, which is fitted with solar lights, rain water catchments, and AC power.
Topics on the Chicken Cooperative Tour:
Following an optional tour of Stelle at 10:30 AM, three CSC residents will do “show and tell” about three activities on the land:
The presentation will be from 1:00 until 4:30. Price for the workshop is $35, and you can sign up and see more details by going to the website. A nutritious lunch, featuring locally grown and organic foods, will be available at noon at an additional cost of $10.
Find more information at http://www.centerforsustainablecommunity.org/.
When building a coop for your hens, it is important to choose a design with the right dimensions, features, and materials. Get all this information on the Chicken Coop Spec Sheet, now available from Home to Roost! Purchase on PayPal using the button below.
NOTE: I will e-mail you the spec sheet after I receive your payment. Your e-mail address will automatically be included in the notification I receive from PayPal.
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