Backyard Chicken Chat (Warning: Fowl Language)

Have chickens? Thinking of getting chickens? Join us for an evening of informative Backyard Chicken Chat. Backyard chickens provide a steady supply of fresh eggs to feel so good about—far from industrial farming, your chickens are treated kindly and fed well, the eggs are flavorful and nutritious, and it’s hard to get more local than your own backyard. But the benefits to our health and the environment and the pleasures of chicken keeping don’t stop there.

Chickens gobble up table scraps, vegetable trimmings and will scratch through all kind of yard waste, turning it everything into eggs or compost! They eat insect pests, ticks, mosquitoes and slugs. Keeping chickens can be fairly simple, but if you’re a tinkerer, chickens can provide endless “opportunities” for invention (coops, chicken tractors, nesting boxes, perches) that are creative and artful (or not!).

There are many different breeds, each with their own characteristics and personality. (And the egg colors—white, brown, sure, but also blue, green, speckled!) Chickens are born entertainers, with curious and ancient ways–luxuriating in a dust bath, scratching for treasure, coming home to roost, interacting with one another, and with you. A family I know calls it “Chicken TV,” sitting on the porch for hours each evening watching the chickens scratch and flutter about in the front yard. Chickens live in the moment. They remind us, young and old, of the cycle of life and the miracle of it all.

We hope you can join us for an evening of Backyard Chicken Chat, on Tuesday June 25 with Andy Dohner from the Rodale Institute. He’ll provide information and tips helpful to those who already have a backyard flock and those who are considering the idea, including how to start with new chicks, housing (coop) requirements, and how to tend and care for your hens.

Bring your questions, ideas and experience. If you have pictures of your chickens or setup you’d like to share, email them in advance to [masked] or bring prints or thumb drive to meeting. We’ll show them after the meeting.

Here are some sites you may find of interest or helpful: Preparing for Chicks (Andy Dohner), McMurray Hatchery, BackYard Chickens

After the meeting, plan to stick around and chat with friends old and new. We’re also interested in your ideas for MAREA speakers, activities and services. Light snacks will be served. Hope to see you there!

For questions, contact Vera Cole,[masked] or [masked].