Note: I am including a few pictures in this post. Nothing too graphic, but I just wanted to be polite and warn you, since the idea of slaughtering a chicken turns some people's stomaches.

We processed our first chicken last Saturday, and we ate him for dinner last night. It was an experience, and I suggest (to all who want to) that someday you process a chicken as well. It was everything you would expect and more- a little bit bloody, very educational, and in the end- quite tasty. I was a little anxious at the beginning of the process, but I took comfort in knowing that the 1 year old rooster I was about to process was raised very humanely, would be hand processed humanely, and would provide quality food for my family.  read more »

Here is a great video about Rhode Island Reds- one of my favorite breeds of chicken. This video is part of a series on Expert Village by Tia Pinney, a teacher, naturalist and program coordinator at Mass Audubon’s Drumlin Farm Wildlife Sanctuary in Lincoln, Massachusetts. Some of her videos are also featured on our FAQ page. If you want to know more about chicken breeds, her videos are a good place to start.  read more »

The last chicken keeping class of the season was a major success, with over 30 people in attendance! A special thanks to the Harwood Art Center for giving me the opportunity to teach at the Wells Park/Sawmill Community Garden. This was a wonderful class!  read more »

Chickens in the news this week...  read more »

• 5th annual Tour de Coops in Portland, OR this weekend.
• 6 out of 7 city councilors in Lonmont, CO say yes to backyard chicken keeping.

Around the same time that I noticed feed prices going up, I also noticed that we were going through chicken feed much faster than usual. I thought that maybe the girls were eating more...but I soon found out that I had been feeding more flocks than just my own.

A huge flock of sparrows had recently discovered the bounty of food that my chicken pen provided.  read more »

Chicken news this week...  read more »

The Weekly Roost is a posting that I started last week, which will appear every Thursday. It's a way to stay up to date on chicken related news. As much as I would like to blog daily about chickens and chicken news, it just does not work with grad school, having a job, and having time to update this site and continue research on chickens/ordinances. So this seemed like the best way to reduce my time while still providing good info. I plan on also having 1-2 blog entries per week in addition to The Weekly Roost. Enjoy!

Katherine Alvarez, of Sewanee TN, was told a few weeks ago that she could no longer keep her chickens. From reading her blog it appears that she has a lease agreement with the university that she works for, and that agreement does not allow for the keeping of livestock. (Read more at her blog)  read more »

About a month ago I taught my first chicken keeping 101 class to about 17 people in my community. Here are some tips on how to organize and teach your own class:  read more »

Here is the weekly roundup of chicken related news...