Resources & Links
Local Discussion Forum
Chicago Chicken Enthusiasts Google group. To join, tell us your name, where you live, your ward (if in Chicago), if you have chickens, and how you learned about the group.
See our RECOMMENDED PRACTICES for backyard chickens in Chicago. We promote these standards in workshops, Tours, and presentations. (PDF uploaded below.)
See our Resources half-sheet or page down to the longer list of links and articles below.
See our publication, the 2013 Windy City Backyard Chicken Resource Guide. If you would like to serve as Backyard Chickens ambassador in your ward (of Chicago) or your town, contact Martha Boyd for more information: martha@learngrowconnect.org.
Books & Articles
Storey’s Guide to Raising Chickens. Gail Damerow. Comprehensive and thorough.
The Small Scale Poultry Flock. Harvey Ussery. Book, and The Modern Homestead Poultry page with Harvey's excellent articles:
http://www.themodernhomestead.us/article/Poultry.html
Backyard Poultry magazine. Bimonthly. http://www.backyardpoultrymag.com/
Mother Earth News online article collection. http://www.motherearthnews.com/eggs/resources.aspx
Shattering 7 Urban Myths About Backyard Chickens
Websites
Backyard Chickens. http://www.backyardchickens.com. Also has a forum for sharing info.
Community Chickens is a joint GRIT and Mother Earth News project whose dedicated website will serve as a focal point and resource for all things poultry. http://www.communitychickens.com/
City Farmer News -Livestock. http://cityfarmer.info/category/livestock/
Urban Chickens blog on www.urbanchickens.net. Geared to raising a few hens in your backyard.
Henderson’s Handy Dandy Chicken Chart. Alphabetical list of more than 60 breeds with comparative information.
http://www.sagehenfarmlodi.com/chooks/chooks.html
Path to Freedom. http://www.pathtofreedom.com/pathproject/simpleliving/chickens.shtml
Pastured Poultry Yahoo group. Extensive photo and files section. Info applicable to small flocks including coop design/building. https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/PasturePoultry/info
The Poultry Site. Industry information. http://www.thepoultrysite.com/
Christine Heinrichs' website (& the Society for PreservingPoultry Antiquities). http://sppa.webs.com/apps/blog
My Pet Chicken. Products and resources. http://www.mypetchicken.com/
Rich Soil chickens page. Comparisons of approaches, more. http://www.richsoil.com/chickens.jsp
Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine's Atlas of Avian Diseases online. http://partnersah.vet.cornell.edu/avian-atlas/
Chicago Area Poultry Specialists
Jennifer Murtoff, Home to Roost Chicken Consultant. Long and diverse experience tending a wide variety of poultry and pet birds, from parakeets to peacocks. Everything from basic advice to assistance in crisis. See her blog, or call: 708-259-6877. Among other good info, Jen maintains a list of vets who are avian specialists on her Resources page.
Tell them I sent you! Home to Roost endorses these practices in the Chicagoland area.
Drs. Abete, Kline, Yang, Niles, Niles Animal Hospital
Dr. Susan Horton Skokie, Chicago Exotics
Dr. Byron de la Navarre, Chicago, Animal House of Chicago
Drs. Staudenmeier, Ness, and Nye, Lisle, Ness Exotic Wellness Center
Drs. Abete, Kline, and Yang
7278 North Milwaukee Avenue, Niles, IL 60714
847-647-9325
Hours: Mon-Tue, Thu-Fri 8am-6pm, Wed 8am-5pm, Sat 8am-2pm, Sun Closed
Dr. Susan Horton
3735 Dempster Street, Skokie, IL 60076
847-329-8709
Hours: Mon, Thu, Fri 9am-6pm, Tue, Wed 9am-6pm Sat 9am-Noon, Sun Closed
Animal 911 shares space with Chicago Exotics and serves as an after-hours emergency clinic.
847-673-9110
Dr. Byron de la Navarre
2752 West Lawrence Avenue, Chicago, IL 60625
773-878-8002
Hours: Mon 8am-6pm, Tue 8am-8pm, Wed 8am-2pm, Thu 8am-8pm, Fri 8am-6pm, Sat 8am-12pm, Sun Closed
Drs. Staudenmeier, Ness, and Nye
1007 Maple Avenue, Lisle, IL 60532
630-737-1281
Hours: Mon-Thu 9am-8pm, Fri 9am-6pm, Sat 8:30am-2pm, Sun Closed
Emergency Clinic
Chicago Veterinary Emergency & Specialty Center
3123 North Clybourn Avenue, Chicago, IL 60618
773-281-7110
www.chicagoveterinaryemergency.com
Workshops
Angelic Organics Learning Center offers its 3-hour Basic Backyard Chicken Care workshop for new backyard chicken keepers, spring and fall in Chicago. Learning Center staff coordinate presentations, panels, exhibits, and the annual Windy City Coop Tour.
The Learning Center also offers "Count Your Chickens," a workshop for people keeping small poultry flocks, at its farm location in Caledonia IL. Learn more about public programs HERE.
AND MORE on other pages
Looking for local sources of FEED & SUPPLIES? Ideas and advice for backyard Coops & Runs? Info about EGGS?
Concerned about policies related to backyard chickens? Need to prepare for and deal with your hens' End of Life issues?