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.


Niles Animal Hospital

Drs. Abete, Kline, and Yang

7278 North Milwaukee Avenue, Niles, IL 60714

847-647-9325

nilesanimalhospital.com

Hours: Mon-Tue, Thu-Fri 8am-6pm, Wed 8am-5pm, Sat 8am-2pm, Sun Closed


Chicago Exotics

Dr. Susan Horton

3735 Dempster Street, Skokie, IL 60076

847-329-8709

www.exoticpetvet.com

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


Animal House of Chicago

Dr. Byron de la Navarre

2752 West Lawrence Avenue, Chicago, IL 60625

773-878-8002

www.animalhouseofchicago.com

Hours: Mon 8am-6pm, Tue 8am-8pm, Wed 8am-2pm, Thu 8am-8pm, Fri 8am-6pm, Sat 8am-12pm, Sun Closed


Ness Exotic Wellness Center

Drs. Staudenmeier, Ness, and Nye

1007 Maple Avenue, Lisle, IL 60532

630-737-1281

www.nessexotic.com

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

www.chicagovetspecialists.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?