The Chicken Whisperer Recommends Backyard Chicken Keeping
90Backyard Chicken Coops
Small Chicken Farming
Andy Schneider has become famous in his own Alpharetta, Georgia as well as throughout the United States. As an advocate for human chicken raising and egg production, he promotes the concept of fewer chicken and egg farms and a greater number of small back yard flocks in America. This provides free range, fresh eggs and an array of learning experiences and fun for children.
Mr. Schneider is known as The Chicken Whisperer™ and produces a radio show, a blog, and an ongoing tour of the country in promotion of back yard chickens. I don't have chickens, but I follow The Chicken Whisperer™ on Facebook (see links below). Interestingly, livestock scientist Dr. Temple Grandin (reference: Relevant Links, below) feels that the domesticated chicken is the next animal the nation should highlight as one needing better and more human living conditions. Andy Schneider is the man to see about that. He is the spokesman for USDA - APHIS Bio-Security for Birds
Relevant Links
- Chickens, Best Backyard Egg Laying Hen Breeds - By K9keystrokes
Great information for new backyard egg farmers. A chart shows you which chicken breeds will perform best in urban conditions. Backyard city chickens are a great sustainable food source for eggs! - Chicken Whisperer's Home Alpharetta GA - The Best Place to Move In USA
Alpharetta, Georgia is at the top of the list of the 25 Best Places to Move in America. - Chickens in the City, in Suburbia or in the Country; Raising a small backyard flock! - By Zsuzsy Bee
- Dr. Temple Grandin, Autism, and How Animals Make Us ...
Temple Grandin combines a history of effective teaching skills, maximizing human potentials, industrial design, and cattle ranching to show us how to advocate for individuals with Autism...
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Pat Foreman Books
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Chickens Online
The weekly 90-minute radio broadcast is hosted by Mr. Schneider with his co-host Pat Foreman, who has written several books about sustainable living.
Guests on the show each week may be anyone from any aspect of sustainability, especially those involving food plants and livestock. Between the two co-hosts, this man and woman have the expertise of everything sustainable. Their they travel with their work from the back yard garden and chicken flock to the 4-H Clubs and classrooms of America to lobbying state and local legislatures for bills that permit additional communities to raise chickens at the individual home level. An archive of online shows is located on the blog and you'll find the link below.
The Chicken Whisperer has one of the most widespread online presences I have seen. It is featured in several places on the Internet, but without needless and ineffective redundancy. These places include a website, two blogs, an online radio show, an Examiner page, and social networking through Facebook and Twitter. The Facebook page caught my attention first, with its happy yellow chicken logo. The Facebook page announces guests and topics on the weekly show, informs readers of special events, and announces new legislation in towns across America that allows chickens to be raised in the local backyard at home.
The Chicken Whisperer Radio Show
- Chicken Whisperer
- On the Air -- Back Yard Poultry with the Chicken Whisperer | Internet Radio | Blog Talk Radio
Andy Schneider better known as the Chicken Whisperer has become the go-to guy across the country for anything chickens. Over the years he has helped a countless number of people start their very own backyard flocks. He is not only a national radio pe - Atlanta backyard poultry Articles and News - Examiner.com
Read the latest Atlanta backyard poultry news and view Atlanta backyard poultry pictures from our team of local insiders. - The Chicken Whisperer on Facebook
- Back Yard Poultry - Twitter
Mad City Chickens
- Welcome to Mad City Chickens
Mad City Chickens gives backyard chicken raising advice to chicken ranchers in Madison, Wisconsin
Choosing Chickens
Actor William H. Macey spoke recently of purchases six baby chicks through the mail to raise for egg laying in Los Angeles. He built a chicken coop as well and said he expects 4 eggs a day. His children are taking an active part in raising the chicks as well. In fact, he found that one chick was missing from the coop. Going into the house, he finally discovered the chick sleeping in the bed one of his daughters, its head on the pillow and body under the covers.
Speaking of actors and a chicken, a documentary film called Mad City Chickens in making a tour of the US. It illustrates the lives and progress of individuals and families that have taken up the actity of backyard chicken raising.
Check out reputable chicken suppliers like My Pet Chicken and consult with them for the best choices. Most local ordinances allow for 6 to 12 chickens total per household/yard. Roosters are apparently not neccessary unless new chicks are a plan, so neighbors will not be complaining of early morning crowing. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention feel that backyard chickens are safe and not likely to carry diseases like avian flu.
Penn State Poultry Extension Services
Chicken Coops
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Backyard Chicken Coops
I am impressed by the growing numbers of people purchasing aseembly packages for chicken coops at home and even designing and building their own. Many of them are in the design of small human houses and create decorative fixtures in the backyard as well as a shelter for hens and chicks.
A selection of chicken coops in a range of prices is available at farm supply stores, some home and garden stores, and from Amazon.com. With the growing trend toward sustainebluluty, small chicken coops are becoming more frequently available at a larger number of retailers. Just as with bird houses, building plans are available online and in books; but very often online from university extension services locally.
A Chicken House on the National Register of Historic Places
Fun Chickens
What spring season in America would be complete with those candy Easter Peeps and the related pseudo-scientific website of extracurricular experiments on a village of Peeps. Visit Peeps Researchfor experimental laughter.
If you like Matt Groenig's Life In Hell with the strange yet familiar one-eared rabbit, you will probably like Savage Chickens. It is a comic strip by Dan Savage that has been collected into at least one book.
Each comic is portrayed on a Post-It Note, but a fun collection is available and some of the strips are also seen on the hilarious Internet site ICanHazCheezeBurger under LOLCats.
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Savage Chickens
Cooking Lesson: Swedish Omelet
HubMob on Animals
- Top 5 Animals That Face Extinction-Satisfying Human Greed-Some Shocking Revelations !
Did you know that we humans are responsible for wildlife species that are on the brink of extinction ? - 14 months ago
- The Mighty Bald Eagle – USA National Symbol
Bald Eagles are the national symbol of the United States. - 14 months ago
- Mass Animal Deaths & Earthquakes Explained by Planetary Magnetics
At the beginning of 2011, the extra-ordinary incidents of massive amounts fish and birds that suddenly died happened "everywhere"—it was a globe-wide event. - 13 months ago
- A True Story About a "Good Wolf"
This photo was taken by my friend C. - 14 months ago
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Great hub and I love chickens. I use to keep them for eggs and raise ducks and turkeys also.
My grandma had a chicken coop in her backyard in Delhi. Every time we visited, it was fun to watch the chicks and collect eggs.
I love this hub! I pan to raise my own chickens, so this was useful for me, but it was also a lot of fun to read, and I love the photos of the coops. Voted up!
I went grocery shopping the other day and I'm thinking I might need one of those backyard chicken coops.
Fun video.
up/useful
Patty, when I was a child we had a couple of chickens. You always write the most interesting hubs, with the most interesting slant on them. I like the historic chicken house, to me it looks like the chickens were living more comfortably than some people.
This is a great hub on keeping chickens. I like the idea of making their lives more enjoyable too! After all, they are one of our best sources of food. Sadly that is true of the chicken as well as it's eggs.
I am glad I was not born with the potential to become delicious food!
Chickens are not only fun, but they produce a wonderful food source! We love our laying hens and the eggs they give us each day.
I had to laugh when I saw the video of the chickens with the Swedish Chef - I remember that!
Keep up the great hub,
--Cherie
Urban Chicken Consultant and Poultry Sitter
The treatment of chickens, while not often spoken about, really is a matter that needs attention.
A friend of mine raises chickens. A guy gave him a Tyson chicken once (I don't remember why) and he put it in with his other chickens. Because of the hormones Tyson had already injected into the chick, it grew three times faster than the other chickens. Finally it was too fat to move, had a heart attack, and died.
The big chicken manufacturers only care about how quickly they can make chickens big enough to sell... and that's not EVEN getting into how they're kept all squished up.
Good for the chicken whisperer... and good for you for writing this hub!
Nice hub.Thanks Patty. A friend got lots of hreat eggs from a flock of "silent hens" in our neighbourhood. She did this for years until a nasty neighbour complained. Now the City of Vancouver BC has passed a law permitting chickens in our city: puck-puck-puck-cock-a-doodle-doo.
Good Hub. There are many delicious recipes and ways to prepare chickens. However all chickens are not fun and all are not good for you.
I know about some chickens since I was born in the city and I was partly raised on a farm. Not only did I experience good fried chicken on the farm but I experienced "scared" chickens (people) in the city.
Great article and very informative, It has always interest the elaborate structures American make for their chicken coobs (although I think it might be motivated by an environmental need). Here in Jamaica our coobs are very basics just a bit of mesh, zinc roofed, a few boxes for laying and thats it. Maybe one day I might post a few pics of how we do it here in Jamaica, to show you guys
Namaste
Thank you to all the visitors so far who have posted comments! Urban chicken raising is a big movement and I admire Chicken Whisperer immensely.
I'm sure we'd like to see coops from other places and johnb75 - that makes me think of Chicken Little.
I have 4 chickens and have enjoyed them greatly. I am excited every day when I get the eggs and I love to watch them! However, they will die an old age because I will never kill them for food. :(
Hi Shirley - I could not eat a chicken I had raised, either.
I do agree that a backyard coop is a good idea. I don't like to think about the way animals are treated in factory farms and feed lots. Just got six chicks. I am really excited. I had no idea there was a "Chicken Whisperer." Thanks for sharing that. I must look him up.
I would dearly do this and wished it for many years. But l;uck keeps avoiding me.
Children love taking care of chickens. My friends bought theirs from a battery farm. Thus rescuing the birds from a miserable existence. Voted up.
OMG, great hub, and I loved your pics...so funny. I love chickens, and know people who keep them humanely and sell the eggs. It was funny to hear them talk about the lengths the chickens would go to, to hide their eggs! And do they love corn! I, myself, eat neither chicken nor eggs, so they have no gripe with me...I think they sense it, somehow. Anyway, thanks for the hub.
I had 30 hens for a few years. They are wonderful pets, very friendly. They are good mothers, love to eat bugs, like to be petted, and have a really interesting social life. We put down a 4 inch layer of mulch every year in their yard. They would search through that mulch every day, eat bugs and seeds, and of course, fertilize it thoroughly. It never smelled bad, was always clean and at the end of the year we would dig it all out and spread it under all our trees. Great well-aged fertilizer.
This is a nice article. keep it up.
Had to read this - back yard chicken raising is so cool, I'd love it. And a fresh egg is so delicious - most grocery stores, well, the eggs have no taste in comparison.
I like this hub! Back home in Jamaica my family had a chicken farm. I use to play with them everyday they are very affectionate and loyal
Great hub thankyou. I have 3 old hens. They have stopped laying for the winter and I am not sure if I will get another season from them. They can retire happy in the orchard Think I might get 3 young ones.I really enjoyed your hub thankyou...
Hi Patty...
Great article!
I've kept chickens for many years and this has a lot of good info.
Thank you for sharing it with us. (:
Take care and stay safe,
Diana
Yey for humane raising of "food" animals. A little kindness goes a very long way. Interesting hub.
Useful and interesting hub!Thanks.
Wonderful chicken information Patty. I have enjoyed my small flock of egg layers for going on two years now, and I have to tell you there is nothing like a farm fresh egg laid 10 minutes ago! I really like the concept of more small backyard flocks resulting in better Quality lives for the flock and healthier nutrition for the consumer. This is another outstanding hub. BTW--Thanks for the hublove!
Cheers~
k9
I enjoy your Hub as well, since I know little about chickens really, although I visit a lot of them at the State Fair every year.
WOW! That one large "chicken house" is really something!
I don't know how long it's been, somewhere between 25 and 30 years since my grandfather and I came home from First Monday, the world's largest flea market, which isn't so far away from here (held the first Monday weekend of every month) in Canton, Texas....with one rooster and a couple hens.
We've had chickens ever since, mostly bantams, and in every breed and colouration imaginable.
Those things start making noise several hours before dawn, or any dang time they please, really. They're all about fifty yards to my right, but they sound like they're somewhere to the left of my little trailer home....I don't know how they pull such shenanigans!
The eggs are a bit smaller than those from a grocery store, but the chickens supply all we need, and the Dad has names for each and every one of them...
WOW! - Really, that sounds like fun. And your own eggs, too. I love chickens.
I've never heard of a Chicken Whisperer before. What a fascinating line of work. I actually know a few people who keep chickens for eggs or as pets. Thanks for explaining what's involved. Voting this Up and Useful.
The online radio show is very entertaining as well as informative, too. There are no chickens in our own neighborhood yet, but the neighbors have a pig.
A friend of mine raises chickens - all sorts of breeds - I will forward him this hub as he will thoroughly enjoy!
The radio show on the Internet is pretty good to hear. Hope he likes it! Thanks for posting a comment, rwmaurer.
Good hub Patty! We just purchased chickens this year and are really excited about including them in our family and having fresh eggs! I do think there is a growing trend to promote sustainable living and many of my suburbian friends have small chicken coops in their back yards! Voted up!
That is great to hear. Happy chicken and eggs to you this year!
This is such a well rounded and complete hub...very nicely done and useful.
Thank you very much!
Very interesting and well put together hub! Voted up!
Earth Angel Level 3 Commenter 14 months ago
Dearest Patty,
I love the way you are always 'thinking outside the box' with your approach to Hubs! This one is no exception!
Chickens can be the most delightful pets for people who take the time to learn about them! They are fun, funny, affectionate, low maintenance, come running when they see you, eat unwanted bugs in the yard, love to sit in your lap and be petted, have gorgeous plummage, happy chickens add to an environment of calmness, make sweet little cooing/clucking sounds, or alert you to visitors . . . and on top of that they provide eggs! We can learn much from chickens about sustainability! What lovely little creatures!
Thanks so much for sharing!!
Blessings always, EarthAngel!