You are hereChickens 101: A Beginner’s Course in Keeping Chickens
Chickens 101: A Beginner’s Course in Keeping Chickens
In this course you’ll learn:
Why keep chickens
- The benefits of keeping a few good chickens
- Is chicken poop a good fertilizer?
- Do chickens till and clean up a garden?
- Chickens love fleas, ticks, and mosquito eggs!
- Chickens are truly sustainable birds
Why eat eggs and why eat them fresh
- The Incredible Edible Egg: myths and current facts about fresh eggs
- What’s different about cooking a truly fresh egg?
- How to identify a “fresh” store-bought egg. (Hint: they can be 28 days old and still be legally labelled “fresh”…)
How to Pick the Perfect Chick
- Choosing the right breed of hen
- Do I need a rooster?
- How many eggs do chickens lay?
- Where can I buy baby chicks?
- Learning the lingo
Children & Chickens
- What do children need to learn about chickens?
- Chickens as life lessons
- Can chickens be pets?
- Are roosters dangerous to children?
Chicken Housing and Yards
- Guidelines for your perfect chicken house
- How can I make my chicken house safe?
- Let the Sun Shine: Why light is important
- Human factors to consider
- Bedding options for the nest
Caring for the Newborn
- The life of a down-home chicken
- What do chicks eat?
- What’s ‘scratch?’
- Are chickens vegetarian?
- What’s a brooder box?
- Chick safety guidelines
- How long before chicks begin laying eggs?
- How long do chickens live?
The Work of Keeping Chickens
- Daily jobs: what’s involved?
- How much time does it take to care for chicken?
- What are the essential ‘tools of the trade’?
- Do they smell?
- Seasonal Work: Do chickens need heat or air conditioning?
- How much space does a chicken really need?
Chickens provide hours of endless entertainment, and are quite intelligent birds. This course provides everything a curious beginner needs know to decide whether to keep these delightful and useful companions.
Instructor
Kathy McMahon, Psy.D.
Clinical psychologist, academician and chicken farmer
For the past three years, she has run a website called “Peak Oil Blues” exploring the emotional impact of learning about and living with Peak Oil awareness, as well as its climate and economic impacts. She has kept up to 57 rare and heritage breeds of chickens in a section of her garage. Dr. McMahon had never even held a chicken before ordering her first group of birds four year ago. She has expanded her passion to include raising meat birds and currently has 9 geese.
She calls herself a “chicken fanatic” and shares that she “collects chickens like other women collect jewelry!” She wants to share her passion with you. Dr. McMahon has developed and run a local community face-to-face course to promote the raising of chickens for the family home over the past three years. She now brings this course to you, online.
“The excitement of collecting eggs never leaves you,” says Dr. McMahon, “and the taste of a fresh egg can’t compare to anything store-bought.”
When and Where
The course is 2 hours long and takes place at:
10am PST / 1pm EST
Saturday June 13th, 2009.
It is an online course, so you will need an Internet connection. We will have a break close to the one hour mark.
You will want a good long distance plan or calling card, or you can use a service such as Skype.com, Gizmo Project or Jajah.com.
Price
The registration price is $29 and you will receive 90 minutes of exactly the material you need to know plus 30 minutes of Q&A. Register today!
P.S. If you have kids, don't forget to goblin-proof your chicken coop! (Scroll down to see the instruction pamphlet.)
Do you have a course that prepares people for a Post Peak life?
If you do, please click here to find out what we're looking for.
