Backyard Poultry with the Chicken Whisperer

Holiday gifts for the backyard chicken keeper

2009-12-16T21:35:00.002-05:00

Hey Backyard Poultry Buffs,

My latest Examiner article offers suggestions for backyard chicken keepers.

"CLICK HERE"

Holiday Chicken Coop Contest

2009-11-23T00:21:00.007-05:00

Hey Backyard Poultry Buffs,

The last chicken coop contest was such a big success that we have decided to have another one! Backyard Poultry with the Chicken Whisperer has teamed up with Creative Coops in California to offer you this great holiday contest! By entering the contest, you have a chance to win a beautiful, yet functional starter coop with run valued at $500.00! The coop and run will be shipped directly to the winners front door anywhere in the lower 48 states! (some assembly required) Visit their website by "CLICKING HERE". The drawing will be held live on the radio show Friday, January 15, 2010. You do not have to be listening live to win! To enter the contest, please visit the official Chicken Whisperer website by "CLICKING HERE" and then follow the directions. Good luck!

2010 Chicken Whisperer Tour

2009-11-23T00:12:00.003-05:00

Hey Backyard Poultry Buffs,

The 2010 Chicken Whisperer Tour is coming to a town near you!

"CLICK HERE"

Thanks for stopping by today!

ONE DAY SUPER SALE!

2009-11-19T13:30:00.006-05:00

Hey Backyard Poultry Buffs,

Don't miss out on this GREAT deal from Night Guard Solar. The owner of Nite Guard Solar, Jim Meyer was a special guest on my radio show today and surprised us with this incredible one day only special!

TODAY ONLY! Protect your flock from predators with Nite Guard Solar for just $19.95ea. and get FREE shipping too! (Reg. $29.95) 1-800-328-6647. Ask for the Chicken Whisperer Special!

Chickens come home to roost in backyards around the USA

2009-11-08T21:54:00.001-05:00

Hey Backyard Poultry Buffs,

Good article in the USA Today newspaper, and I get a mention too!

"CLICK HERE"

Thanks for stopping by today!

Your Support is Needed

2009-11-06T09:04:00.002-05:00

Hey Backyard Poultry Buffs,

Margy Stancill, a resident of Kensington, MD was a guest on my radio show this week. We have had many conversations since, and she has requested that we all contact the Montgomery County officials that are giving her problems about keeping backyard pet chickens.

Some of the statements that have been made according to Margy are...

"if the chickens are laying eggs then they are not pets"

"if they are not running around the yard free and not going in your house at night, then they are not pets"

I guess this means that outside cats and dogs are not pets either.

Please contact the county officials listed below and show your support for Margy Stancill.

Based on the comments listed above, they need a little help understanding that backyard chickens can be pets!

Thank you for your support!

Peter Hrycak peter.hrycak@montgomerycountymd.gov

Susan Scala-Demby susan.scala-demby@montgomerycountymd.gov

Hadi Mansouri hadi.mansouri@montgomerycountymd.gov

Carla Reid carla.reid@montgomerycountymd.gov

BREAKING NEWS!

2009-10-28T14:02:00.002-04:00

Hey Backyard Poultry Buffs,

Kathy Rubalcaba, owner of Layed in Vermont gets to keep her chickens and roosters!

Read the whole story by "CLICKING HERE"

Visit her website by "CLICKING HERE"

Congratulations Kathy!

Special Request

2009-10-25T17:16:00.003-04:00

SPECIAL REQUEST!

I have set up a special fund to help Rose & Kirk Derry. Rose was rushed to the hospital on Friday and had emergency surgery. Rose has a long road to recovery and needs our help. Kirk has been in and out of the hospital over the last few weeks, and Rose has had a very hard time finding work. Now she is in the hospital with a serious illness. I talked with Kirk this morning and their primary need right now is financial. The basic needs that need to be met are mortgage, utilities, food, and gas. The hospital staff ordered Kirk home today because of his poor health. Neither are able to work at this time. Rose is the Assistant Organizer of the Lansing Backyard Poultry Meetup Group and a long time listener, fan, and follower of the Backyard Poultry with Chicken Whisperer Radio Show. Not to mention a good friend. Please consider making a donation to help Rose & Kirk during this difficult time.

Please make checks payable to Chicken Whisperer, Inc. and mail to:
Chicken Whisperer, Inc.
P.O. Box 2681 Alpharetta, Georgia 30023

I will then write Rose & Kirk one check and send it to them in a card from all of us! I know times are tough for all of us right now, but please give what you can. Thank you!

Protect Your Flock with Night Guard Solar

2009-10-21T20:20:00.003-04:00

Hey Backyard Poultry Buffs,

One of the biggest responsibilities we have as backyard chicken keepers is to keep our flocks safe from predators. Why? Because there will always be something that will love your chickens more than you. Most predators have nothing else to do but figure out how to gain access to your flock.

When planning your coop and run you must address how you will protect your flock from predators. Many protective measures can be built into the coop and the run, like burying the fence between 12 and 18 inches deep to help prevent digging predators and attaching netting above your coop and run to help prevent predators from above.

Why not prevent predators from getting that close anyway by installing Nite Guard Solar lights. Nite Guard Solar is based on scientific research. A flash of light implies to all animals that hunt or feed at night that they have been “discovered” or are being watched. This is their deepest fear and forces them to flee the area. A simple, but effective concept.

Backyard Poultry with the Chicken Whisperer listeners can now take advantage of an introductory offer. Get four Nite Guard Solar lights for just $100.00 plus shipping! That is a savings of $20.00! Just ask for the Chicken Whisperer Special when you call and order! 1-800-328-6647

Thanks for listening!

Become a fan on facebook

2009-10-21T21:56:00.002-04:00

Hey Backyard Poultry Buffs,

Become a fan of the Chicken Whisperer on facebook today! Tell a friend and help us hit 500 fans before October 31st! Just click on the link below!

"CLICK HERE"

Thanks for listening!

Friday's Hatchery Special

2009-10-15T19:36:00.002-04:00

Friday's Hatchery Special is sponsored by Randall Burkey!

Get 25 Cornish Rocks for just $43.99 + shipping! (Reg. $54.99)

Just ask for the Chicken Whisperer Special when you call 1-800-531-1097 or,

Click on the Chicken Whisperer Special at www.randallburkey.com

Thanks for listening and supporting our sponsors!

How Chickens Eat

2009-10-14T21:21:00.001-04:00

Hey Backyard Poultry Buffs,

Our topic for tomorrow's radio show will be, "How Chickens Eat?". Topics will include...

How Chickens Eat
How Much Does a Chicken Eat?
The Healthy Hen Diet
Feed Presentation: Pellets, Crumble, Meal, and Mash
Commercial Feed
Home-Made Chicken Feed
Make Scratch from Scratch
Grit and Calcium
Seasonal Adjustments
Sprouting for Feed
Ways to Cut Feed Costs

Tune in at 12:00pm EST here: www.blogtalkradio.com/backyardpoultry

Thanks for listening!

*Topics for tomorrow's radio show can be found in author, Pat Foreman's new book, City Chicks. You can purchase City Chicks by visiting: http://www.goodearthpublications.com/.

Kathy Rubalcaba is back on Monday

2009-10-11T16:51:00.001-04:00

Monday's Special Guest: Kathy Rubalcaba, owner of Layed in Vermont will be joining us to bring us up to date on her battle with the Town of Barre, Vermont after they seized her chickens without a warrant!

Thanks for listening!

BREAKING NEWS! Judge Rules in Favor of Rubalcaba!

2009-10-08T15:57:00.003-04:00

Hey Backyard Poultry Buffs,

About thirty minutes after I finished my previous blog post I was notified that Washington Superior Court Judge, Jeffrey Crawford ordered the Town of Barre, Vermont to return Kathy Rubalcaba's chickens by 5:00pm EST today! I immediately called the Town of Barre to talk with the Town Manager, Carl R. Rogers. If you remember, Carl was a guest on my radio show about two weeks ago to discuss this case. Carl took my phone call and we had a good conversation. Some of his comments included statememts like...

"With many decisions there are good and unacceptable outcomes"
"The judge gave some good advice to both parties involved"
"The judge informed us that there shall be no further enforcement against Rubalcaba regarding this issue"
"We measured a 300' radius around Rubalcaba's property and 22 properties are affected by these complaints"

I immediately called Kathy to congratulate her and while we were on the phone the Town of Barre police department pulled up to return her chickens. Amazing!

I will be calling Kathy back this evening to arrange for her to come back on the radio show as soon as this Monday to share any updates regarding this story.

Here is the link to this afternoon's news article about the court hearing...

http://www.timesargus.com/article/20091008/NEWS/910089987

P.S. Please don't forget that tomorrow's radio show will be all about wind power and residential windmills!

Thanks for listening!

Warrantless Raid To Seize Backyard Chickens

2009-10-08T11:25:00.014-04:00

*An unidentified chicken expert, left, and Barre Town animal control officer Justin Pickel remove a cage containing chickens seized from the property of Kathy Rubalcaba, right, in East Barre on Wednesday afternoon. JEB WALLACE-BRODEUR/TIMES ARGUS

Hey Backyard Poultry Buffs,

I would like to share my opinion with you before I post all of the news articles and contact information below. I encourage you to review all the information listed below so you too can make your own opinion about this story. I also encourage you to comment about this story below in the comment section so we can get a good idea of how people are split on this story.

I am, have, and always will be a firm believer of responsible pet ownership. No matter what type of pet you own including chickens, dogs, cats, rabbits, snakes, or skunks, you need to be a responsible pet owner. Those of you who are regular listeners of my radio show already know this about me. On two different occasions during my "Chickens in the News" segment I have reported on chicken owners that have shot and killed neighbors dogs that had gotten into their chicken coop and killed their chickens. In both of these specific stories the chicken owners were doing the right thing by keeping their chickens contained on their property appropriately and the dog owners were the irresponsible pet owners, however I did not condone the actions of the responsible chickens owners that had shot and killed the neighbors dogs. This no doubt was a hard lesson learned by the irresponsible dog owners.

In Kathy Rubalcaba's case featured here, some may agree that keeping over 100 chickens on a one-quarter acre lot is excessive. Some may also agree that having several roosters crowing all day would be a nuisance. However, I would think that most would agree that a warrantless raid to enter and seize her property is over the top. Especially when both the city's lawyers and Rubalcaba's lawyers were communicating and negotiating about her case. Last time I checked this was still America and the Constitution including the 4th Amendment was still in existence!

I personally no longer keep roosters on my property, but do not think they should be banned either. I nor my neighbor want to be awakened at 5:30am on a Saturday morning by a crowing rooster, however I have successfully kept roosters in the past quietly and responsibly, so I know it can be done.

I encourage you to review the news articles below and then contact the Town of Barre, Vermont to let them know how you feel about this case no matter what opinion you may have. I now leave you with a quote that I often make while discussing responsible pet owner ship.

On any given day I have more dog poop in my front yard from other neighbor’s dogs than they have chicken poop in their front yard from my chickens. I have more cat prints on my car from other neighbor’s cats than they have chicken prints on their car from my chickens. I’m awakened at 2:00am more from other neighbor’s dogs barking than they have ever been awakened at 2:00am from my sleeping chickens, and I've had more damage done to my property from other neighbor's kids than they have had damage to their property from my chickens.

You can find all of the contact information for the Town of Barre, Vermont in another blog post below. You can also visit Kathy Rubalcaba's website http://www.layedinvermont.com/.

The following news stories are in order by date so you can follow the progression.

http://www.timesargus.com/article/20090910/OPINION01/909100332/1021/OPINION01

http://www.timesargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090922/NEWS/909229998/

http://www.timesargus.com/article/20090924/NEWS01/909240368/1002/NEWS01

http://www.timesargus.com/article/20090928/NEWS01/909280344

http://www.timesargus.com/article/20091001/NEWS01/910010348/1002/NEWS01

http://www.timesargus.com/article/20091006/NEWS01/910060343/1002/NEWS01

http://www.timesargus.com/article/20091006/FEATURES17/910060304/1034/FEATURES17

http://www.wcax.com/global/video.asp?clipId=4190631&autostart=true

http://www.timesargus.com/article/20091007/NEWS01/910070331

http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?S=11279017

http://www.wptz.com/news/21237549/detail.html

http://www.timesargus.com/section/NEWS01

Thanks,

Chicken Whisperer

Today's Hatchery Special

2009-10-02T14:19:00.002-04:00

Chicken Whisperer Special:

Fall is here! Winter is coming! 20% Off 3 gallon heated waterer! On sale for just $31.99. Order yours today!

www.randallburkey.com

Thanks for listening!

Another Randall Burkey Special

2009-09-25T20:21:00.003-04:00

Hey Backyard Poultry Buffs,

I just found this special when I was checking out www.randallburkey.com.

Barred Rock and Rhode Island Red pullets are just $1.59 each!

Chicken Whisperer

Today's Hatchery Special

2009-09-25T16:49:00.002-04:00

Hey Backyard Poultry Buffs,

Today's Hatchery Special

Get 100 Cornish Rocks for just $99.00 plus shipping!

Just click on, or ask for the Chicken Whisperer Special!

www.randallburkey.com

Thanks for listening!

Win This Chicken Coop!

2009-09-23T23:06:00.002-04:00

Hey Backyard Poultry Buffs,

Here is your chance to win a Horizon Structures custom built 4' x 6' chicken coop delivered right to your front door! The contest will start on Monday, October 5th and end on Friday, November 6th! The coop has a west cost value of $2,195.00 and an east coast value of $1,595.00 based on delivery costs.

This is a nationwide contest so thousands of people across the country will be competing to win! To win the chicken coop, all you have to do is listen to the Backyard Poultry with the Chicken Whisperer radio show every weekday at 12:00pm EST and write down the "secret password" given sometime during the radio show. You can either listen live, or listen to the archive at your convenience. Then on Friday, October 6th if you're the correct caller and can correctly name all of the "secret passwords" you win! It's that simple! Yes, even if you listen to all 25 shows the night before the contest to get the "secret passwords" you can still win! Ha!

Every Friday is "Fun Friday" and I will be giving away additional prizes including GQF incubators, six-month supplies of Purina Mills chicken feed, and EggCartons.com prize packages! This week I have given away a different chicken book each day by author, Pat Foreman!

Come and join us because we really do have a lot of fun! There is a live chat room during the radio show so you can chat with other backyard poultry owners from around the country!

Listen weekdays at 12:00pm EST by "CLICKING HERE"

Thanks for listening!

Support Layed in Vermont

2009-09-12T23:39:00.004-04:00

Hey Backyard Poultry Buffs,

On Friday my special guest was Kathy Rubalcaba, owner of Layed in Vermont. She told us all about her urban backyard poultry business and the problems it's causing with her town. During our interview I offered her our help. You can find all the information you need to help her below.

To listen to the interview "Click Here"

To read the first newspaper article "Click Here"

To read the second newspaper article "Click Here"

To visit Layed in Vermont "Click Here"

Here is the contact information for the town officials. Please contact them to show your support for Kathy and her right to keep backyard poultry.

Selectboard:

Jeffrey Blow: jeff@jetservice-envelope.com (H) 802-479-2448 (W) 802-229-9335

Jeffrey C. Gagne: btsbgagne@yahoo.com (H) 802-476-3955

William Wolfe bwolfe1181@msn.com (H) 802-476-9692

Jeff Newton (no email address available) (H) 802-476-1183

Marion B. Fish fishmar1@aol.com (802) 479-9218

Town Manager’s Office:

Town Manager Carl R. Rogers crogers@barretown.org (W) 802-479-9331 Fax (802) 479-9332

Not only will I be sending each of them an e-mail supporting Kathy, but I will invite all of them on my radio show to tell us their side of the story.

Thanks for listening!

Chickens In The News

2009-09-02T16:44:00.006-04:00

Hey Backyard Poultry Buffs,

Here are the news stories I talked about on the radio show today...

Building a Better Flu Vaccine--And Giving Chickens a Rest

In Portland, Ore., urban chickens rule the roost

United Poultry Concerns Urges Little Rhody Egg Farms to Stop Starving Hens

Backyard chickens becoming popular in Southeast

Baby chicks ground alive by poultry producer

Are you smarter than a chicken? Can you beat a chicken at tic-tac-toe?

Thank you for listening!

Free Shipping in September

2009-09-01T17:12:00.005-04:00

Hey Backyard Poultry Buffs,

Get free shipping for the entire month of September when you use the coupon code "whisper" at www.eggcartons.com. Wow! Thanks EggCartons.com!

Author Week

2009-09-01T16:52:00.002-04:00

Hey Backyard Poultry Buffs,

This week is "Author Week" on Backyard Poultry with the Chicken Whisperer! Everyday I will welcome a different author to tell us all about themselves and their books! If you can't tune in live don't worry. All shows are archived for your listening pleasure. Here is this week's schedule...

Monday - Christine Heinrichs, author of "How to Raise Chickens" and "How to Raise Poultry."

Tuesday - Gail Damerow, author of "Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens," "The Chicken Health Handbook," and many more!

Wednesday - Pat Foreman, author of "Chicken Tractor," City Chicks," "Day Range Poultry," and "Backyard Market Gardening."

Thursday - TBA

Friday - Today will be another "Fun Friday" because I will be giving away another GQF Model 1620N Thermal Air incubator to one lucky winner! Do you feel lucky? It will also be "Turkey Day" because I will welcome back authors Christine Heinrichs and Craig Russell to tell us all about backyard turkeys and how we can add turkeys to our backyards!

Thanks for listening!

Get 10% Off Your Entire Order!

2009-08-26T21:21:00.002-04:00

Hey Backyard Poultry Buffs,

Just a reminder that you will receive 10% off your entire order at checkout when you use the coupon code "whisper" at the following businesses...

www.eggcartons.com
www.randallburkey.com
www.hoofandhenranch.com

Get a free glass vase upgrade when you use the coupon code "whisper" at...

www.proflowers.com

Thanks for listening!

Fun Fridays!

2009-08-26T20:16:00.003-04:00

Hey Backyard Poultry Buffs,

If you're a regular listener then you already know all about our Fun Fridays! Every Friday I give away great prizes from our sponsors! Prizes in August have included a prize package worth over $50.00 from www.eggcartons.com, a GQF Model 1602N Thermal Air incubator from www.gqfradio.com, and a six-month supply of Purina Mills SunFresh Recipe chicken feed from www.purinamills.com. This Friday I will again be giving away a six-month supply of Purina Mills SunFresh Recipe chicken feed! All you have to do is be the correct caller with the correct answer to the chicken trivia question and you win! It's that easy! So what are you waiting for? Tune in this Friday for you're chance to win!

Listen "LIVE" weekdays at 12:00pm EST: www.blogtalkradio.com/backyardpoultry

Thanks for listening!