Tour The Chicken Coops Of Chicago Next Weekend
By Anthony Todd in Food on Sep 12, 2013 3:20PM
Backyard chicken-raising has become so trendy, you can buy a $1,500 cedar coop from Williams-Sonoma. The reality of chicken keeping is slightly less glamorous, but dedicated chicken-keepers all over Chicago want you to see how they live alongside their feathered friends. On Saturday, Sept. 21 and Sunday, Sept. 22, 19 different coops around Chicago will open up to the public for tours.
Want to learn about poultry raising techniques? Want to get some ideas to improve your own flock? Or just want to live vicariously through others who have taken the plunge? No matter what your motivation, this is the event for you. Chicago Chicken Enthusiasts, a group whose mission is self-explanatory, is running the Windy City Coop Tour next weekend. The tour is entirely self-guided, with no need to register, pay or make an appointment. Simply download the map and spreadsheet and visit at your leisure. Make sure you check the dates - not every coop is open both days of the weekend.
In addition to chicken-keeping, many of the tour sites also have other home sustainability projects going on, including rooftop gardens, vermiculture, gray water systems and more. If you're into that sort of thing, we're sure that those residents would love to talk to you about their other projects too.