Urban Chickens 101

Khrysti Smyth, has been raising chickens in Somerville for 3 years and presently has a flock of 11 chickens. She got her first batch of chicks in 2009 and that led to becoming involved in the regional community of backyard chicken hobbyists. This past summer she started her company Yardbirds Backyard Chickens with the goal of making backyard chicken-keeping accessible to as many people as possible. Through her company she offers classes and kids programs, municipal zoning consultation, coop design consultation, setup and maintenance, as well as chicken sitting, and neighborly diplomacy. She has a lifetime of animal husbandry experience, including degrees in Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences from Texas A&M University, and Urban Ecology from Saint Louis University.

Khrysti will give us an overview of the basics till about 8, then we’ll meet her hens, and then questions and answers till 8:30.

All Somerville Garden Club meetings are free and open to the public. Meetings are usually held the second Wednesday of each month at the Tufts Administration Building, (TAB), 167 Holland Street, second floor, wheelchair accessible. Parking is available, and the building is a ten-minute walk from the Davis Square MBTA stop.