UMass offering a workshop on basic poultry care at the UMass farm in Hadley Saturday afternoon.
UMass is offering a workshop on chicken raising Saturday at the UMass farm in HadleyAMHERST – The University Of Massachusetts Center for Agriculture offers a range of workshops on all kinds of topics but on Saturday, UMass will be talking about chickens as well.
For the first time, the center will be offering a workshop called “A Flock of Your Own: Basics of Poultry Care.” Joe Shoenfeld, associate director for the center said they decided to offer it because “of the growing popularity and interest.”
Ten years ago, residents of suburbia “weren’t interested in such animals” but now he said more people want to know.
Several communities including Amherst are trying to come up with bylaws to allow residents to more easily keep the barnyard cluckers in places other than on farms.
The workshop, which is one of nine workshops offered at the UMass Hadley Farm, will look at all kinds of things such as how to breed and care for chickens, he said. They’ll also learn about heritage breeds.
The agriculture center runs workshops on livestock like this one and another on fruits and vegetables, he said.
There are two sessions and people can attend two for $75, or a single session for $50. The workshop on chickens is in the afternoon from 1 to 4 p.m.
The morning session, which begins at 9 a.m. offers the following workshops: getting a handle on manure and mud issues, pasture hay and weed management, raising small ruminants and the legal rights and responsibilities of livestock owners.
Besides the workshop on chickens, the afternoon session offers another session on legal rights and responsibilities of livestock owners, raising rabbits, adventures in animal reproduction and caring for your camelid.
Pre-registration is encouraged. Participants may bring samples of hay and weeds for identification and recommendations. For more information visit: umass.edu/cdl/news.html
The same program is offered in Dighton on Feb. 26.