Here's where you can find us:
For any inquiries and to schedule a consultation or additional services, please send us a note! Email is preferred.
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 617.863.6326 (Please note that I have a full-time day job - if I don't answer, please leave me a message and I'll give you a call back as soon as I can!)
Blog: TheChickeness.blogspot.com
Payments can be made by Venmo to @TheChickeness or by cash or check on delivery. If you intend to pay by check, please have a current Driver's License handy. Thank you!
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 617.863.6326 (Please note that I have a full-time day job - if I don't answer, please leave me a message and I'll give you a call back as soon as I can!)
Blog: TheChickeness.blogspot.com
Payments can be made by Venmo to @TheChickeness or by cash or check on delivery. If you intend to pay by check, please have a current Driver's License handy. Thank you!
About The Chickeness and YBC
YBC was founded in early summer 2012 by Khrysti Smyth, known as The Chickeness. With a lifetime of animal husbandry experience to build on, including 5 years as a veterinary technician and many years of field research in wildlife ecology, Her Esteemed Chickeness started thinking about keeping her own backyard birds in the fall of 2008, and quickly soaked up everything she could find out about her new hobby, doing hours upon hours of research on coop design, breeds, and everything related to their care. She got her first batch of chicks in May of 2009, and continued to become more and more involved, eventually entering a number of poultry shows with a few of her birds, meanwhile getting to know the people involved in the broader regional community of backyard chicken hobbyists. During this time, she began teaching classes and seminars and offering kids' programs back in the Boston area, and in late spring of 2012 realized that her knowledge and expertise were in high demand, and her placement within the broader regional community offered her a unique opportunity to connect local breeders and hobbyists with a vast population of urban chicken keepers-to-be. And thus, Yardbirds Backyard Chickens was... ahem... hatched.
Since then, Khrysti and YBC have become more involved in both the political and community aspects of urban agriculture, including becoming an integral part of the creation of Somerville's urban agriculture-focused zoning ordinance - the first of its kind in Massachusetts - and working with the City of Boston to create their own version, Article 89. We also partnered for many years with the fantastic Green City Growers company in Somerville, MA to develop and manage their backyard chicken services, and I highly recommend them for all your edible urban gardening needs in New England.
More details, info, and updates can be found on The Blog of the Chickeness.
As of late 2018, our HQ has migrated from the Boston area out to Western Mass, to the delightful little farm-y town of Granby, MA in the Pioneer Valley. We can normally provide on-site consultation and assistance to flocks all over the state (and into CT/RI, maybe even southern VT/NH or into NY), just with a few additional considerations for travel time. Remote assistance is always available by email, or we can schedule a call or zoom/skype meeting - please give me a day or two to respond to schedule a call, or send an email with URGENT in the subject line if you have a sick bird that needs immediate attention (or please take them to your vet!).
If you are in the greater Boston area and you have questions about keeping backyard chickens I also recommend contacting Gretchen, the "Crazy Chicken Lady" over at Chickadee Seed & Feed in Walpole, MA. She is one of the few folks I trust to know as much as I do about keeping a microflock of backyard chickens in an urban or suburban setting (and to have standards of care that may even be higher than mine!), and her store is a fantastic resource for well-designed coops, locally-produced feeds, and a variety of other treats and toys to keep your girls happy and healthy.
Cluckily,
-The Chickeness
YBC was founded in early summer 2012 by Khrysti Smyth, known as The Chickeness. With a lifetime of animal husbandry experience to build on, including 5 years as a veterinary technician and many years of field research in wildlife ecology, Her Esteemed Chickeness started thinking about keeping her own backyard birds in the fall of 2008, and quickly soaked up everything she could find out about her new hobby, doing hours upon hours of research on coop design, breeds, and everything related to their care. She got her first batch of chicks in May of 2009, and continued to become more and more involved, eventually entering a number of poultry shows with a few of her birds, meanwhile getting to know the people involved in the broader regional community of backyard chicken hobbyists. During this time, she began teaching classes and seminars and offering kids' programs back in the Boston area, and in late spring of 2012 realized that her knowledge and expertise were in high demand, and her placement within the broader regional community offered her a unique opportunity to connect local breeders and hobbyists with a vast population of urban chicken keepers-to-be. And thus, Yardbirds Backyard Chickens was... ahem... hatched.
Since then, Khrysti and YBC have become more involved in both the political and community aspects of urban agriculture, including becoming an integral part of the creation of Somerville's urban agriculture-focused zoning ordinance - the first of its kind in Massachusetts - and working with the City of Boston to create their own version, Article 89. We also partnered for many years with the fantastic Green City Growers company in Somerville, MA to develop and manage their backyard chicken services, and I highly recommend them for all your edible urban gardening needs in New England.
More details, info, and updates can be found on The Blog of the Chickeness.
As of late 2018, our HQ has migrated from the Boston area out to Western Mass, to the delightful little farm-y town of Granby, MA in the Pioneer Valley. We can normally provide on-site consultation and assistance to flocks all over the state (and into CT/RI, maybe even southern VT/NH or into NY), just with a few additional considerations for travel time. Remote assistance is always available by email, or we can schedule a call or zoom/skype meeting - please give me a day or two to respond to schedule a call, or send an email with URGENT in the subject line if you have a sick bird that needs immediate attention (or please take them to your vet!).
If you are in the greater Boston area and you have questions about keeping backyard chickens I also recommend contacting Gretchen, the "Crazy Chicken Lady" over at Chickadee Seed & Feed in Walpole, MA. She is one of the few folks I trust to know as much as I do about keeping a microflock of backyard chickens in an urban or suburban setting (and to have standards of care that may even be higher than mine!), and her store is a fantastic resource for well-designed coops, locally-produced feeds, and a variety of other treats and toys to keep your girls happy and healthy.
Cluckily,
-The Chickeness
