WILMINGTON, Ohio — Andy G. Schneider – also called “the Chicken Whisperer” – professes he is not a poultry expert, yet he is the one person backyard enthusiasts seek when they want expert advice on raising their birds.

 

Schneider addressed a group of would-be backyard poultry raisers last month in his goal to help educate novice (and not-so-novice) chicken owners about the more important points of responsible bird management.

 

“There’s a huge, growing movement all about backyard poultry, not just in the U.S. but also in Europe and around the world,” he said, “I’m not a poultry expert, but I share the findings of people who are experts, as well as what I’ve learned by keeping chickens over the years.”

 

Schneider is the host of “Backyard Poultry with the Chicken Whisperer,” a nationally broadcast radio show all about keeping backyard poultry and living a self-sufficient lifestyle. Over the years he has helped many people start their own backyard flocks.

 

He shares ideas to help people keep chickens the right way from the start, saving them time and money.

 

“It’s big. Major hatcheries ship over 6 million chicks per year,” he said. “Fans of backyard poultry are people from all walks of life. Some are preppers, some are soccer moms; some are even vegans and vegetarians who don’t eat them, but use them for their other benefits.”

 

Schneider is also the USDA spokesperson for biosecurity for birds and the editor in chief of Chicken Whisperer Magazine. He gives five reasons why people want to raise chickens. First, they want to educate their children where food comes from, which leads to the reason two, the local food movement.

 

“Third, they’re great composters,” Schneider explained.

 

“They will eat any leftover, and composting by chickens can save tax dollars. The average hen can consume about seven pounds of food waste per month. If a town allowed 2,000 residents to have six hens each, 500,000 tons of biomass would not go into the landfill.”

 

He said chickens turn food into fertilizer for gardens and flower beds. Reason four, he noted, is chickens provide all-natural pest control and five, they make great outdoor pets.

 

“Chickens should be outside of your house because of biosecurity. and that involves safe handling practices to avoid making chickens sick, as well as people. 

 

One issue is salmonella,” he pointed out. “Children under 5, the elderly and the immune-compromised should not handle chicks.”

 

Schneider said the first thing on any backyard poultry enthusiast’s agenda is to check with local laws, such as county or city, and even homeowner associations. If authorities give the OK, he said there are then precautions to take and biosecurity measures – such as using hand sanitizer before and after handling the birds, having one pair of designated boots that are only work in the backyard around the birds; wearing cheap coveralls that are designed for wearing around the birds and avoiding the use of heat lamps.

 

“Heat is far more detrimental to your chickens than the cold will be,” Schneider said. “They are very cold-hardy. Chickens produce a lot of heat themselves.”

 

His presentation covered an array of additional topics including housing, nutrition and bird care throughout the life of the chicken. He reminded the gathering that pine wood shavings make the best bedding; the birds always need access to cool, clean water; coops should be well-ventilated and free of drafts; and to provide one nesting box for every 3-5 hens.

 

Always a lively, sometimes humorous, speaker, Schneider was even asked how to get a hen to stop eating her own eggs. He replied, “You can either eat her, or incorporate rollaway nest boxes so the eggs roll to an area where they cannot be accessed after being laid.”