The following Agriculture & Natural Resources article originally printed in the 2017 Winter edition of the Oldham County Extension newsletter.
Coming in March: CHICKENS 101
Keeping chickens continues to be popular for residents here. Production in Oldham County ranges from small backyard flocks to farms that raise over 500 meat chickens on pasture each year. If you’re thinking of getting chickens, make sure and take time to learn about required housing and care for them.
Oldham and Shelby County Extension Offices are offering a program in early March to provide information on caring for chickens. Space is limited, so contact us to reserve your seat for these free classes.
Breed Selection, Chick Care, Housing, & Predator Control
March 1, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Presented by Walt Reichert, Shelby County Extension Horticulture Technician, at Shelby County Extension.
Health & Nutrition
March 8, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Presented by Dr. Jacquie Jacob, UK Extension Poultry Specialist, at the John Black Community Center.
UK Extension also developed a great site to provide information on raising chickens: www.smallflocks.org, which includes printed information and videos. At the very least, I’ll leave you with two important pieces of advice. The first is everything loves chicken, so a secure coop is needed to put chickens up for the night to prevent predation. The second is pay extra to purchase sexed chicks so that you only get hens. If you’re raising chickens for eggs, you don’t need any roosters. My grandma had no problem killing the ‘extra’ roosters for the dinner table, but many people are reluctant to eat something that has become a backyard pet.
Written by Traci Missun, Oldham County Extension Agriculture & Natural Resources Agent.
Oldham County Cooperative Extension Blog 
I’ve always wanted to keep backyard chickens. How do we sign up for the classes?
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Hi Elle, to sign up for either/both of the Chickens 101 classes, give us a call at (502) 222-9453 or email lauren.state@uky.edu.
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everything loves chicken lol
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I have a neighbor whose chickens roam free and come on my property often. They eat my feed for my birds and poop on everything. Is there an ordinance against this happening??
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I’d recommend first talking with your neighbor about these concerns. They may not even understand that this is a problem.
For rules/ordinances regarding chickens – check with your Homeowners Association if you have one. Check city ordinances if you live in city limits. You may also want to check with your magistrate or city council rep for questions about the problem or suggested actions.
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Magistrates will be familiar with any county ordinances that may apply to this situation.
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