Backyard Chickens Class

Gain the knowledge and confidence you need to raise your own backyard chickens!

Keeping a small flock of chickens in your backyard is fun, rewarding, and more attainable than you might imagine. There’s also the bonus of having your own supply of eggs right outside your back door!

Join us for this 90-minute educational class on Backyard Chickens and get the information you’ll need to get started keeping your own little flock of egg layers. The course will cover selecting chickens, what’s necessary in a coop and a run, common chicken ailments, and a list of chicken chores to guide you through necessary maintenance. Walk away with the confidence and knowledge to start raising your own flock and start collecting those priceless eggs! You will even visit Convivium’s own backyard chickens (weather-permitting).

Instructor and Farm Manager, AJ Shultz, tends our neighborhood gardens. From building healthy soil to harvesting over 5,000 pounds of produce each season, AJ’s enthusiasm for growing and enjoying fresh food is the backbone of our operation. When not in the field, AJ also teaches gardening and composting classes and serves as our garden tour guide.

Trust us – you don’t want to miss an opportunity to experience our gardens with him. AJ has been involved in edible and sustainable landscaping and urban gardening most of his adult life. His training and professional background includes working with organic farms and edible landscape organizations in Santa Cruz, California; Huelo, Hawaii; and Margaret River, Australia.

SLIDING SCALE

Convivium is a nonprofit committed to helping increase accessibility to the tools and knowledge of how to grow and prepare your own food. As part of this commitment, and in pursuit of a more wholesome and secure food experience for all, Convivium is now offering most of our classes on a sliding scale.

The sliding scale system allows for classes to be obtained at multiple price points, based on the circumstances of the participant. It allows folks who may otherwise be priced out of something to have the chance to take part in it.

How it works

When completing your registration, please self-select from the following three payment levels:

• Contributor: The contributor level is a pay-what-you-can option that allows you to do just that – pay what you are able to for the class, at this time. Please note there is a $5 minimum per the Eventbrite platform. If this minimum, or paying with a credit card, is a barrier, please call us at 563.557.2900.
• Supporter: The supporter level is the normal ticket price of this class. It covers all the supplies and materials needed, as well as the instructor fee.
• Sustainer: The sustainer level is a buy-one, give-one model that covers the complete cost of your class plus a small donation that helps supplement the cost of a Contributor level participant. By choosing this level, you are ensuring we can continue to offer this class in a way that is accessible and affordable to all – thank you for your generosity.

REFUND POLICY

Convivium Urban Farmstead has a no refund policy for all classes and workshops. If you are unable to participate in the class after you registered, your fee will be donated to our pay-what-you-can sliding scale level, which helps to ensure our classes are accessible and affordable to all. However, if Convivium cancels or reschedules a class for any reason (weather, instructor illness, etc.), participants will be notified as early as possible by email and their registration will automatically be refunded by Eventbrite. We appreciate your understanding and thank you for your cooperation.

Minimum Enrollment Policy

If fewer than six participants are registered for an event, Convivium reserves the right to cancel or reschedule the event.

The cut off time for cancellation due to low attendance will be one day before the scheduled date of the class. We will email and post cancellation notices on Facebook.

Inclement Weather Cancellation Policy

We will refer to the State Police website and road condition designations: https://511ia.org/. If the majority of the roads in Dubuque are designated “Travel not advised” (purple) or worse, we will cancel class.

The cut off time for cancellation will be one hour before the start of each class. We will email and post cancellation notices on Facebook.