Backyard chicken expert Barbara Bullock, San Luis Obispo, California

Anyone who’s had backyard chickens in San Luis Obispo has probably heard of Barbara Bullock. For me, I knew her only as “Barbara the Chicken Whisperer” — I even had her in my phone that way — because she helped me with my backyard flock when we had chickens at our old house years ago. Barbara knows just about everything there is to know about chickens, from what they like to eat, what’s toxic for them, setback and noise rules for having a coop, dominant predators, and what the noises they make mean. She currently has 25 birds of her own in her backyard, so she’s also an encyclopedia of ideas for cooking with eggs. Listen to Barbara talk about her childhood on the ranch, her gorgeous garden (sponsored by chicken poop), and how she instills a love of chickens in young people through 4H. 

Instagram: @nightfeather_poultry