FALLBROOK – As part of the lecture series, the Fallbrook Library is hosting a program on raising backyard chickens with Paul Barbano at 6 p.m. on Jan. 3, 2013.

Local foods are all the rage now and backyard chickens are riding the wave.

Residents can find out the basics. Are backyard chickens legal? Which breed is best for a certain location? Start with chicks or full-grown hens?

Barbano will also discuss housing and outdoor pens; feed, water, sunlight, and shade; common chicken problems (predators, wild and tame; illness, accidents); and answer questions. Handouts will be provided and samples of various colored eggs will be on display. A bonus: two live friendly hens in a portable cage will attend!

Barbano has a background in agriculture and is a farm and garden writer for several newspapers. He has backyard chickens at his home in Vista and is locally known as a chicken consultant.

For more information about this event, visit the Fallbrook Library, 124 S Mission Road, or contact branch staff at (760) 731-4650.