Have you heard the media stories about urban chicken raising as the hot new eco-trend? I have - in several newspapers and even on the radio. Could it have been NPR?
If you believe the media, chickens should be running around absolutely everywhere. And as a culinarily interested gal, I've been keeping my eyes peeled. I have to say I haven't spotted one yet. I thought when I moved to the city I'd see those coops everywhere, and be offered fresh eggs by my neighbors. No baskets yet.
Well, the fab blogs Epicurian and Slate both blew the whistle on this heavily reported but rarely observed trend. When I read these reports, especially Slate, it was 'awww, I knew it'. I know how messy and stinky and noisy chickens can be. And living for a time on the N Shore of Kauai, where the chickens run free by the flock, well, you know it when they're around.
Slate postulates that an eager beaver reporter at some urban paper jumped on the story, then another eager beaver picked up the thread, and so on, and so on.
I'm o-so curious to hear from any urbanite who's seen one.
Here's a couple other nutrition goofs:
- Really?! (SNL piece)
- Colbert takes on health care funding
Enjoy your holiday!
Comments
Hey Annie,
There really is a massive backyard chicken movement currently in America. Most of the major national hatcheries (some that ship five million baby chicks a year) have been sold out for weeks! There have been chicken coop tours in cities all across America, and the Atlanta Backyard Poultry Meetup Group has over 600 members! How do I know? I'm the Chicken Whisperer. I host the nationally broadcast radio show, "Backyard Poultry with the Chicken Whisperer", a weekly radio show all about
(cont.) keeping backyard poultry. I'm also a contributor for Mother News Magazine, Grit Magazine, and Farmers Almanac. I'm the Founder/Organizer of the Atlanta Backyard Poultry Meetup Group (600+ members) and over 12 other backyard poultry meetup groups across America, including one I just started in London! By the end of this week there will be a backyard poultry meetup group in every capital city in America. I will also soon be the Atlanta Backyard Poultry Examiner.
(cont.) I have more dog poop in my yard from other neighbor's dogs then they have chicken poop in their yard from my chickens! I have more cat prints on my car from other neighbor's cats then thay have chicken prints on their car! I'm awake at 2:00am from others neighbor's dogs more then they have been awake at 2:00am from my hens. You do not need a rooster for fresh eggs every morning.
Yes, chickens can stink just like dogs, cats, hamsters, rabbits, gerbals, and fish! It's all about responsible pet ownership. We are not talking about an 80,000 chicken commercial chicken house. We are talking about 6 to 12 hens in someones backyard. Yes, there is a massive backyard chicken movement in America right now. I guess you're just looking in the wrong places. Look harder!
Annie, I'd expect you to do your homework a bit better... the Epicurean blog you cite as "blowing the whistle" along with Slate is simply a repost of the Slate story (just as yours is). Doesn't take too much effort to call a few of the hatcheries to see how many chicks they're selling or Purina Mills to see how much urban chicken feed they're selling (in small quantity bags) to realize the trend of raising chickens in the city is real.
I just finished a chat with Rural Lifestyle on Hwy 6 out of Central Iowa about keeping our right to feed ourselves via not outlawing roosters/chickens. There is a fear that they are smelly or unsanitary but that only happens if you don't take care of them, like any other animal, especially if you confine it.
I also run a small nursery near downtown Dallas, TX and we're about to launch the distribution a locally made organic feed for chickens. It is on the rise, as it should be! We should
con't.... all be able to raise our own food. Some places won't let you grow veggies in your front yards, what if your back yard is too shady? Where does one person's right end and another's preference begin....
If you can't see chickens/coops - it means they are being responsible and able to keep them in their yards, cleanly. But they are there!
There are AT LEAST three other homes on my block with backyard chickens and I live in SE Portland, OR. Local stores that sell chicks and chicken supplies such as Urban Farm Store, Livingscape, Concentrates, and Pistils (as well as feed stores) are doing booming business. We just completed our coop and moved our girls outside last week. I am anticipating eggs in a few months. I second Chicken Whisperer and Marie's comments that responsible chicken owners keep clean (and not stinky) coops.
This is definitely gaining popularity...St. Louis has a backyard chicken class (given through the Earthways Center division of the Missouri Botanical Garden) that has been booked full every time it has been given...unfortunately, many municipalities still outlaw backyard chickens...including mine...but the city of St. Louis, Webster Groves, Kirkwood, all allow it and have MANY backyard chicken setups.
Chickens are wonderful pets BECAUSE they can be NOT SEEN OR HEARD. At least that is one reason. We live in a subdivision with 50 chickens. We didn't start out that way, but the darn things are just so cute and wonderful that they do become addicting. We had chickens for 2 years before our neighbors or anyone else knew we had chickens. They only found out because we started sharing the over abundance of eggs. We didn't purposely hide our chickens, because we were legal, but we just didn't adverti
FWIW, I have 5 Rhode Island Red hens who give me about 5 eggs a day that I share with my neighbors. Three other neighbors within 5 blocks also have chickens. BTW, they don't run wild, they're penned. Get some now!
I'm technically outside the city limit but still in a line of houses. I have 5 hens that keep us supplied with eggs MUCH BETTER than the ones I can buy at the store. The house between us and the city limit also has chickens. Our chickens are a bother to no one. Beside the eggs, the chickens are great pets and super easy to care for.
I had several illegal chickens while living in the city. Now I'm in the country where it is legal. I highly recommend visiting madcitychichens.comm, it has very interesting insights on the subject. They also created a feature-length documentary about urban chickens. By the way, one of my chickens (Beanie, the piano playing chicken) was in their movie.
We have 26 chickens and we know several other people that have chickens as well (although usually they have 6-12). Our local feed store can't keep their chicks longer than a day or so from delivery and they recieve several hundred with each delivery. Those chicks have to be going somewhere. Also our coop is nice and clean, it can get a bit muddy after a good rain but then again so does my porch. Once the sun is out they both get cleaned! I agree with the others it is about responsable ownership!
I work for a new hip organic farming company in Atlanta, and have to say I had never worked with chickens before. We started with selling around 25 at our store, and we have sold over half. They are now 8 weeks old and truly amazing animals. They are hens, so they are not noisy at all. When they are making any noise, it is actually rather sweet and soothing. They are highly social and very fun to be around. They have their schedules like clockwork, which makes for easy pet care! What a better
cont.. way to have fresh organic eggs! I think this movement will grow with the sustainability movement, and once I move into my new house, chickens will be a welcomed addition!
Hi There!
I'm writing to you from the San Francisco Bay Area smack-dab in the middle of suburbia!
We have chickens and I know at least 10 other off the top of my head who have backyard chickens around here, as well.
We're actually putting together a suburban chicken club around these parts just like the one in the city of San Francisco.
I have 4 pullets and they are so fun! My husband just built a beautiful coop/tractor for our yard and it's working out nicely. The girls are quiet and friendly and are loving eating grass and bugs along with their feed. My town (outside of the Denver area)just passed a trial ordinance of 50 permits and they sold out within the 1st week. There is a wait list now. Backyard chickens are popping up everywhere now and with so many job losses happening, it make lots of sense to keep some hens for a go
(cont.) good protein source. No one, not even my neighbors know we have chickens in our yard unless we tell them. They really are not a problem for anyone!
Epicurian and Slate seem to be rather elusive to me, so maybe that extends to the kinds of neighborhoods their writers and readers live in -- HOA-controlled kinds of neighborhoods, which regularly appear in media stories about nitpicking over the littlest things.
So I'm not surprised that many readers from those sites probably don't see much backyard livestock in their neighborhoods.
I live in one of the biggest cities in the US, but it's in an older, blue-collar neighborhood with no HOA.
CONT: Of course a few "grandfathered" areas have livestock such as ducks and chickens, as well as quite a few horses, but many non-grandfathered residents also have backyard livestock, some that roam freely, mostly different kinds of poultry. There's also penned poultry and rabbits.
I just checked our city's municipal code, and while keeping penned rabbits is allowed up to a certain amount, as long as things are kept clean, keeping chickens is no longer allowed without a permit. And to get a
CONT YET AGAIN: And to get a permit, we need a note from our Dr/GP that we have a medical need for fresh eggs. What percentage of people actually have a "medical" requirement for fresh eggs? But I'm sure there's doctors that might write the note if we asked around.
In the middle of the city in SE Portland, Or, and we have a small backyard flock - in a townhouse no less! Lots of urban chickens in this neighborhood and all over the city.
Chickens are NOT stinky! Why do people think that? They're lovely little critters!
My wife and I live in Atlanta and we are raising 12 chickens who are happy to free range our backyard. We don't let them go to the front yard and they are very quiet. That's probably why you have not seen them. I enjoyed seeing and hearing the chickens of kauai. Nice article. Glad you could provide a platform for so many chicken lovers to discuss.
Hey Sayward Rebhal,
People think they are stinky because the only thing they know about are the 80,000 chicken commerical chicken houses. They have no idea about small beautiful custom built backyard coops with 12 chickens.
OMG - Who knew, they're all around me! Thanks so much everyone. I'll forward this to Epicurious and Slate. And, I'll write a follow-up, and look around for the info regarding medical necessity. Annie
Chicken Owners outside of Philadelphia coop tour pics: www.chickenowners.com/pics/index.htm
I've got 5 hens in my backyard, quiet and really sweet. My kids love them! My neighbors only found out after I told them, they have no complaints! I live in the city of Decatur, Ga
I have 6 hens and live in Dallas, TX. I also have a neighbor who has a dozen geese. I'm curious as to whether living in the city to you means living in the suburbs? I concur with the earlier poster who said that living in a community with an HOA means you won't see them. Many suburban neighborhoods are HOA controlled, so even if people are keeping chickens it will be on the down low. I also have to agree with the Chicken Whisperer when he says that properly kept hens will not stink and may
(cont.) not be noticeable if you have a privacy fence.
We have 5, in Seattle.
We blogged about "Why we are raising chickens in the city" at thetanglednest dot com
I failed to mention that there's been a day-old chick shortage among commercial hatcheries this year. With the largest hatchery in the country identifying 30% of their customers as owners of backyard poultry.
BTW...The Ethicurian post is just a link back to the slate article. So, I wouldn't exactly say that their are a lot of people questioning the trendiness of chickens.
I am fostering two chickens from the SPCA. They have such different personalities. One is outgoing and independent the other docile and a real buddy. I had read many people say they were entertaining, better than TV, and it is true.
I have had chickens and a duck (cayuga) in my very urban area. There are condo's all around my yard. It was amazing getting fresh eggs just about everyday. I had the coop part of their living area on concrete, which I pust straw over and just raked it out and hosed it down every week or so - I didn't have any issues with smell. They also had a free range area that was 20x20 and they loved it. They have now gone on to a different owner as I am getting ready to move, however I would definitely get
I am up in White Rock a city near Vancouver BC Canada
Obviously, if they were all of the things you claim, stinky, messy, and noisy it would not be hard to find them. Because they are not the above you probably aren't aware of their presence. Slates' reporters should do something more than sit around postulating. Perhaps some real research is in order. I suggest that you check out salemchickens.com to find out what is happening in my area of the States.
Where I used to live in a small town in CT lots of people had chickens, and yes I did get eggs from friends. We raised chickens when I was a kid. I think most people like the idea but are concerned about how much work it might be or if the chickens might attract predators or rodents.
Wow, you've received a lot of comments on this! Our neighbors actually have a coop but let the chickens walk around during the day. Fortunately no dogs have gotten to them.
My husband and I live in the suburbs of Seattle and have seven chickens. They are very quiet (we have no roosters) and even when we had them as babies in the house they did not smell. I know people who live in Wallingford who have chickens-- I think the above posters are correct that you wouldn't know they were there unless you were in someone's yard and they pointed them out to you!
I have to say- the trend is real enough to have a steady demand for Urban Chicken education and workshops. I get questions all day long, and offer advice on Twitter, even! It's a fabulous trend, and henthusiasts everywhere are delighted with it!
twitter=chookschick citychooks dot com
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