Backyard chickens on the rise in urban areas, six week wait for chicks on order

July 1, 9:50 PMSimple Living ExaminerSallie Schaaf Borrink

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It's a sign of the times.  As people grow increasingly concerned about their financial bottom line, they are looking for ways to save and, especially, cut their grocery budget.  As a result of this new interest in frugality, more urban dwellers are raising chickens in their backyard.

According to a recent Los Angeles Times article, some cities such as Madison (WI), Los Angeles, Seattle, Baltimore and Chicago already have laws on the books that allow up to four chickens per backyard.  Other cities such as Iowa City and Traverse City (MI) are considering allowing backyard chickens. One major supplier says there is a six week wait for chicks and they can hardly keep up with the demand.

However, not everyone is keen on the backyard additions.  From Backyard chickens on the rise:

City leaders in New Haven, Conn., this month wrestled with the implications of legalizing backyard roosts at a contentious public hearing. Critics worried the urban homesteaders wouldn't stop at vegetable gardens and chicken coops. There are already rumblings that, in cities like Seattle, they have expanded into beekeeping and miniature-goat herding.

"When you live with your food, you have issues," said Paul Kowalski, head of New Haven's environmental health program. "Raising your own food is cool, but not when you have yards that are 20 feet by 30 feet."

Such fears were enough to quash pro-chicken legislative efforts in the village of Caledonia, Wis., about 30 miles south of Milwaukee.

As people continue to look for ways to feed their families and also embrace a simpler lifestyle, expect to see this issue of backyard chickens pop up in communities all across America.