While I’d read that raising chickens had become more and more popular with folks in hip places like Portland, OR and Victor, ID, I was surprised to see this piece from GOOD, where photographer Todd Parsons found evidence of chickens making their way into the big city. From his essay:
“In urban settings all across the country, a growing number of city-dwellers young and old are exploring the wonders of raising and farming backyard chickens. Recently, the photographer Todd Parsons scoured the San Francisco Bay Area for evidence of this burgeoning movement. “
His photos are beautiful, but these are two of my favorites. Of course, I’m not convinced I’m going to start chicken farming in my apartment just yet. I’m more of a shepherd at heart.
You can the full gallery here at the wonderful GOOD Magazine.
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More cities should make small-scale chicken raising like that legal. Where I live, the city has an ordinance against keeping even one chicken inside the city limits. I understand that people in residential neighborhoods might not want a big smelly commercial style chicken house operating next door. But a couple of backyard chickens wouldn’t be any more annoying to live next to than a dog, which is fully legal here. They use the excuse here that it’s to help crack down on cockfighting. While cockfighting is a serious issue in this area, and not being able to keep any chickens at all does make preventing cockfighting easier, it seems there could be some sort of compromise in the law somewhere. Like possibly putting a limit on the number of roosters a person is allowed to keep? Your average individual who wants to engage in a little backyard chicken keeping doesn’t need more than one rooster at a time and I would guess that cockfighters would want to keep more than one.
posted by Melissa on 11-30-2009 at 12:53 pm
The difference is that a dog barks once in a while and can be trained not to or brought inside – a rooster will crow early every morning loudly for a long time, and many many more times during the day.
I almost hesitated before throwing a tennis ball at the red-wing hawk that was was in my tree about to attack my neighbor’s chickens, but I chased him away.
posted by PartiallyDeflected on 11-30-2009 at 1:33 pm
I have a backyard flock (if two chickens count as a flock). I live in a mid-sized city – Reno, NV.
I highly recommend the birds to anyone with an enclosed yard. They have eliminated all my backyard weeds and helped the grass grow greener. They are very low maintenance for a pet and are quite quirky and fun. Best of all the eggs are spectacular; far better than even the most expensive boutique eggs from the grocery store.
posted by n2y2 on 11-30-2009 at 2:18 pm
Partial D,
The only reason to keep a rooster is if you want fertilized eggs. If the operation is large enough to raise chicks, it is beyond the realm of an urban backyard flock.
Honestly, I don’t think that roosters should be allowed within the city limits. Hens lay eggs are are much more quiet if kept in small numbers.
Roosters are typically used for meat-producing flocks, where the pullets are usually butchered before they begin laying. Again, that doesn’t really fit within my definition of an urban backyard flock.
posted by n2y2 on 11-30-2009 at 2:26 pm
Most areas will not allow roosters, but will allow up to three chickens. As this site will tell you, http://home.centurytel.net/thecitychicken/, don’t necessarily take the first response as gospel. You may need to do your own research to find out the real truth.
On the funny side, I know of people who spent several hundreds of dollars for one chicken and one small chicken igloo so their kids could learn about the thrill of raising your own eggs.
posted by hyacinth on 11-30-2009 at 2:53 pm
Here in NZ, we follow the hens only rule in cities. It’s nice. You almost never know if your neighbours have chickens. If we had the space, we’d do it too. Some next-to-nothing cost eggs would be awesome.
posted by Bakedpotatoes on 11-30-2009 at 3:18 pm
Let me understand. You got the hen, the chicken, and the rooster. The rooster goes with the chicken. So who’s having sex with the hen?
posted by Frank Costanza on 11-30-2009 at 5:23 pm
I have been doing the small scale farming thing for a couple of years now and have experimented with a few different animals(pigs, turkeys, ducks, quail, and chickens). By far I have got the most bang for my buck out of chickens. Cheap to feed and they produce lots of eggs and great manure. Any urban gardener would benefit greatly from having chickens as this will be all the nutrients they need to recharge their gardens. If noise is an issue do not have roosters. Hens are quiet.
posted by Steve on 11-30-2009 at 8:29 pm
Great pictures! I love chickens!
Chickens in the city is a growing phenomenon in the UK, too! In London, there’s something like 30,000 chicken farmers, and now, folks are raising bees, grazing cows on public lands, all that. Click on my name for a link to an article I wrote in the Christian Science Monitor about the whole thing back in September.
posted by Linda on 12-1-2009 at 8:03 am