The Suburban Chicken. Kristina Mercedes Urquhart
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too. They are easy to look after, don’t take up much room, and provide a steady supply of fresh, nutritious eggs.
2: Keeping Chickens in the ‘Burbs
In my grandmother’s youth, a small family flock in the suburban yard was commonplace. Chickens clucked contentedly in the background as American families went about their daily lives. It wasn’t a hobby so much as a way of life. In tandem with a garden, putting food on the table directly from the land was how it was done. After World War II, a massive shift in the way Americans eat began to take place. With the advent of highway systems and the growth of cities, food was more easily transported, and grocers could stock their shelves with exotic foods grown some distance away. Eventually, food was mass-produced on large farms, frozen, prepackaged, and trucked to local grocery stores rather inexpensively. Acquiring food in this way soon became incredibly convenient for the typical American family. Trade artisans, such as bakers and butchers, began to disappear, as it became easier to stock a kitchen or pantry with everything from under one retailer’s roof. And so, the American supermarket was born.
Almost simultaneously, many suburban and rural communities created regulations against the keeping of domestic chickens. Some cities outlawed the keeping of chickens within their limits altogether (although others, such as New York City, never changed regulations and still allow backyard flocks to this day). With the resurgence of self-sufficient philosophies and values and the reclassification of chickens as pets rather than livestock, many cities are now overturning their ordinances and allowing backyard chickens once again.
Are Chickens Right for You?
Almost anyone can raise chickens, but is keeping chickens right for you? Whether your city or town has recently overturned ordinances or never shed its rural roots to begin with, this chapter covers all of the concerns, costs, and considerations you need to think about before embarking on backyard chicken ownership.
Building an attractive chicken coop may not matter to the chickens, but it will go a long way in promoting good relations with your neighbors.
Your City’s Rules and Regulations
Like anything worth doing, there may be a few hoops to jump through before you can start your flock. First, it’s important to determine whether your city or town is one that allows backyard chickens.
Start by contacting your city’s health and zoning boards to see if chickens are legal within the city’s limits. If you’re lucky, your town may have municipal codes posted online for the public to read. (Be forewarned: Municipal codes are dry reading and can be a tad bit overwhelming.) Look under headings labeled “Animals” and “Zoning”—these two sections will likely provide some answers. If your online browser offers a search function, try searching for words like “fowl,” “poultry,” “livestock,” and, of course, “chickens.” Using these keywords to find the appropriate paragraphs could significantly speed up your search time.
When in doubt, county clerks or code compliance officers are great resources to help you sift through the heady terminology. However, if you speak with someone who assumes chickens aren’t allowed in your city, ask to see the codes that state the rules to be sure. For some municipalities, there may be no mention of poultry under the “Animals” section, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t allowed. Sometimes, the rules for how many of each animal species is legal per zone may be under “Zoning,” so try searching there before you give up. If your city does allow chickens, bear in mind there may be a limit to the number of birds you may keep, and there may be additional fees for any birds or other pets over that limit. Some cities may also require a permit and charge a small yearly fee.
Finally, if you live in a neighborhood with a homeowner’s association, you’ll also want to check with the association’s board to learn whether they allow chickens in your neighborhood. If they are against chickens, you may feel passionate enough to take steps toward reversing those restrictions. Educating your fellow homeowners and board members is the first step: Speak to your neighbors, start a petition, and present to the board all of the many reasons why chickens are a great addition to any backyard.
Know Your Chicken L.O.R.E.
To find out about your city’s chicken laws and ordinances, go to the website backyardchickens.com. There, you can search by state to learn all about chicken L.O.R.E. (Laws and Ordinances and your Rights and Entitlements): www.backyardchickens.com/atype/3/Laws
The Right to Bear Chickens: Eight Tips for Changing City Ordinances
If you find that keeping chickens is illegal in your hometown, all hope’s not lost. It is possible for citizens to petition, educate, and lobby to have an ordinance overturned. Really, anyone can do it. If you’re passionate about poultry and are ready to see legal backyard chickens in your city, here are eight tips for getting started.
1.Knowledge Is Power. Keep reading this book—and any other chicken book you can get your hands on. To convince fellow citizens, skeptical neighbors, and government officials that chickens belong in backyards, you’ll need to know enough about them to speak confidently about their needs, behavior, and proper care. Get to know chickens inside and out by visiting regional farms and speaking to current chicken owners in neighboring towns or cities.
2.Build a Team. Next, find like-minded citizens who are willing to help see this project through to the end. Assemble a small task force that includes two to four friends, neighbors, or backyard chicken enthusiasts to help you. These should be individuals who are familiar with chickens and feel comfortable speaking to groups of people, have the time to commit to the project, and with whom you feel comfortable collaborating. Other community allies may include neighborhood associations, master gardeners, local and slow-food advocates, schools, senior centers, animal rights groups, local chefs and restaurants, farmers, and food banks.
3.Build an Image. Give your movement a name. Then, with your teammates, start a mailing list of supporters and get the word spreading. Create a website, blog, or social media group (through sites such as Facebook and Yahoo), and invite citizens and local businesses to join, offering updates throughout the process and asking for help and support as needed. Getting endorsements from the community is important. It’s easy to ignore just one or two people who want to keep chickens—it’s hard for city government to ignore whole neighborhoods, vocal families, and local businesses.
Also, organize meetings for your supporters. Offer free screenings of films such as Mad City Chickens or Chicken Revolution for inspiration and encouragement. Find an existing chicken keeper who has a particularly docile hen that might be enlisted as a goodwill ambassador. You’ll be amazed how eager people will be to sign petitions, offer support, and join the project when they come face to face with a living, breathing, fluffy hen.
4.Get into Government. Educate yourself on how city government works and get to know your city officials, planning staff, or advisory board. If you can, identify individual members who may have a soft spot for the project and will take you under their wing. Having a pro-chicken ally within the city government can be extraordinarily helpful and speed up the process significantly.
5.Learn from Others. Learn the laws from other chicken-friendly towns and offer these as examples to your city council. What do neighboring cities’ regulations on keeping chickens look like? How many birds are allowed per residence? How far must the coop be placed from existing structures? Do your homework and come armed with information; you’ll inevitably need to navigate (legitimate) concerns about noise, smell, and curb appeal from citizens and council members. Be prepared to answer questions.
Also, find out how successful backyard chickens have been in those cities. If the movement is flourishing and complaints are at a minimum, you may ask for a letter of support from those cities to take to your council members. If you’re particularly savvy about governmental affairs, you may even draft a proposed ordinance for keeping chickens in your town (modeled on those