Chickens Return to Roost in the Urban Garden
By Vanessa Richins
Urban gardening has more to it than just plants these days.
Chicken farming is on the rise in cities.
An article in Newsweek explores the growing trend of raising chickens in urban areas.
They give, as example, Brooklyn real-estate agent Maria Mackin.
After her family visited a bed-and-breakfast in the Pennsylvania Dutch area, they were entranced when the cook was able to just go outside when she had run out of eggs. She and her husband convinced the owner to let them buy four chickens.
These days, Mackin is sure to order a new set of chicks every Easter. She shares eggs (and sometimes a chicken or two) with friends and neighbors. A local restaurant is able to advertise fresh eggs by buying some of her bounty. She trades chicken fertilizer with a community garden and gets hay in return.
Maria Mackin is lucky – there are no limits to how many chickens are allowed in New York. Roosters, however, are prohibited to keep the noise down. NEWSWEEK reports that at least 30 different community gardens there are raising chickens for their eggs.
Other cities have more strict regulations. Ann Arbor, Michigan now allows residents to have up to four chickens per household. Other cities have won the fight to ease restrictions. Chickens can be considered both as pets and as livestock, so laws will vary by city.
If you are interested in raising chickens, be sure to check out your city regulations. Here are some websites where you can learn more about urban chicken farming:
Eat local – raise your own chickens and eggs. If I ever manage to buy a house, I think I may get some chickens of my own.
November 28th, 2008 at 3:53 pm
Thanks for linking to us! That Newsweek article sure has received a lot of press.
This is a great website. I’ve enjoyed looking through it!
Thanks again.
December 8th, 2008 at 8:36 am
You’re very welcome. Glad you’ve enjoyed looking through Urban Garden Casual. I love you guys’ logo. It’s so urban chick sheik