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Little chicken by hddod

Awhile back I may have mentioned that I was thinking of getting some chickens to keep in the backyard. Then we got Fable, the Great Dane pup,  and I let it slide. Who really needs to worry about a giant puppy and chicks at the same time?

Now that we’ve moved, Fable’s trained and we have more room, I’ve been thinking about it again. Especially when I fry up some over-easy eggs and the yolks are light yellow. At Best. Sadly, we got a newsletter from our HOA with a friendly little reminder that all livestock – cows, horses, sheep, pigs, chickens, goats, etc – are against county zoning and the HOA CC&Rs. With a little bit of research I learned that the county does not ban any pets. They only ban livestock in certain areas, which is any animal that you use for a profit, such as selling meat, milk, eggs, and other products. So now it’s all on the HOA. I’ve heard one other little lonely voice in the HOA forums saying they’d like chickens, so it’s us against them. Ha!

Dancing Chicken by joyrex

There are so many reasons to keep your own chickens:

• Insect control – What do chickens do all day? They hunt, peck and scratch for bugs. I’ve seen a pack of hens decimate a scorpion in seconds flat, as well.
• Snake control – Same as with a scorpion. While they may not eat a snake, they sure make him sorry for coming around.
• Fertilizer – Chicken manure fertilizer is one of the highest in nutrients of all the animal fertilizers.
• Eggs, of course – According to Robin Ripley, “In contrast to factory farm eggs, eggs from backyard chickens have 25 percent more vitamin E, a third more vitamin A and 75 percent more beta carotene [hence why homegrown egg yolks are bright orange and so tasty]. They also have significantly more omega-3 fatty acids than factory farmed eggs.”
• Local Food – What better way to know where your food comes from? You know what your chickens are eating, so you know what’s in your eggs and meat as well.
• Responsibility and Life Cycles – Teaching children where food comes from and how to care for pets is vital. Caring for chickens is easier than a dog or cat.

Red Hen by jamesmorton

A few concerns I’ve heard are that chickens are noisy, attract bugs and predators, and spread avian flu. Roosters can certainly be annoying, but many urban chicken keepers choose not to keep roosters. Roosters are not required for hens to produce eggs and many people wont keep them out of respect for their neighbors. An unkempt chicken coop can certainly attract flies, but like any pet maintenance is important to the wellbeing of  your flock. Backyard chickens are unlikely to contract avian flu in the first place. They do not “socialize” with sick fowl and are kept in better conditions so the likelihood of catching any disease is low.

Hens & Chicks at Sprouting Horn by ehoyer

Useful links for Urban Chickens:

• Urban Chickens
• The City Chicken
• Backyard Chickens
• All About Chickens
• How to Keep Chickens in the City
• Raising Chickens on an Urban Homestead

Hens by Amanda Rudkin

News articles on Urban Chickens:

• Chickens Given Roost in Urban Backyards
• City Well Suited for Urban Chickens
• US City Dwellers Flock to Raising Chickens
• Urban Chickens Ruling the Roost
• Eating Locally: Backyard Chickens
• Eight Benefits of Raising Backyard Chickens
• Belguim Offers Chickens to Waste-Cutting Households

King of the coop by ninjaclutz

Books on Chicken Keeping:

• Keep Chickens! Tending Small Flocks in Cities, Suburbs, and Other Small Spaces, by Barbara Kilarski
• Living with Chickens: Everything You Need to Know to Raise Your Own Backyard Flock, by Jay Rossier
• The Joy of Keeping Chickens: The Ultimate Guide to Raising Poultry for Fun or Profit, by Jennifer Megyesi
• Chickens In Your Backyard: A Beginner’s Guide, by Rick Luttmann
• Barnyard in Your Backyard: A Beginner’s Guide to Raising Chickens, Ducks, Geese, Rabbits, Goats, Sheep, and Cows, by Gail Damerow
• City Chicks: Keeping Micro-flocks of Chickens as Garden Helpers, Compost Makers, Bio-reyclers, and Local Food Producers, by Patricia Foreman
• The Urban Hen: A Practical Guide to Keeping Poultry in a Town or City, by Paul Peacock

Chicks in a Box by samdogs

So there’s some information for you. I’ll keep you updated on how things go with the HOA.

Would you keep Urban Chickens? Why or Why not?