Serious Green: A Guide to Keeping City Chickens
This is my theory. You and all your foodie friends, the New York Times' Dining section, and the Washington Post's Home and Garden section can all call something a new food trend. Slate can even call it a bogus trend. But it's when a food trend lands on the front page of the business section that it's really gone mainstream.
The chickens have landed in our backyards and they're here to stay.
Everyone's got a reason for you to rush out to get some of these feathered friends for your own backyard: fresher free-range eggs, being closer to the source of your food, a sense of self-reliance, and free nitrogen-rich fertilizer. These are all legitimate answers, but if you want to take the step from applauding the efforts of others to taking care of your own little brood, you'll need more information than that.
Here, important steps you'll need to take before getting your own flock, after the jump.
Are They Legal?
First things first. Check if it's legal to keep chickens in your city. New York City; Oakland, California; San Francisco; Houston; Chicago; Seattle; and Portland, Oregon, are all chicken-friendly. Omlet has an extensive city-by-city guide to where you can and cannot keep chickens. It's also worth checking with your local government. There are a lot of backyard chicken activists out there, and chicken ordinances are changing all the time. As an aside, lot's of people keep chickens illegally. "Don't Cluck, Don't Tell" is the mantra around those parts. Not encouraging anything here, just saying.
Research, Research, Research
Squawkin' in Talk
A number of serious eaters responded to this fantastic thread that moibec started in Talk: "Raising Your Own Chickens: Pros & Cons?" Read more there from community members who actively keep chickens as a source of eggs and eatin'.
Wyandottes, Silkies, or Rhode Island Reds? There are a lot of chickens varieties out there, so it's important to do your research before your buy. Temperament, size, and egg color are all differing factors. Think about how many chickens you can care for and how much room you have. Many breeds come in a smaller "bantam" size, like "toy" breeds for dogs. Martha Stewart's blue-egg laying Araucana chickens started a craze for specialty breeds. The Mother Earth News Hatchery Finder allows you to quickly search the online catalogs of 70 mail-order hatcheries. Whatever you do pick, NO ROOSTERS! That cock-a-doodle-doo might be a classic sound of the country, but it's sure not going to endear you to your neighbors.
Cooking Up a Story has a tour of one backyard chicken coop with chickens of every color and size (video, above).
Get or Build a Coop
Chickens must have a place where they can get some shade, sleep, lay eggs, get out of bad weather, and be protected from predators like raccoons, dogs, and cats. I prefer the look of a traditional wooden coop, but you might require something a little more stylish for your ladies.
There's a special plastic coop, the Eglu, designed for urban chickens. Eglus come in bright colors (pink, orange, lime green, blue, and red) and look a lot like those old candy-colored iMacs. They come equipped with everything your new gals will need: wooden perching bars, nesting boxes, and a secure run. But with a starting price of $495, you might want to see what extra wood you've got lying around.
Feed 'Em
There is no such thing as a grass-fed chicken. Chickens are omnivores and cannot subsist on grass alone. Though they do enjoy being out on pasture, they need some protein in their diet, so household table scraps like day-old bread, vegetables, fruit, egg shells, and meat are great choices for chickens. No need to wait for those scraps to do their thing in the compost pile, the chickens have got it taken care of. You'll also need to supplement your chickens' diet with grain and provide them with clean water.
Keep It Clean, and Share the Bounty
You should regularly clean out and scrub the chicken coop. Keeping the area clean will keep your neighbors from complaining. Gifts of fresh eggs will probably help on that front too.
Finally, advice from a seasoned farmer who has taken care of up to 800 chickens on pasture.
Lisa Moussalli from our Meet Your Farmers series says: Chickens are not a lot of work, and they're so satisfying and fun. I suppose my only real advice to folks (aside from: don't get a rooster if you're a city dweller!) would be to just jump right in. You don't need a fancy coop or high-tech water-ers or custom grain rations to keep enough happy, healthy chickens to feed a family.
More Resources to Help Get You Started
TheCityChicken.com
BackYardChickens.com
Backyard Poultry Magazine
Raising Your Own Chickens: Pros & Cons? [SE Talk, September 23, 2009]
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7 Comments:
I also thought Susan Orlean's piece in the New Yorker last week (journalistic inspiration?) was pretty fantastic. If I had both the room and the gumption I'd love to have some fowl friends of my own.
nikonratm at 6:18PM on 10/06/09
An (illegal) neighbor chicken flew into our yard several months ago. She wasn't bothering anything, just picking through the yard. My fat daschund-beagle mix, Noodle, had just gotten up that morning, and was conducting patrol of the yard. The chicken gave a tiny "cluck" as she picked, not seeing the dog. This got Noodle's attention. He shot across the yard after the trespasser. The chicken screamed (yes, screamed), and flew away. Haven't seen her since. Incidentally, the smell coming from the coup smells something like body odor and rotten cabbage.
beth1 at 7:21PM on 10/06/09
@beth 1 - your description of the smell coming from the coop made me laugh out loud.....
i had a friend who turned an old junk car into a chicken coop. (though i would advise against this, so hard to keep the upholstery clean) the possibilities are endless ... i would imagine scavaging around would provide a lovely coop made of unique castoffs.
pooch at 10:23PM on 10/06/09
wait, feed them eggshells?
presquevu at 10:54PM on 10/06/09
Chickens love eggshells, I always crushed them up real fine and added them to their regular food. Grit helps them grind their food -- you can also buy crushed oyster shells which also helps. The only drawback with eggshells is that it can lead to chickens eating their own eggs which is why I mixed it very finely crushed into their food as I did have a problem with that at one point.
Chickens are very friendly and fun and easy to take care of and the eggs are like nothing you can buy at any price in a store. Chickens don't smell, but their poop sure does so you do have to keep it clean! You will be happier and your chickens will be happier.
Jilly at 8:50AM on 10/07/09
whenever we use some of their eggs, we always give the shells back to them. it adds calcium back into their bodies .... it's funny because they won't eat store bought eggshells.... only their own. they're so cute.
pooch at 8:57AM on 10/07/09
This is a well written quickie on getting a chicken! Another good piece that recently came out about having chickens (albeit not in the city) was in the New Yorker a few weeks ago (abstract: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/09/28/090928fa_fact_orlean) in an article by Susan Orlean. I liked this write up because she went through the entire emotional and logical process of buying and keeping chickens (for the non professional).
Linnea Covington at 9:42AM on 10/07/09