Do you want chickens?

There's a chicken craze going on. People want to raise chickens in their backyards.

Fascinating dual trends going on now. On the one hand, urban communities are becoming denser. On the other hand, more people want to raise chickens in their backyards.  They are not opposing trends, just interesting. 

Louise Cooley of Michigan State University reports raising chickens one of her hottest classes this year. And even our little town of River Falls has the City Council considering an ordinance allowing up to 6 chickens per house/yard.  Do you want to raise chickens?  Tell us your thoughts on this critical issue!

Comments

[code hooking api]

Hmm i really love chicken!! Hmm the drumstick is the best!! Yummy!! =P
I also love fried egg..hmm yummy!

[Rebel]

I have chickens. 2 dozen. We have fresh eggs every day, and sell the remainder, which pays for the chicken food. Pretty much a no-brainer. Besides start up costs, (minimal)everything's free, fresh & no chemicals. And it's a hoot to watch them in the yard!

[Suzanne]

I know people who raise chickens. But being a "city girl," the idea of doing it myself seems, well, scarey (even though you are allowed to raise them in your backyard where I live.)

I think people are trying to get away from the over processed, chemically enhanced, etc. food that is mass produced. I do have a garden and I don't have to worry about what's sprayed on my tomatoes. But I learned gardening from my great grandma who lived in Detroit's inner city when I was a kid. Had my gradma lived on a farm, I may have chickens now, too.

[D. P. Lubic]

It's a case of the old becoming new again. A century and more ago, before refrigeration became common, it was not unusual for people to keep chickens for fresh eggs and meat. My own house, in the town of Inwood, W.Va., built in 1925, had a chicken house in back (the last owner tore it down for a rather cheaply built garage); my neighbors across the street still have their hen house, and keep about two dozen chickens busy laying eggs. I get to hear the roosters, too.

Now, it would be nice to add the sound of a passenger train just a couple of blocks down the street, where the station used to be, in addition to the freight trains we have now.

Oh, this station was actually a dual purpose structure. On this railroad that ran in four states as an independent company prior to 1922 (Cumberland Valley Railroad), stations in a number of places with relatively light patronage were housed in grain elevators. The elevator at Clearbrook, Va., still stands and is in use as a farm equipment dealer and elevator, and has some station artifacts on display inside.

[Tim in San Antonio]

At my house, I might ask "What's for dinner?" only to hear "What's fare is fowl, and what's fowl is fair."

And as for the chickens cooped in neighborhood yards, I say, "Off with their heads!"

Eat more chicken!

[Trenda]

We tried to run this class in the 'burbs of St. Louis but it didn't go over well. Not much response.