Urban chickens
I’m a petless kind of urban frog. I’m not a big fan of cats, and I always feel a little sorry for big dogs in the big city. And, as you’d expect, I don’t have a lot of affinity for fish bowls and cages. But I know a lot of people do like pets, so with that in mind I’m linking to Eat.Drink.Better.’s suggestion that you look into the benefits of having an urban chicken:
Behold Gallus Domesticus, the backyard chicken and latest slow food phenomenon. Traumatized by images of chicken warehouses, disgusted by food recalls and perhaps even longing for animal companionship, urban dwellers are becoming enthusiastic chicken owners…
Chickens are obviously useful in their production of eggs, which are collected daily. Each hen lays up to four eggs a week and so only three birds are needed for a weekly dozen. Chickens also like to forage for seeds and bugs, making them ideal lawn caretakers - they keep grass short and gobble up weeds and pests before they can reek havoc. Their excrement is particularly nitrogen-rich and makes nutritious, valuable compost.
Chickens are also friendly and quiet and if you’re a fan of scrambled eggs you’ll be doing your self an organic, climate friendly favour by cutting down the food miles and oil input on your plate. It appears there’s now even a movie about the urban chicken movement.
March 27th, 2008 at 9:23 pm
So what are the rules around keeping a few chooks in the backyard of the average urban section, as interpreted by your averagely zealous local body? I seem to recall that if you have more than 100 you need a formal management plan etc, but then I expect you need more than the average urban backyard for 99+ chooks.
(I suspect the challenge may lie with the large number of urban cats, less so the local council or the neighbours…)
March 29th, 2008 at 1:22 am
Chickens are also friendly and quiet?! Hens maybe. But all it takes is one rooster and you’ve got the neighbours from hell.
March 29th, 2008 at 7:13 am
I was recently talking to a guy who rescues chickens by purchasing them one by one from a battery farm. Apparently one hen is noisy as anything. But two are relatively quiet because they are social animals and need company (although probably not as much company as a battery farm affords). And yes, roosters are a different matter.
March 29th, 2008 at 7:40 pm
Neighbours from hell is a bit of an exageration. I never notice my neighbour’s rooster crowing at dawn. But then, I’ve got thermal drapes that seem to be good accoustic barriers when the windows are open in the summertime. (I live in Canterbury so there’s no humidity to hold the heat at night so thermals aren’t a problem in summer.) I suspect if my neighbour had two roosters there would probably be a crowing contest every dawn