Chickens in the City (and Willie Nelson writes an article titled "Occupy the Food Sector!")

Chickens in the City
No, I’m not talking about yellow-bellied cowards that run from a fight.  I mean the small clucking creatures covered in feathers that lay those ellipsoids we like to cook up and eat.  They are currently finding housing in cities and suburbs!  My city’s clerk was about as floored as I was to hear about it.  I called to ask about local ordinances regarding keeping chickens in my backyard, and she stammered through her answer after asking me to repeat my question.  She heard me the first time.  She just didn’t believe she’d heard me right.

*Note* This morning I took a break from creating my Seed Savers Exchange Catalog wish list to peruse the Huffington Post.  It was my turn to be floored.  Willie Nelson wrote the most intelligent article on the dangers of the corporate monopoly in the United States’ food sector and on behalf of the family farmer that I have seen to date.  His title is “Occupy the Food System”.  He makes the point that the food sector is bigger than the financial sector.  They told us the financial sector was too big to fail, and we all know how that turned out.  You can read his article here:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/willie-nelson/occupy-food-system_b_1154212.html. 

Willie Nelson!  Seriously, I’m impressed.  See?  Everybody IS talking about this food supply issue.  Order your seed catalogs today!  Or buy from a local farmer if you can.  A monopoly can only exist when enough people support it through their participation, also known as “voting with their dollars”.  Once buyers (and by that I mean us) decide they want something better, or once they decide that they don’t trust that the biggest food processing corporations have our best interests at heart, then buyers go somewhere else, and the monopoly is left holding the bag and too small a market share to sell their goods to.  They’ll have to lower prices to move what they have left and move into buying something more in line with what consumers want.

And now, back to chickens.

Backyard chickens have been in vogue for years now.  Elaborate, designer chicken coops called “Chicken Chateaus” are sometimes prettier than the owner’s house, and are designed and built for the backyard brood.  Heirloom chicken breeds are thriving again, bred for their beautiful coloring and plumage as well as their egg-laying proclivities (how many, what size, are they brown, white, or speckled, that sort of thing).  These heirloom breeds sometimes represent a sort of fashion statement as they can be very ornamental.  For a while they were a hobby, mostly kept as pets, and for bragging rights.  Fresh eggs were more of a bonus than a necessity.

Attitudes towards backyard chickens are changing.  More people look at at backyard chickens as a viable food source for a small initial investment, so now we see more “city chickens”.  My brother still lives in the neighborhood we grew up in.  His apartment building is a brick multi-unit in the City of St. Louis.  He has no backyard, just a concrete patio, yet down the alley from him, and I never imagined a day when I would say this about anyone in my old neighborhood, his neighbor has a chicken coop and three chickens.  Now my brother is thinking of doing this, as am I, but I live in an older suburb of St. Louis on a half acre lot.  I have the room for chickens, and a garden.  I rent this little bungalow on this large plot of land, though, so I’m looking at container gardening and a chicken coop on wheels (they call them “tractors” when they are on wheels) in case I decide to move to a slightly larger house next summer. 

When you keep small numbers of chickens, you have what is known as a “micro flock”.  The advantages to keeping a micro-flock of chickens are many.  The chicken breeds available today are beautiful and ornamental.  When raised from chicks they are very personable and friendly, each one expressing a distinct personality and preferences.  Chickens are known to eat insects, a huge plus in my book, which in turn makes for great eggs (it’s a protein thing, try not to think about it too much or you will stop eating eggs altogether).  They also eat many kitchen scraps and weeds.  There is a book that describes how to organically care for your micro-flock, including making your own feed, called The Small Scale Poultry Flock: An All Natural Approach by Harvey Ussery , which includes advice on how to keep your flock healthy, and other practical advice you'll need should you embark on this aspect of the self-sufficient journey.  Another book specifically on city chickens is called City Chicks by Patricia Foreman.  I'll be getting these two this winter so that I can plan ahead for spring, the best time of year to buy chicks.  I so look forward to fresh eggs and fresh produce next year! 

For those who wish to learn more about keeping a micro-flock from those who already do so, there are online forums like www.citychickens.com, a site which lets readers contribute to a Google.doc listing chicken laws and ordinances in their own cities and municipalities, organized in alphabetical order by state.  Another popular website for micro-flock owners is www.backyardchickens.com.  There you can find a free forum for owners where they can share, compare, and brag about their chicken raising experiences.  The site covers the different breeds, includes photographs, plus support and advice if and when you need it.  There are chicken coop plans for sale on the Backyard Chickens website, as well. 

Urban Agriculture is a growing movement.  People don’t trust where their food is coming from when they buy it from large corporations and it’s wrapped in plastic.  They don’t know what hormones and chemicals have been added to their food anymore, and no longer do they trust that the food processor is telling them the whole truth about it in order to make a profit or to maintain their margins.  Consumers often don’t trust where their next paycheck is coming from anymore, either.  This lack of trust in these two most basic areas has motivated city dwellers and suburbanites alike to become less dependent on any system outside of their immediate sphere of influence.  Most people are just beginning, and far from completely self-reliant.  Most will never be totally off the grid.  More and more people are taking steps, however, to ensure their own short and long-term survival, whether through Urban Agriculture, or simply saving for their own retirement in lieu of counting on Social Security still being there when they need it.  The nicest outcome of all, so far, is the way people are sharing what they do have.  Already I know that I will plant more than my family can eat alone, and that my chickens will lay more eggs than I can eat or use in baking by myself.  I have a short list of relatives and friends hit hard by this recession with whom I plan to share my extras.  Anything left over after my family and theirs is taken care of will go to my local food bank, since they are always looking for fresh produce to give to families fallen on hard times. 

It's something to think about for next spring!