Urban Chickens are a growing trend:
- There are no exact numbers of pet fowl owners, but membership in BackYardChickens.com has grown to 100,000 on July 27, 2011, according to Rob Ludlow, of San Francisco, the site's founder and co-author of "Raising Chickens for Dummies." Maher, Kris. (August 2, 2011). Cooped Up: Chickens Come Home to Roost for Urbanites With a Yen for the Hen. Wall Street Journal Online. Retrieved August 22, 2011, from
- The popularity of Backyard Chickens isn’t limited to rural areas. In 2008, 65% of major cities allowed urban chickens, and 40% permitted roosters. Bennett, Jessica. (November 16, 2008). The New Coop de Ville. The Daily Beast. Retrieved August 22, from
- An estimated 300 North American cities allow a few backyard chickens. Miner, Sarah. (March/April 2009). Chickens in Your Backyard. Natural Life Magazine. Retrieved August 22, 2011, from
The backyard chicken movement is growing. As more people become interested many want to know about the laws in their cities. This website is collecting summaries of local laws for cities around the country regarding backyard poultry:
Chicken are a safer, smarter source of food:
- Keeping chickens is an efficient food source as eggs are rated by the UN Food and Agriculture as a more efficient source of protein than the other four top sources, higher in value than cow’s milk, fish, beef, or soybeans. Good Food World Staff. (May 26, 2011). A Dozen Reasons to Have Urban Chickens. Good Food World. Retrieved August 4, 2011, from
Chickens are the ultimate addition to sustainable living:
- Theyenhance backyard agriculture by producing manure for fertilizer and compost, along with being mobile herbiciders and pesticiderers. They divert food and yard waste out of landfills. Chickens can also help convert biomass “waste” into organic fertilizer, compost, garden soil and eggs. This can help save tax payer dollars from being spent on solid waste management streams. They decrease oil consumption and lower carbon footprints. Commercial food systems cannot work without oil. Over 17% of America’s oil is used in agricultural production and, about 25% of this oil is used for fertilizer. The total energy input of food production, processing, packaging, transporting and storing is greater than the calories consumed. It is estimated that every person in this country requires about one gallon of oil per day just to bring food to the table. How sustainable is that? Chickens can help America kick the oil habit by decreasing the amount of oil products used in feeding ourselves. Summarized quote from Pat Foreman author of City Chicks: Keeping Micro-flocks of Chickens as Garden Helpers, Compost Makers, Bio-recyclers and Local Food Supplies. Kriese, Thomas. (February 26, 2010). Reason #372 to keep urban chickens: they make us self-sufficient. Urban Chickens Network Blog. Retrieved August 4, 2011, from
The urban chicken movement is not just an American one:
- Nearly 700,000 Brits now keep chickens - a rise of 80 per cent in three years, figures reveal. Sales of poultry pens (chicken coops) have nearly doubled since 2008. Soodin, Vince. (August 1, 2011). 700,000 Brits Now Keep Chickens. The Sun. Retrieved September 4, 2011, from
- The Henkeeper’s Association estimates the number of households keeping hens in the UK has more than doubled in the past decade. A UK company selling chicken coops has seen a staggering 360 percent rise in the number of coops sold in 2010 compared to the previous year. Author Unknown. (March 16, 2011). The Scramble for Homegrown Eggs. Yorkshire Post. Retrieved September 4, 2011, from
- One Belgian city is actually giving three laying hens to 2,000 homes in an effort to reduce landfill costs. City officials expect to recover a significant portion of the $600,000 a year the city spends on dealing with this type of household "trash." According to Foreman, a single chicken can biorecycle about seven pounds of food residuals in a month. If just 2,000 households raise three hens, it could divert 252 tons of waste from landfills annually.Zerbe, Leah. (n.d.). 5 Reasons to Raise Chickens. Organic Gardening. Retrieved September 4, 2011, from