Almost ready for occupancy. (Photo by J.E.N.N.Y.)

What are chickens doing on a website called A Garden in the City?   Well, believe it or not, some cities allow chickens.  Of course they put restrictions on the how, where, how many, etc, but they allow them.  Our city does.    Not on our property, because it’s too small.  Our city requires a 150′ setback from the property line, and since ours is only 60′ wide, that pretty much rules out chickens for us (horses only have to have 50′… go figure).  Recently, they’ve allowed citizens to apply for a permit to have them on smaller lots (Sherry says “hmmmm”).

But many cities allow them on even small lots.  Asheville NC city council changed their rules to 10′ from the property line or 50′ from a neighbors residence, whichever is less – but NO ROOSTERS.  Raleigh NC has a “Tour de Coop” every spring, sort of like a garden tour, but with chickens.

First, think about why you want chickens.  Eggs, meat, companionship.  Figure about a half dozen eggs per chicken.  Don’t get roosters – you don’t need them.  Noisy (erh-er-er-er-errrr), aggressive.  Just don’t (in the city).

Next, find out if you’re allowed to have chickens.  Go to “chick ordinances and laws” on the Urban Chickens site.  It lists mostly larger cities (by state) in the U.S., so if you live in a smaller town or in a country other than the U.S., you may need to contact your city government.  Or google your city and the word chicken.

Then visit these websites.  They’ll tell you everything you need to know about raising chickens in the city.  By the way, I think Urban Chickens is a great name for a website.

Urban Chickens.net,  Urban Chickens.org,  Matador Life, Wikihow, City Chicken Videos, Back Yard Chickens, Urban-Chicken-Raising-101.

Do you have urban chickens?  Tell us about your experiences.  Use the comment box below.

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