Chickens As Pets: An Urban Farmstead

Erik Knutzen and Kelly Coyne started keeping chickens in their Echo Park backyard a little more than a year ago. The two are co-authors of "The Urban Homestead," a handbook for city dwellers who want to live off the land as much as possible, and the couple were interested in taking their urban farming experiments a step beyond harvesting artichokes, blueberries and zucchinis. So last summer they purchased four chicks, and now they are obsessed.

"I used to think it would be so great to bring the laptop outside and just watch the chickens and work," Knutzen said. "But I can't get anything done when I'm out here because I can't take my eyes off the chickens. They are hypnotic."

Any urban dweller interested in living green has good reason to keep chickens. They reduce garbage by eating your leftovers mixed in with their feed, and they will pick off those irritating caterpillars destroying the vegetable garden. Their poop is an excellent composting aid, and they will even trim your grass and weed for you, if you let them. Added benefits: farm-fresh eggs right from the backyard and the amusement of impressing friends with an interesting new pet -- and for many it is a pet, not a future entree.
Read the full story here.

Related:
WATCH: Clever Chicken Hides Out At McDonald's

Comments

[TrevorAlan]

01:54 PM on 12/09/2008

I just have to say, I grew up in Nebraska not far from cropland...

and I never saw so many chickens until i moved to Los Angeles. Not just the county, the city. I mean I'd hear roosters as I was going to work and I'd turn my head in traffic and see one in a yard. Wow.

[stayinsouth1981]

02:32 AM on 12/09/2008

In this town, the rules are: No Chickens, No Ducks, No Potbellied Pigs.

[topkatnc]

10:04 AM on 12/08/2008

When my neighbors up the road moved they left 12 chickens. That was a year ago . Now I have over 30 chickens. They do make great pets. It is when you have more than 1 rooster that causes a problem.

[LexLuthier]

06:10 PM on 12/07/2008

As tough times loom, I have been thinking about shoring up my own food supply. I have the largest supply of compost that I have ever made (that's saying a lot) cooking right now, and I had been thinking about keeping a few layers. Thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread; it has been thoroughly edifying, especially the heads up about TheCityChicken site.

[mamacat]

06:10 PM on 12/07/2008

When we had more land, we had ducks, chickens, turkeys, rabbits, horses, dogs, cats, and a goat. Fresh chicken eggs for eating and duck eggs for cooking were a delight.

When we moved into our current house, we bought a single chicken. At first we let it roam the backyard, but they root around in the bushes looking for bugs, which tears up the plants, and they (and other fowl) have a natural habit of defecating all over the place. So, we tried putting the chicken in a large cage, but it was obviously very unhappy, so we just gave it away to someone who had more space. Furthermore, the local codes now prohibit chickens (and especially roosters) where we moved.

I do not recommend chickens and ducks unless one has a lot of room that one does not want kept pretty. Chickens also tend to make a lot of noise. I agree that fowl, and other birds, are a lot of fun to watch. We have three different kinds of bird feeders in the yard, for pigeons, doves, starlings, nuthatchers, mockingbirds, crows, blue birds, and hummingbirds, with the occasional migrants stopping in for a free meal. But chickens and ducks need a lot of space.

[Chaucea]

08:43 PM on 12/06/2008

Ducks are way way way way cooler (and their eggs are SO much more delicious, too)!

[Formeralaskangal]

07:44 PM on 12/06/2008

My BFF in Seattle and her family have chickens. They live in Wallingford and have a nice sized garden as well. It seems to work well for her family....except when racoons got a couple of the chickens.

[mamacat]

06:12 PM on 12/07/2008

We used to have problems with red-tailed hawks and dogs. Hawks love to eat chickens.

[abookishgal]

07:32 PM on 12/06/2008

If you do keep chickens just do your neighbors a favor and don't place the chicken coop right near your neighbors bedroom window. In our neighborhood the homes are so close together that the noise from the chickens makes life very difficult sometimes.

When I work the graveyard shift I really need to sleep in past dawn but the chickens don't let me. Working a split shift and need to nap, forget it. I've expressed my frustration to my neighbor but they enjoy their fresh eggs too much to get rid of the chickens and claim the current location of the coop is best for the chickens.

I respect their right to have the chickens but would appreciate if they in turn would respect my right to get adequate sleep. Chickens in an urban setting can make life very unpleasant for your neighbors.

[Mikeeee]

04:32 PM on 12/07/2008

I'll agree with that. Too many people deciding their preferences are more important than the impact they have on the surrounding neighbors( community). They're starting to act like a walmart store, an oil company or a mining company.

[EndangeredJackalope]

05:06 PM on 12/06/2008

Google "The City Chicken" for a list of chicken-keeping laws where you live.

[DemFem]

10:04 AM on 12/06/2008

I used to keep about 2 dozen chickens of all breeds in our backyard (we live outside a town) & it was great! They really do become like pets & will run out to greet you anytime you come outside, hoping for a treat. The eggs were wonderful, nothing like store bought eggs. And yes, the roosters will crow all day but my neighbors all said they liked the sound -- it reminded them of their youth growing up on a farm. They need very little care, just make sure that they have fresh food & water each day, but they do need protection against the elements & predators. We lost a few to raccoons & other animals (& perhaps hawks). After a while you will be able to discern their different personalities & often they are very sweet. We never ate any; they were our pets. This is a good way to teach children about nature & responsibility & to bond them to the earth. My son is a good example of this, he's now a biology major!

[GoVeg]

07:11 AM on 12/06/2008

Chicken are noble creatures.

[WindyW]

04:00 PM on 12/06/2008

They're actually pretty darn smart, too, contrary to popular belief. Mine know their names and come when called. I can ask my rooster (by name) to go get a particular hen (by name), and more often than not he understands and will go round her up so she's there when I throw down the sunflower seeds.

[EndangeredJackalope]

05:03 PM on 12/06/2008

That's impressive.

I've heard that can be fairly cruel though as well (not malicious, but instinctively pecking certain chickens to death) -- family chickens, not just neurotic factory farmed ones.

Do they destroy the grass?

[mamacat]

06:23 PM on 12/07/2008

We had a rooster that was amazingly intelligent and also took a liking to our baby daughter. Some roosters tend to act all crazy, though.

[pokemon]

05:41 AM on 12/06/2008

Barred Rocks. Great birds, docile, brown eggs. 5-10 will eat all the scraps you can get from the house, plus some grass from the lawn after cutting. Keep a mulch pile in the pen to attract bugs, and for them to scratch. You'l have happy birds producing more eggs then you will use.

I have 90 plus some turkeys. Of course slaughtering them is a mess, but I raised a 32 pound turkey (dressed weight) using very little corn, and lots of free scraps from veggie dealers and bugs (they are free range). Great fun if you have the space, and besides having to kill predators its easy.

Try McMurry Hatchery online

[WindyW]

03:54 PM on 12/06/2008

For small orders, www.mypetchicken.com will ship as few as three, depending on where you live. They also sell bantam pullets (rather than just straight run)--the only place in the country to do that. I prefer larger eggs, myself, though!

I don't know that the birds pictured are great for urban homesteading. Polish of any color don't lay many eggs (pictured looks like buff laced), although the Delaware there is probably a good choice. I love the Speckled Sussex, personally. They're good foragers, too, and eat less food to produce their eggs than some other breeds. Plus, they're friendly and quirky!

[WindyW]

04:03 PM on 12/06/2008

My mistake--that's a Light Brahma pictured with the Polish, not a Delaware. I just spotted her feathered legs! (Brahmas are a nice homesteading breed, too--quite calm and very quiet although they tend to lay fewer eggs than the Delaware. They do lay well in the winter, though...)

[DaveScriv]

08:00 PM on 12/05/2008

Keeping chickens as pets is very a popular hobby (not always with neighbours!) all over the world. There are lots of old breeds, most of which are now very rare because they are not used commercially anymore, which are only kept in existence by hobbyists. There are also poultry shows, including a giant event in Cologne/Koln, Germany a couple of weeks ago, where, similar to dog shows, breeders keep in contact with each other and compare, in a friendly competitive way, each year's breeding results. If you are interested, and have the space to keep them, see poultry keeping websites such as Feathersite, or (all modesty aside) my books, search: David Scrivener poultry
To Tulka2; Yes keeping grass with chickens is a problem, I have seen lots of bare mud patches over the years. It helps if you have big hen houses, and keep them shut in when its raining or snowy.

[pokemon]

05:43 AM on 12/06/2008

They eat grass, makes the egg yokes dark yellow. Best thing to do is pen them, and drop the grass clippings in. Attracts bugs and they eat it. Like a horse they will pick an area clean. Best to mulch using heavy wood chips (free from tree service) allowing drainage and gives them something to scratch.

[Semaj51]

05:39 PM on 12/05/2008

And the neighbors just love hearing the chickens at dawn - why buy an alarm clock...

[wolfmeister]

08:31 PM on 12/05/2008

Hens, the ones that lay eggs, are pretty quiet. They usually just cluck contentedly. It's the males, roosters, that crow in the morning and often throughout the day.

[Judyisacutie]

02:37 AM on 12/06/2008

Yes, throughout the day!

[pokemon]

05:45 AM on 12/06/2008

Roosters job is to protect the hens, thats why they are loud. My large one attacks me once in awhile, and gets clocked.

If you raise just hens one of the hens will take charge (lay allot less) but no really loud noise. Very quiet, I have 90 and they are not so loud.

[Tulka2]

03:32 PM on 12/05/2008

"They will trim your grass and weed for you, if you let them". To be fair to the unexperienced, don't you think you should say they will turn any patch of green into a mud flat? Please tell us what you think the ratio of land per chicken should be to keep some semblance of a green space?

[wolfmeister]

08:44 PM on 12/05/2008

You can use a movable pen and shelter to give them access to grass and bugs without destroying your yard. The eggs are far better than the pale, runny junk in the local store.

[pokemon]

05:47 AM on 12/06/2008

None. Look if you have the land they are great, just use wood chips in the main pen. Mine put themselves up at night. I would say that a simple backyard chicken would be a Barred rock. DO NOT buy anything fancy, they are a pain and die easy.

Barred rocks, fun and docile, lay eggs that are brown and tasty.

[DaveScriv]

11:28 AM on 12/06/2008

Although I am a fancy breeds enthusiast, I agree that many novice chicken keepers make a serious mistake when they buy breeds such as the Light Brahma (left in photo, have feathered feet, which need to be kept clean) or Chamois Polish (right in photo, their head crests need a LOT of care). Apart from Rocks, good breeds for beginners include Araucanas or Ameraucanas (both lay blue or green shelled eggs) or Marans or Welsummers (both lay dark brown eggs) Welsummers are Prince Charles' favourite, and he is Patron of the UK Welsummer Club (specialist breed club). Most breeds have specialist clubs in US, UK and many other countries. The very rare breeds are covered by the RPS in the UK and SPPA in the US. Try the fancy breeds a few years down the line.

[hellinabucket]

12:03 PM on 12/06/2008

We loved our Barred Rocks til they met their ends via predators. Give me a good ol' Leghorn anyday. They are wary enough to keep themselves alive & are prolific egg layers. Chickens RULE!