Urban Chickens: The Latest Trend In New York City (VIDEO)

HuffPost Green is based in New York, and we've heard plenty about the chicken-raising trend in our fair city from organizations like Just Food. However, we're quite excited to see that the practice is getting such great exposure on a platform like The Today Show. Check out this awesome video about people raising chickens in New York City and nearby areas. From backyards in Brooklyn to schools in the South Bronx, chicken-raising is definitely not just for rural farms anymore -- it's part of a much larger trend of people taking interest in where their food comes from and shortening the distance from farm to table.

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Comments

[cucumber]

06:06 PM on 09/03/2009

What do you think happened to all the male chicks (chick are sexed after birth)? They were put through a grinder, alive. There's no such thing a humane eggs, when you take this into account.

Don't say it's not true without doing the research. What happened to the male counterpart of that chick you just bought at the feedstore?

[pokemon]

05:07 PM on 09/04/2009

We use the females for eggs, keeping the strongest males for breeding, then we can hatch eggs anytime we want. Most Males are raised for meat, females for layers.

You assume way too much. Not everyone is a factory

[toxicbrainpoison]

01:56 PM on 09/03/2009

I think its illegal to keep chickens in New York City. Just sayin.

[mamacat]

11:53 PM on 09/03/2009

It is illegal in the city where we live, in California, although we didn't know that when we tried to raise a couple.
We tried raising a few chickens for eggs when we moved into this city, but because of the size of the yard, or rather the lack of size of the yard, we had to put them in cages. Even though we put them in large cages, with a dirt floor, the chickens were unhappy, and ate their own eggs. When kept in small metal cages, on commercial chicken farms, the eggs roll out of the cage so the chicken can't eat them.
We tried letting the chickens run free in the backyard, but they tear up everything, and make a real mess. Where we used to live, we had enough room that the chickens could have their own place, and it was too big for them to turn into a sty.

Some of the neighbors we know also tried to raise their own chickens, but everyone gave it up. Even though our yards are considered large by city standards, they are still too small to let the chickens roam free. So, my advice is, if one lives in the city, don't try to raise chickens.

[Tulka2]

08:57 PM on 09/02/2009

Oh, get a grip. The urban chicken movement did not start in NYC. (The provincialism of NYC is irritating, isn't it? As if.)

Well, after all chickens ARE jungle fowl so why wouldn't they do well?

This is so good for city children. I want the children to see how much animal mothers love their babies. Reality check. No mothers on the planet are prouder of their babies than are hens.

I was just thinking this morning how cool it would be to put a small farm in Central park. There used to be sheep in the "sheep meadow", after all.

There is another Huff Post article today under animals about how sceintists now conceed animals laugh. And love. The planet is permeated with love and laughter. Human children need to be exposed to other species and we need to get away from factory farms.

[BlueFloyd]

02:55 PM on 09/03/2009

there IS a real functioning farm in Queens. just three blocks from the Grand Central.

[Tulka2]

03:11 PM on 09/03/2009

"The New Yorker" article about Governors Island made me think that would be a great place for an Old McDonald's subsistence farm. They don't know what to do with that space really and the ferry is free... so kids could get there.

If we want to get away from factory farming, the kids need to be brought face to face with managing animals. All the hens can't die of old age... just for instance... old hens go in the stew pot. Even if... especially if... said hens are beloved and have names. The more humans get in the face of the sacrifice we require of other species, the healthier we will be. We will require lots less animal protein in America.

[lizzyLoo]

08:20 PM on 09/02/2009

I've always been fortunate to live in a rural area where gardening is a way of life. Chickens are great and the eggs are fabulous! It's great to see people in urban areas learning the wonders of returning to Mother Nature. May this trend never die!!

[protoceratops]

04:38 PM on 09/02/2009

i didn't know chickens could fly.

[SusanTW]

02:54 PM on 09/02/2009

I just started raising chickens - even though I have a small yard and live near a pond.
I can't believe 1. how easy it is
2. how much personality the chickens have
3. how DELICIOUS the eggs are
It's fun and satisfying. It does make me more aware what I eat.
At first, I was overwhelmed with the responsibility. The hardest part was building the coop and learning how to care for them. Now, I'm an old pro.
go to www.cluck-cluck-here.blogspot.com

[Tulka2]

09:04 PM on 09/02/2009

...and 4. every little poop is a bonanza for the garden.

[Maggie Jackson]

02:40 PM on 09/02/2009

My two Silkie chickens come from a backyard in Ann Arbor. GO chickens! The hen my granddaughter named "Tiger" just started laying blue eggs...is that cool or what? Oh, yes, this raising chickens thing is WAY fun.

[BlueFloyd]

01:43 PM on 09/02/2009

Check out the QUEENS COUNTY FARM, right in Queens, NYC. Beautiful!!! farm animals, hundreds of chickens, cows, pigs, sheep, goats, ducks, hayrides, corn fields, vineyards..... the whole deal.
It wa originally started to supply Creedmore Hospital with milk and eggs.

There's a couple spots on the property where you see no buildings at all and you really could be upstate or in PA.

amazing place for city folks to hang out!

[drumz]

01:42 PM on 09/02/2009

As usual, they are behind us on the West Coast. Portland raised the amount of chickens you can have this year from 3-4 per household to 3 per person. We have 12 and getting 10 more next year - I live in a rural/agricultural area of Portland so I can have as many as I want - Hazelville hens are great!

[Tulka2]

09:09 PM on 09/02/2009

You will never find a more provincial place than NYC. They are not interested in where you are from. There is only one place in the world to live and that is NYC. Extremely provincial.

The people of Iowa, in contrast and just as an example, KNOW they don't live in the world's best place and so are quite cosmopolitan about being interested in other people and places.

I do not live in either place, but visit both often. (I live in WA. state.)

[FreelanceMinion]

01:17 PM on 09/02/2009

I never heard chickens near my house growing up in Nebraska. I heard chickens almost every day while living in Los Angeles.

Also, there are some cool chicken breeds out there. I'd be tempted to get on some day.

[BlackYowe]

01:25 PM on 09/02/2009

Try some speckled Sussex! They are awesome!

http://thepeddlersdonky.blogspot.com/2009/09/speckled-sussex.html

[LHoney]

12:40 PM on 09/02/2009

My grandparents had chickens when I was little. One of my fondest memories of my grandmother is going out to the barn to collect eggs and putting them in her apron. I would like to do this, but unsure about my other animals (2 dogs and 2 cats)... and I could never kill and eat the chickens. Any advice?

[BlueFloyd]

02:57 PM on 09/03/2009

kill em and eat em. they're delicious.

[clevelandchick]

12:02 PM on 09/02/2009

Cleveland passed an ordinance last year allowing chicken-keeping, we have several small urban farms with chickens.

[sfden50]

11:58 AM on 09/02/2009

God, I love New York City - Just One More Reason -

Wish I could live there -

[TMcKeon]

11:40 AM on 09/02/2009

I've raised chickens most of my life and love them. They'll eat anything -- melon rinds, corn cobs, leftover salad (not dressed), on and on. The manure goes on the compost heap. The egg shells can actually be baked, crushed and re-fed to them as scratch (what you feed a chicken to grind up their food, since they don't have teeth). The eggs are amazing -- huge orange yolks, not those flat, pale yellow ones from the store. And, folks, you don't need a rooster to get a hen to lay an egg. And hens don't crow. As for bird flu, apparently salmonella or e. Coli doesn't scare you as much, even though it's all over your store-bought crap.

[drumz]

01:46 PM on 09/02/2009

We give our chickens all our table scraps. They love rice, pancakes especially blueberry, tomatoes, you name it, even eggs, they love eggs and chicken, they like to eat chicken. they are a lot of fun. They all have personalities. One of them falls asleep when you pick her up - her eyes get heavy then the head drops down and viola, asleep.

[TMcKeon]

04:17 PM on 09/02/2009

Yes, they're easy to "hypnotize" -- we tell our great-nieces and -nephews that's what we're doing. And there's nothing the babies love more than to pick up a nice warm, brown egg from a nest and take it home for breakfast. I know they'll eat just about anything, but since we have a dog and a compost heap, I try to spread the love! When I was a kid, though, we had a huge Rhode Island Red rooster named Troy who would attack you as soon as you turned your back. His claws could cut right through Levi's. His wings would flap and he'd peck your head and he was terrifying! I finally, finally came home from school one winter day and we were having "Troy soup." Guess he went after my mom one too many times!

[Tsqrd]

11:38 AM on 09/02/2009

Them are Arucana Chickens. Great birds, they lay blue, green and pink eggs.

[WindyW]

11:49 AM on 09/02/2009

You're thinking of Easter Eggers. Araucanas lay blue only.

http://www.mypetchicken.com/chicken-breeds/breeds.aspx?h=0,1&r=0,1&b=0,1&c=8,9&d=0,1&l=1

[WindyW]

11:50 AM on 09/02/2009

Poo, that link didn't post correctly, but I think you can still cut and paste it.