A recent feature in the Denver Post about the increasing popularity of back yard chicken coops in urban areas made me think that there is probably a fair number of Kossacks that either have chickens, would like to have chickens or might consider having them.
For the most part the newspaper feature covered a few chicken farmers and a small sample of the ordinances and regulations of the 5 counties and 21 municipalities that comprise the Denver Metro Area.
Despite the phletora of new and arcane ordinances and regulations addressing the residential husbandry of domestic fowl it seems to have done little to discourage peoples desire to raise their own chickens in their backyards.
What the article didn't include was, "how do you actually go about raising chickens?"
Part One, will cover the steps required to have your own flock of happy clucking Gallus domesticus, (chickens} in your back yard with a excellent chance of success and with as little hassle as possible. I will also favor you with a bit of history and some personal observations, advice and biases gleaned from my 25 years of backyard chicken wrangling.
Before you engage in the chicken raising adventure the one question that must be considered -
Why in hell do I want chickens in my backyard?
There are 6 reasons to raise chickens (excluding a commercial operation)
1.You want to raise them for their eggs.
How many eggs will you eat, give away, throw at a neighbor's house or feed to the dog? How many dozens of surplus eggs will my refrigerator hold?
2.You want to raise them for meat. Not the best option for vegetarians, PETA members, or those who also want pets
3.You want to raise them for both eggs and meat. A full service backyard enterprise
4.You want to raise them for show or for their plumage. - unfortunately the most distinctive plumage is on the rooster and raising multiple roosters is, at best, a pain in the ass.
5.You want to raise them to preserve an endangered breed or variety. there are over ahundred breeds to pick from
6.You want to raise them as pets for any number of good reasons
None of the 6 options, (except possibly option 4) will save or make you money, they will, however, guarantee you a high protein food source that has no additives or contaminants with the knowledge that the animals so supplying you are treated humanely. As a bonus, they will also provide you with some pets that are rewarding, interesting, diverse in behavior, often funny, occasionally bizarre and, with a little effort on your part, friendly and affectionate (in their own chickeny sort of way).
If you decide to venture into the chicken hobby your first step is to contact the appropriate municipal agency (usually the zoning department), and neighborhood covenants if applicable, to find out the regulations and restrictions about chickens on your property – if any. A quick survey of some of the municipal ordinances in the Denver area revealed a pretty much full spectrum of regulations, restrictions, licences, permits, FEES and other bureaucratic crap
Fortunately, I live in a city that's largely restriction free as long as it is not a commercial operation .
Some of the restrictions and requirements you may encounter are:
- permit required with or without limitations.
- Limits on the number of birds.
- Roosters not allowed (common in larger municipalities).
- location of coop and pen relative to the property line or dwelling.
- Signed wavers from neighbors.
Most municipalities allow chickens with varying degrees of restrictions. The city of Denver allows hens but no roosters. Even New York City allows chickens, unless they have recently changed the rules.
Historically, Archaeological and Biological trivia
Archaeological evidence places the domestication of chickens at around 5000 years ago in South East Asian. All breeds and varieties of chickens evolved from the wild Red Asian Jungle Fowl with the scientific name Gallus gallus, Latin for Rooster rooster (or Cock cock, if you prefer – hens got no respect) The Red Asian Jungle Fowl still exists today in its original habitat.
Modern chickens are classified as Gallus domesticus and the species has diverged into a huge number of breeds and varieties, a result of 5000 years of selective breeding. The American Poultry Association identifies 51 breeds and 169 varieties of Standard (or large)chickens and 62 breeds and 216 varieties of Bantam (miniature) chickens. The breeds and varieties are also grouped by area of origin. (American, English, So. East Asia, Mediterranean ,etc.
Chickens have a flock identity (they know who's in their club and who ain't), they have a dominance hierarchy (pecking order), they are territorial and they return to the same roosting spot each night. Those characteristics made the birds easy to domesticate and maintain.
Like humans, dogs, bears and pigs, chickens are omnivores and will, therefore, eat almost anything that doesn't eat them first.
Chickens are very vocal birds with a large variety of distinctive vocalization (both hens and roosters). They range from the familiar morning greeting of the rooster to the chirp of contentment when a hen finds a tasty bug in the grass. They also have danger alerts which are different between land dangers and dangers from the air (appropriately, the air danger alert sounds like "hawk-hawk-hawk"). You will also recognize the hen's loud cackling to announce she just laid an egg, which is usually joined in by the rooster, as if he had something to do with it. Actually the hen cackles to draw the attention of egg predators away from her nest, The rooster often joins in as do other hens.
Chickens are fun critters. Just sitting around watching them is much more entertaining than most of the fare on TV.
Part 2 will cover selection of your birds and where to get them.
I will post part two around the same time next Sunday.
Update: Made the rec list - thanks folks. Some of the comments are great