Backyard chickensBack to News

For the past eight years we have had chickens in our backyard. You might think we live in a rural area with lots of acreage, but actually we live in the very urbanized City of Alameda, an island in the San Francisco Bay. Alameda permitted backyard chickens since incorporating in the 1800’s. Back then, lots of people kept chickens to supply their own eggs and fresh meat. It is now becoming popular again as people search for ways to live “greener”, healthier and more connected to where their food comes from.

Fortunately for our chickens, we are a family of mostly vegetarians. BBQ chicken does not make an appearance in our house. However, our neighbors who also have chickens and raise turkeys for the holidays, well, that’s another story! We do enjoy the fresh eggs we receive on almost a daily basis and we feel good knowing that our eggs come from healthy (no antibiotics) and happy chickens. Our feathered friends enjoy of bounty of fresh food scraps, weed clippings, snails, chicken pellets and whatever else they can find to eat. Chickens are omnivores and are the ultimate recyclers!

Keeping chickens is much easier than you probably think: fresh water, food, a secure chicken area, nesting boxes and coop, and a new bedding of straw once in awhile is about all it takes. They are fun to watch and great for kids to understand and participate in where some of their food comes from.

Before you decide to raise chickens in your backyard here are a few tips:

• Check your local regulations and explain your plans to immediate neighbors. Chickens do make noise so it’s good to warn your neighbors first.
• Chicken droppings are great for your compost (You don’t compost?)
• When letting your chickens out to “free range” in your backyard, be sure you are ok with them eating anything that grows.
• Figure out what breed of chickens you want, you can order them over the internet and they will be shipped to your house – in a special fed-ex box!

Most commonly asked Question: Don’t you need a Rooster to have eggs? No.