Looks like more and more urban dwellers are catching on that homegrown eggs are tastier and healthier than mass commercial eggs. But, of course, that means we’ll also see more crowing about this from neighbors who will resist any rural intrusion.
I’m still not sure my enlightened neighbors would be thrilled with us having backyard chickens, but I’ve already thought of a couple places for them. And maybe if we share the eggs, we’ll get less resistance.
Indeed, one family in Texas is bold enough to also have a noisy rooster. They say they buy off their neighbors with eggs.
There isn’t a sense yet about how much of a trend this is for urbanites and suburbanites, but hatcheries are reporting increased interest in chickens from big cities and suburban areas, according to the Associated Press. [You know it’s a trend if the AP is following it.] And another story this week in the Raleigh News and Observer notes that chicken coop tours have begun in Raleigh and Carrboro.
Another hatchery owner, Bud Wood of Iowa, noted that interest has shifted from the “Future Farmers of America crowd toward young professionals.”
I also love that the stories mentioned a side benefit to owning backyard chickens…bug control. Our friends in Southern Indiana let their chickens run free and swear that’s the reason they have no mosquitoes and fewer pesky insects.
Of course it was great so see some ink given to Traci Torres, who runs mypetchicken.com, one of my favorite Farmgirl links. And in the N&O story I learned about Urban Chicken Underground, a blog aimed at getting municipalities to allow backyard chickens.
Virtual Farmgirl 