Page 54 - Fall2013

Farm and Ranch

THE BATTLE FOR BACKYARD CHICKENS:
City Councils Squawk About Traditional Practice
By Christine Ross

Picture having fresh, tasty eggs every morn- Andy Schneider of Georgia is the author
ing and a friendly, funny chicken to deliver them. of The Chicken Whisperer’s Guide to Raising
These days, you’d be the envy of your neighbors. Chickens. He speaks across the nation and on his
At least, some of them. Not everyone is radio show “The Chicken Whisperer” in support
happy about the latest national movement: back- of backyard chickens.
yard chickens. Sometimes people object to backyard chick-
ens because they are said to be “noisy and messy.”
THE POLITICS OF BACKYARD CHICKENS When asked about this, Schneider said, “First, I
For most of human history, people have ask them how they know that chickens are noisy
kept backyard chickens as pets, for food and as and messy? Many who claim that chickens are
a source of income. Many city councils, such noisy and messy have never even kept chickens!”
as Chesapeake, Virginia are legalizing urban
chickens again. Unfortunately, Virginia Beach, AN AMERICAN TRADITION
Virginia, is not yet among them. Up until the 1950s and 1960s, many Ameri-
Lisa Dearden, a Richmond, Virginia back- cans kept backyard chickens. As mass production
yard chicken activist said, “Backyard chickens of poultry increased, backyard chicken owner-
are an election issue.” She also said that city ship fell into decline.
councils are being voted out across the nation for In recent years, even celebrities like Martha
their continued refusal to allow urban chickens. Stewart and Tori Spelling have made owning
Tracy Okroy, a hairstylist in Virginia Beach chickens fashionable again. With increasing
started raising backyard chickens in 2011. She awareness of genetically modified food, arsenic
loved chickens and their eggs, and got some from in chicken feed, and cruelty to poultry, many
a client. At that point, quite a number of Virginia Americans are returning to the tradition of back-
Beach residents had joined the nationwide trend yard chickens.
of having backyard chickens. Not only that, chicken waste makes great
Nevertheless, someone filed an anonymous fertilizer. Some people raise backyard chickens
complaint against Okroy in early 2012. Code for that reason alone.
For most of Enforcement for the City of Virginia Beach said Although it can be expensive to own back-
she must stop keeping chickens in a residentially yard chickens, the superior nutritional value of
human history, zoned area. Okroy soon became known across home-raised chicken eggs makes it worthwhile.
people have Hampton Roads, Virginia as the “Virginia Beach You can taste the difference between factory-

kept Chicken Outlaw.” raised eggs and those from your own chickens.
People want to know what's in their food.

backyard NO REASON FOR COMPLAINT And they want to make sure that it contains no
chickens as When this writer visited Ms. Okroy’s home, antibiotics, growth hormones, or pesticides. The
pets, for food there was very little smell from her well-kept best way to do that is to grow it yourself.
Besides, chickens are fun and hilarious pets.
chicken coop. Tracy explained that the chicken
and as a waste does not smell as long as you keep the coop They are a great way to teach children about
source of clean. In addition, the chickens are quiet. Like where food comes from and about responsibility
income. most backyard chicken enthusiasts, Okroy does in caring for animals.
not keep roosters.
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