[Green Thursdays] Raising Urban Chickens

My friend's baby chick

Raising urban chickens is the new cool thing to do. Just ask my friend Marie who started raising her own in October. I mean, it's a win-win all around if you've got a bit of space: you get cute pets that are fairly stupid so they're easily trained, you get some delicious eggs that are sure to impress house guests, and you get to give the chickens all your food scraps because they'll basically eat anything.

I just found this site that helps you get started. And you'll find a surprising number of chickens for sale on craigslist (please don't buy a turkey fryer at the same time you buy a chicken. That will scare the poor thing.)

There are a few drawbacks: it's hard to have other animals if you have chickens. See the photo below. Also, they can be a bit noisy, so make sure you check with the city if you are allowed to keep them and warn your neighbors. Lastly, they tend to get sick when they are younger, so it's useful to read up on chicken ailments.

Happy chicken raising!

Don't let this happen to your chickens!!!