Backyard Chickens

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Backyard Chickens

Current Trends

The current trend of backyard chicken keeping is linked by many to the local food movement.[1]

History in the U.S.

The history of backyard chickens in the U.S. is not well-documented. For example, the book American Poultry History 1823-1973 includes a photo captioned "A typical backyard in the days before city ordinances and zoning made keeping chickens an impossible dream for many" but includes no other information on the subject within the chapter.[2] Later, it simply notes, "By 1950 most cities and many villages had zoned the back lot flock out of the picture."[3]

The USDA published a Farmers' Bulletin called "Back-yard poultry keeping" in 1917[4] and revised it in 1919.[5] It published a new edition, Farmers Bulletin 1331: Back-yard poultry keeping, in May 1923. This was revised as "Farmers Bulletin 1508: Poultry Keeping in Back Yards" in November 1926, and revised again in May 1932, April 1941, and 1954. In 1962, they published a leaflet called "The Home Chicken Flock." It was revised again in 1965 and 1969, and published in Spanish in 1963.[6][7][8][9]

Butler (2012) notes three factors that allowed for the eviction of livestock keeping in cities.[10] First, transporting perishable foods from far away became technologically possible with the advent of railroads and, later, refrigerated transport. Second, the creation of large animal confinement operations produced food so cheaply that urban farmers could not compete. Third, supermarkets "took control of the food distribution system." (p. 5) Together, these developments made "need for a local cattle herd or chicken yard effectively... obsolete." (p. 6)

New York City first banned chickens and other fowl due to public health concerns in 1877, but citizens could keep them and slaughter them if they obtained a special permit. Other cities followed suit (Butler, 2012, p. 7). However, "over time, regulating urban livestock became more than just a question of public health. Urban dwellers began to view city life as distinct and separated from rural life" (Butler, 2012, p. 7). The Euclid Supreme Court case ushered in zoning rules to keep "right thing" out of the “wrong place, such as a pig in the parlor instead of the barnyard” ("Village of Euclid v. Ambler Realty Co.," 1926).

A 1919 book, published just after the end of World War I, suggested that meat prices were high and remain so, but cheap grain was on its way. The obvious solution, it claimed, was poultry. At the time, broilers were raised to the age of just 10 weeks and roasters to the age of four and a half months. Poultry could be raised much faster than pork or beef.[11]

Municipal Regulations

A study by Butler (2012) states that, "Since the Industrial Revolution, livestock has been driven out of urban and semi-urban areas in the United States. Recently, calls for localizing the food system have led to a rise in urban agriculture, and livestock is finding its way back into the city. The return of livestock to urban areas is rife with tensions, including concerns about public health and challenges to dominant perspectives about the separation of urban from rural life."[12] According to him, "A new articulation of an old concern arises with this return of agricultural production to urban and semi-urban environments." That is, while raising chickens in the city provides benefits, it can also bring with it odor, nuisance, or other issues.

Butler adds that "Dominant perspectives about what it means to live in the city are not easily overturned. Although advocates argue that local food can promote public health and sustainability, the public health reasons that drove animals out in the first place have not been resolved. Concerns about disease and pestilence remain when livestock and people live in close proximity." (p. 10).

To aim to mitigate concerns while allowing chickens back in, cities generally use a combination of zoning ordinances, animal control ordinances, and public health ordinances.[12] Some, such as Minneapolis, have standalone urban agriculture plans (Butler, p. 10). A study examining 22 municipalities in the United States found that "nuisance related to odor, noise, pestilence, and waste as well as associated public health impacts are the primary concerns" leading to animals being banned from cities.[12] Out of the 22 cities, 8 banned roosters altogether and the others allowed them under certain conditions. Additionally, communities often use zoning to determine where animals are permitted. Thus, hens or roosters may not be banned within a city, but they may be relegated only to agricultural zones. A third layer of regulations are "site-level" regulations, determining requirements for lot size and setbacks or limiting the number of animals one may keep. In the study, 18 of 22 cities required setbacks for chickens to ensure they are kept a distance from neighboring properties, and more than half of the cities limit the number of chickens one can keep to eight or fewer. The last type of regulation covers the practice of livestock keeping: specifications for enclosures or confinements, requirements for permits or licenses, and requirements for feeding, care, and cleanliness.

Some municipalities also allow backyard slaughter, others prohibit it, and still others are either silent on it or appear to give it a quiet wink by writing regulations that, for example, ban slaughtering one species or sex of a species (i.e. hens or roosters) specifically while saying nothing about others.[13][14][15]

Articles and Resources

Related SourceWatch Articles

References

  1. ↑ Butler, W. H. (2012). Welcoming Animals Back to the City: Navigating the Tensions of Urban Livestock through Municipal Ordinances. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems and Community Development, 2(2), p. 9.
  2. ↑ Skinner, J. L. (1974). Breeds: Early Breeders Built Foundations for Later Production Performance. In John L. Skinner, O. A. Hanke, & J. H. Florea (Eds.), American Poultry History 1823-1973. Madison, WI: American Printing and Publishing, Inc., p. 43
  3. ↑ Skinner, J. L. (1974). Breeds: Early Breeders Built Foundations for Later Production Performance. In John L. Skinner, O. A. Hanke, & J. H. Florea (Eds.), American Poultry History 1823-1973. Madison, WI: American Printing and Publishing, Inc., p. 46.
  4. ↑ Slocum, R. R. (1917). Back-yard poultry keeping (Vol. 889). United States Department of Agriculture.
  5. ↑ Slocum, R. R. (1919). Back-yard poultry keeping (Vol. 889). United States Department of Agriculture.
  6. ↑ The home chicken flock. 1962.
  7. ↑ The home chicken flock. 1969.
  8. ↑ The home chicken flock. 1965.
  9. ↑ Cria casera de gallinas. 1963.
  10. ↑ Butler, W. H. (2012). Welcoming Animals Back to the City: Navigating the Tensions of Urban Livestock through Municipal Ordinances. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems and Community Development, 2(2), 1-23.
  11. ↑ Cobb, E. (1919). The Hen at Work: A Brief Manual of Home Poultry Culture. G. P. Putnam’s sons, p. 2-3.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Butler, W. H. (2012). Welcoming Animals Back to the City: Navigating the Tensions of Urban Livestock through Municipal Ordinances. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems and Community Development, 2(2), 1-23.
  13. ↑ Blecha, J. (2015). Regulating backyard slaughter: Strategies and gaps in municipal livestock ordinances. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development, 6(1), 33–48. http://dx.doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2015.061.011
  14. ↑ Arellano, G. (2010, September 16). Mexicans were the original frugalistas [Radio show commentary]. In S. Nieves (Senior producer), Marketplace. St. Paul, Minnesota: American Public Media. Retrieved from http://www.marketplace.org/topics/world/mexicans-were-original-frugalistas
  15. ↑ Fadiman, A. (1997). The spirit catches you and you fall down: A Hmong child, her American doctors, and the collision of two cultures. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

External Resources

2010s:

  • Schneider, A., & McCrea, B. (2011). The Chicken Whisperer’s Guide to Keeping Chickens: Everything You Need to Know . . . and Didn’t Know You Needed to Know About Backyard and Urban Chickens. Quarry Books.

2000s

  • Kilarski, B. (2003). Keep Chickens!: Tending Small Flocks in Cities, Suburbs, and Other Small Spaces. Storey Publishing.

1920s

  • Dryden, J. (1920). Poultry Breeding and Management. Orange Judd Company.
  • Jackson, H. W. (1920). Successful Back-yard Poultry Keeping: An Authoritative Guide to Success in Poultry Keeping by Intensive Methods--practical Details of Management for Those who are Keeping Fowls in Limited Space, Whether to Supply Eggs and Poultry for the Family Table Or as a Source of Income. Reliable poultry journal publishing Company.

1910s:

  • Wickstrum, P. M. (1910). Wickstrum’s Book on Poultry. Queen Incubator Company.
  • Hurst, J. W. (1911). Successful Poultry Production. Montgomery Ward & Company.
  • Farrington, E. I. (1913). The Home Poultry Book. McBride, Nast.
  • Grosser, E. (1914). Poultry Experience: The Empire Poultry Book, a Practical Reference Manual for Poultry Keepers ... Eames Bros., printers.
  • Bolte, J. W. (1917). The Back Yard Farmer. Forbes.
  • Wallace, H. M. (1918). Secrets of Success in Poultry Culture. Standard Publishing Company.
  • Cobb, E. (1919). The Hen at Work: A Brief Manual of Home Poultry Culture. G. P. Putnam’s sons.

External Articles

2010s:

2000s:

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