When I was a child back in the mid 1960's, my family tried raising a few chickens in our back yard. (Urban regulations in such matters were more lax in those days.) The experiment was less than successful; we soon learned chickens are basically dirty animals unless constantly tended. What eggs were produced was not hardly worth the trouble and money expended. After a few month, we finally gave the chickens to our part-time housekeeper, who had less qualms about butchering the fowls for dinner than my family did.

All I can say now is if one of my neighbors dared to start raising chickens in their back yard, you can bet I'd be blowing the whistle on them to the local authorities long and loud. That some people may attempt to raise chickens in urban and suburban neighborhoods is believable, but I seriously doubt it qualifies as a "trend". (Let's face it: we live in a large country and you can probably find a few examples of some people somewhere doing anything imaginable. But that's not the same as the phenomenon being "widespread".)

If you're in a neighborhood with half acre lots or more then it's completely reasonable to raise chickens. We've got 10 in a coop in the backyard. And while I respect your right to not have chickens in your yard I do not respect your whistle-blowing. If you were to be really inconvenienced by the chickens in your neighborhood you should talk to your neighbor to see if they can keep them quieter or clean up more conscientiously, not go running to the authorities like a tattling little baby.

That's not the behavior of a reasonable adult committed to living in society.

If you didn't get a decent supply of eggs, you probably didn't have the right breed (if that's what you were raising them for). You should have gotten Rhode island Reds or something. They are reliable layers and you get tons of eggs from them. Even in the winter time. Also, you can easily enclose a run so that they are not wandering all over the place pooping everywhere and getting into the neighbors yards (with all the dogs, cats, coons, foxes, coyotes, hawks and owls in the urban central neighborhoods of Portland, that's a real concern). I also do not want my kids or dogs tracking in chicken sh-- all the time. However, an enclosed run that's large enough (10 sq ft per bird is very generous - our run is 100 sq ft for three birds) and we are all very happy. So are our neighbors. For that matter, so is our garden. For organic local eggs in portland, it costs approx $5 - $6 a dozen. Raising them in the backyard costs $2.50 a dozen. FAR cheaper than buying them in the store are at the market. Better tasting and healthier than the .99 a dozen variety. I do not fault anyone paying only .99 a dozen if that's all they can afford. But the reality is that those eggs don;t taste very good, nor are they as healthy, and they also do not reflect the true cost of the food because they come from highly subsidized factory farms which we all pay for with our tax money.

Al,

You strike me as a bitter fellow, and I think that's pretty sad. I'm sorry you have such an abiding dislike for chickens (and it sounds like, birds in general). As an owner of four pullets that I have raised from chick-hood and a person who has had pet birds since childhood, I find chickens to be intelligent, funny and overall charming. Currently my young chickens are living in a home made brooder in my kitchen, (primarly for ease in setting up the necessary heat lamp to keep them warm till fully feathered) and I do not find them dirty at all. In fact, I also have a cat and two dogs - the dogs and the cat are by far stinker and messier than the chickens. My only tending needs thus far have been to check their food and water 2 - 3 times per day and (before I leave for work, when I get home and before bed) and that's pretty much it. The coop should be done next weekend at which time they will be going outside. I haven't had a problem with them so I am not sure where you are getting all your negativty from. Perhaps you were made to perform a chore as a child that you didnt' like? Or perhaps your parents weren't very attentive when it came to periodic coop-cleaning and the smell got out of hand. I do not know, but I would hope for your neighbors sake that, so long as they are acting within the legal limits (many cities allow 3-4 hens without a permit and more hens with a permit) you would be kinder and more compassionate than the cliched' grumpy old neighboor that every urban neighboorhood seems to have one of.

Oh and Jack, by the way - yes, chickens are trend. Here in Portland, OR, there are several stores that are geared specifically to urban chicken keeping and they sell out of newly arrived chicks almost as soon as they get in. I have talked with the owner of one such store who has previously told me when he's getting a certain type of chicken in and urges me to come in that day if I want to have a chance of getting one. This is not uncommon.

Perhaps your inability to cite statistics is based more in an lack of research skill than an bogus trend?