While living in San Francisco, I considered having backyard chickens at one point – I think the law in SF stipulates that one can have 2 chickens, and they have to be 20 feet from the house. Chickens eat bugs, especially mosquitoes, and I liked the idea of fresh eggs every day.
The other day, driving around in East Cobb, I saw a sign supporting backyard chickens in East Cobb off Lassiter Rd. and looked it up when I got home: Backyard Chix – I’m in support of this. Why not? Fresh eggs every day and I think it’s really good for kids – teaches them responsibility and where food comes from. I think as long as there’s no noisy rooster and the coops are clean, it doesn’t affect the neighborhood negatively. Think about all the people who have dogs that bark all the time and poop in everyone’s yard. Chickens don’t do that. I don’t buy the argument that it “lowers property values.”
Portland, OR has a large concentration of people with backyard chickens, and it works out relatively well. In fact, there are several “egg co-ooperatives” around Portland where someone provides the space, coop, and chickens, and the neighbors put in time feeding the chickens and cleaning the coop, and get eggs in exchange. I think that’s a great idea. Read more: Egg co-ops in Portland. And this site run by a Portlander is a great resource for anyone wanting to learn more about backyard chicken keeping.
Most of these subdivisions in East Cobb have tennis courts, swimming pools, and playgrounds. What if they also had community gardens, compost piles, and community chicken coops? That, to me, increases a neighborhood’s value.
