Raising Backyard Chickens

Reader Contribution by Tobias Whitaker
Published on February 2, 2015
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Initially when our family moved into our home nearly 10 years ago, I was under the impression that it was “illegal” for us to own chickens. Our property is located in a unique position within our community. Our home is within village limits. If you take a moment and walk across the street right in front of our home you are in “the country,” in other words you can own livestock on one side of the road but not the other.

Our leghorns exploring their new home.

At first I was content to comply with the local ordinances but as my family’s level of self-sufficiency began to grow, I started to become irritated at the thought that there were laws in place to restrict my ability to produce food for my family. So I decided to go ahead and get a few hens regardless of the potential consequences.

I drove to Cooperstown, New York, home of the Baseball Hall of Fame, to pick them up. As I was driving home, I decided to stop by the lumber store to get some supplies for a coop while I had the birds in the van. As I was loading lumber into the vehicle, a local village official parked next to me and we engaged in some small talk. While this was taking place one of the hens let out a cackle and laid an egg in the van. We both stared at one another for a moment, and I went on my way feeling a bit more nervous about my open rebellion.

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