By Iya Bakare
In an effort to eat healthy and connect with nature, Chicago families are bringing farm-like practices, such as organic chicken farming, into the urban settings of their own backyards.
Steven Slaughter and his wife Suzanne, Chicago residents in the Andersonville/Edgewater community, introduced this concept into their household five years ago after the family saw children from a 4-H Club barn with their chickens at a county fair in Wisconsin. Afterwards, Slaughter read an article about organic chicken farming and was intrigued.
The Park Ridge, Ill., native admits his wife, who is from rural Connecticut, initially disliked the idea, but eventually jumped on board. "We wanted to figure out how to connect our children to nature through gardening in the city," he says.
Slaughter and a friend from Michigan make a combined purchase of chickens from a hatchery in Texas. He buys his organic feed for the chickens with another neighbor from a store in Wisconsin. Apparently, there aren't any local sources yet for such purchases, he says.
"Our neighbors really like the chickens and we haven't received any negative comments in five years," says Slaughter. "Many people, including neighbors with whom I interact, have some connection with farm life. One of my neighbors brings bread crumbs over for the chickens and said it reminds her of her family."
One of his neighbors built a chicken coop and hatched her own organic chicken farm after she saw the Slaughters' backyard setup. The Slaughter family enjoys fresh eggs from their chickens on most days. He adds that they would never eat their own chickens even though they do eat poultry.
Slaughter says he knows about six individuals who own organic chicken farms in the city, but believes it's growing in popularity despite efforts to make it illegal. A 2007 proposal by 18th Ward Ald. Lona Lane to outlaw chicken farming in the city failed.
Slaughter says Angelic Organics Learning Center, an organization that works to develop healthy local food systems in the Chicagoland area, was influential in contesting Lane's plan. The organization offers backyard chicken workshops and the next one is in the fall on November 7. For more information on registration for these workshops, visit learngrowconnect.org.
Owning a backyard chicken farm is a straightforward process, asserts Slaughter.
Here are some tips he offers:
* Talk to your neighbors before starting your own farm.
* Build a coop in a shed or garage for the chickens. Go to backyardchickens.com or the-coop.org for more information on how to construct your own coop.
* Choose chickens that are hearty for the Chicago climate.
* Lock them up at night in their coops to protect them from evening predators such as raccoons, possums, hawks and dogs.
"We're not just trying to keep our chickens, we're also trying to be resources on how to do it well," he comments. "We want to be proactive in providing good policy for this practice."
