“Backyard chickens” are here. More and more major cities and small towns are adopting ordinances allowing people to raise chickens on their own property.

People raise chickens because they know their eggs are really fresh and their chickens truly organic and free of growth hormones – and they like using a little less of our ever-dwindling supply of oil. Some feel an obligation to preserve “heritage” breeds that are endangered or critical. Some like having chickens around as a real-life laboratory for their kids. Everyone likes free eggs, all they can eat for, well … chickenfeed.

How widespread is the backyard/urban chicken movement? Here’s a partial list of cities that allow chickens:

Across the nation: New York City, Minneapolis, Denver, Baltimore, Albuquerque, Santa Fe.

In Washington: Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia, Everett, Spokane, Bothel, Camas, Gig Harbor, Lynnwood, Mill Creek, Woodinville, Vancouver.

In Oregon: Portland, Gresham, Corvallis, Eugene, Milwaukee, Astoria. Beaverton allows chickens as pets, and Salem is considering new ordinances. Hillsboro’s city-wide ban of chickens isn’t enforced unless someone complains.

Locally, Astoria is the only northwest coastal Oregon town allowing chickens in all residential zones. According to Sherri Williams of the city of Astoria, “Chickens are allowed in the city limits of Astoria, provided they are not allowed to roam free, are not kept in a dwelling and do not create a noise nuisance.” She says the city code (section 5.515) “… does not specifically address roosters, but they are discouraged, because of the crowing, which causes noise complaints.”

Cannon Beach, Seaside, Gearhart and Warrenton all prohibit chickens within the city limits. But on May 5, in response to requests by John and Laura Mazlack, Cannon Beach residents who want to raise chickens on their property, the Planning Department will ask the City Council for guidance in developing appropriate standards for keeping chickens in the city – if the Council decides that’s appropriate.

Cannon Beach City Planner Rainmar Bartl says, “Urban chickens is certainly a movement gaining in popularity, with many communities developing ordinances to allow it, with restrictions.” He goes on to say that restrictions usually limit the number of chickens, stipulate that coops and pens must be a certain distance from neighbors’ property, and prohibit roosters altogether.

In Seaside, Planning Director Kevin Cupples points out that the city code doesn’t allow chickens in any zoning, except Existing Farm Use, unless there’s an educational purpose (example: a school raising chickens in a pen). A City Council decision two years ago upheld that part of the code and denied a local family’s request to raise chickens as an education tool for the family’s children – which the council determined did not meet the code’s “educational” exemption.

Cupples acknowledges that people do raise chickens in the city’s suburban residential zone, where lots tend to be larger. Generally, he says, the city doesn’t get involved in enforcing the prohibition against raising chickens unless there’s a complaint about chickens running free, fouling a neighbor’s yard or when a rooster awakens everyone at dawn. When that happens, his department approaches the issue rationally, with reasonableness and consideration of others being most important. Nuisance complaints are handled based on the nature and severity of the nuisance, with an eye to mitigating the problem. He provides an example: A chicken coop located close to a neighbor’s patio would likely produce a complaint, and the coop would need to be moved further away, or if that’s not possible, then the chickens removed.

The city of Gearhart also may be reconsidering its chicken ban. Local resident Joy Sigler, who lives near City Hall and wants to raise chickens, appeared before the city’s Planning Commission April 9. After considerable discussion, the Planning Commission encouraged her to present her petition directly to the City Council.

City Planner Sabrina Pearson listed the restrictions the city would need to consider, including construction standards for chicken coops, number of chickens allowed, sanitation standards and whether chickens and/or eggs could be sold to the public. Pearson noted that the state requires a license if chickens or eggs are to be sold and that all chickens imported to the state need an import permit, regardless of where they came from (even if they were pets in their previous abode).

Pearson also discussed the health issue, noting that the Oregon Agriculture Department requires specific precautions against chicken-carried diseases, including keeping the birds confined, using foot baths, showering and changing clothes after coming into contact with the birds, minimizing visitors, controlling rodents and using recommended disinfectants.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, a principal health issue with rearing chickens is Salmonella poisoning (www.cdc.gov/healthypets/pdf/intown_flocks.pdf). They recommend using good personal sanitation, keeping children younger than 5 away from chickens and keeping chicken coops clean.

Avian flu remains a concern, although the disease has not mutated to infect humans or spread to wild or domesticated birds in this country; it’s been concentrated overseas, mostly in large commercial production pens. As a precaution, health authorities advise folks raising chickens to keep their chicken coops covered so their chickens are not exposed to droppings from infected wild birds, should any infected birds show up in the United States.

Sustainable farming advocates take a different view – that the concerns about avian flu risk in raising small numbers of chickens is overblown:

“… Backyard chickens are less of a concern than factory-farmed poultry, which the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production has said poses serious risks of transmitting animal-borne diseases to human populations, especially due to the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance.” (www.worldwatch.org/node/5900)

The same article repeats this quote: “‘When it comes to bird flu, diverse small-scale poultry farming is the solution, not the problem,’ the international sustainable agriculture organization GRAIN concluded in a 2006 report.” (www.grain.org/briefings/?id=194)

Caren Black isn’t alarmed at the prospect of avian flu. Black raises heritage breeds at her Titanic Lifeboat Academy – much more a farm than a backyard.

Her breeds include Columbian Wyandottes, Delaware, California White, Partridge Wyandotte, Partridge Chanticleer, Araucana (blue eggs), Buff Orpington, Black Chanticleer, Golden Laced Wyandotte, Partridge Plymouth Rock and Rhode Island Red. Most are on the endangered list; one breed, the Delaware, is on the critical list (only 500 known to exist). She chose her chickens for their egg-laying ability, meat production (though she’s a vegetarian), winter hardiness, friendliness and ability to “free range.” She chose heritage chickens to help preserve endangered breeds, Rhode Island Reds because they’re good layers.

The risk with raising chickens, according to Black, is that they are sometimes ill when they arrive from the breeders and can fall victim to predators like dogs, foxes, raccoons and eagles. But a slow learning curve by owners may be a greater risk factor than predation – she mentions losing “Wyan,” her Columbian Wyandotte rooster, who gave his life for his ladies when Black accidentally shut them outdoors for the night in an uncovered run.

Asked for her advice to someone contemplating raising chickens, Black said:

“Go for it! You’ll be glad you did. Read as much as you can. There are lots of wonderful Web sites which help tremendously. There’s a terrific magazine, “Backyard Poultry,” which can be indispensible at times. I use these sources more often than any book, though we do have poultry books. I’ve found it very helpful to keep a notebook about my chickens where I record egg production (including age at onset), times and length of molt, and keep helpful articles from my internet reading. I also talk with friends who raise chickens, but our conversations are equally about trading care information and trading stories about the funny things they do! Chickens’ interactions will remind you of a group of adolescents – gossiping, vying for pecking order. But, they are also much more intelligent than most people realize. It’s great fun to watch them. I’ve learned a lot from them.”

More and more people seem to be taking her advice.