The Dervaes homestead in Pasadena, CA. Photo: Path to Freedom

It was reported back in December that the Chicago city council was considering a ban on raising poultry in the city. That legislation has yet to move forward, thankfully.

One of the blogs that’s always fun to read is the Path to Freedom Journal, which documents an urban homesteading project in Pasadena, California. The Dervaes family are successfully raising poultry and other small livestock in a city, and it’s amazing how much food they manage to get out of their standard-sized suburban lot. I think it’s inspiring and I hope to see more of this kind of stuff, not less.

The homestead yields 6,000 lbs of produce yearly. Photo: Path to Freedom

I don’t know about the legal status of chickens in Elgin. I can see the case for outlawing roosters, but hens don’t make any noise, and they’re a pleasant reminder of where food comes from. And of course those who have a problem with cage farming can still get their eggs. I know poultry is being raised in surrounding cities. I’ve talked to kids who brought their chickens to the Kane County Fair and some of them are raising them in places like St. Charles and Geneva.

Chickens make great pets. Photo: Path to Freedom

A little more reading:

Although there are no firm statistics on the number of city chickens, they are becoming so popular that Backyard Poultry magazine was relaunched a couple of years ago after halting publication in the 1980s. And Paul said U.S. sales of his company’s designer chicken coops have doubled every year since they were introduced here in 2005.

Those who have eaten eggs from their own chickens say they are far fresher and tastier than store-bought eggs.

“And they’re so productive for the garden,” said Owen Taylor, training and livestock coordinator of Just Food, a New York-based nonprofit group. “They aerate the soil, eat bugs and they look like little tractors, tilling the soil.”

Taylor said he was surprised that Chicago — a city that banned foie gras in restaurants over concerns about cruelty to geese and embraced rooftop gardening — is not more welcoming of chickens.

“The mayor has bees on the roof of City Hall so I was thinking Chicago was ahead of its time in terms of livestock regulations,” said Taylor. (MSNBC 12/12/07)

Do you know of anybody raising chickens in Elgin? Please comment.

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