How To Raise Backyard Chickens
Nowadays, in Manhattan, you’d be hard-pressed to find a pig. But around the middle part of the 19th century, there were some 50,000 pigs raised on the island. Though urban farming is far less common in 2025, it still exists, more frequently for hobby rather than sustenance: Chickens are the animal of choice, with beekeeping also experiencing a renaissance.
Urban farming is derided by its critics as smelly and unnecessary. I beg to differ. I used to live in dense East Austin, Texas, and kept a manageable flock of five chickens. As a baker who makes custards and meringues and cakes, I looked at chicken keeping as less a cost-saving measure and more as a means of ensuring my ingredients would be high-quality. It was also a way to become more self-reliant, a modicum more grateful for how food ends up on my plate.
So you think you want to raise chickens! Here’s some stuff to know.Â
- Like children, they’re beautifully scaleable: You should not raise one or two; they’re flock animals in need of companionship. Start with four or five, and see if you want to expand.
- The egg-laying years are short: They start lay
Article from Reason.com
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