After reporting on December 17 about two lost chickens in Nulu, readers wrote in to proclaim their love of urban chickens. It seems the mainstream media may have been listening as CNN (and Wave 3) picked up the story and ran. The piece showcases urban farmers in Old Louisville and Shelby Park. Most of the interviewees appear to be young people taking up the Urban Chicken Movement.
There’s a discussion going on at Louisville History & Issues regarding the image urban chickens bring to Louisville, but as readers repeatedly said earlier, I think this is a major bonus for the city. Urban farming represents a creative approach to urban living that should be fostered in Louisville and it certainly helps to keep Louisville weird.
If the video at the top of the post does not display, click here to watch the CNN report.
A lot of chatter on the blogs around town is that this “publicity” is mortifying, but I think it’s endearing. That may be facile for me to say, though, since I don’t live near the “one crowing” chicken in a coop.
I think it’s great. Why shouldn’t the city want to foster creative and out-of-the-ordinary lifestyles? There’s something very exciting about urban farming and gardening. Many people leave the city so they can enjoy such luxuries in the outter suburbs, but this shows you can have the country charms right outside your row-home.
Down home charm.
I think it’s wonderful. As someone who bakes a great deal the thought of being able to walk into my backyard to get eggs is incredibly attractive. Our new backyard is plenty big enough for a chicken coop but my dog would try to eat the chickens every day so it’s pretty much not an option for me. But if any of my neighbors want to have some chickens and give me some eggs that would be a-ok for me.
I guess I should admit that I grew up on a real, working farm, so animal noises really don’t bother me. I’m sure if you’ve never been awakened by the sound of a rooster crowing it would definitely be an adjustment.
I can imagine a lot of people think that it’s a step backwards, just like they think bicycles aren’t a sign of progress but instead are a sign that we’re somehow losing our mobility/moving back to times before cars.
I think chickens in the city are great though. I used to raise them and wasn’t aware that there were so many other folks doing it. I’ll say this again, who’s going to organize a chicken coop tour?
I think raising urban chickens is fabulous, smart, and I want to do it too!
The folks who thinks it’s backward perhaps think driving to the edge of town to get their trucked-in-from afar-discount groceries is progress. People should be able to live how they please and get their food in a way that works for them.
I would enjoy going on a chicken coop tour!
I saw an urban goat the other day while walking through Portland…saw it in the front yard of a house on Bank Street,I think. It was a small goat.
“A chicken in every pot.” That was the Presidential promise during the Great Depression. My dad said his mother took it literally; so, as an adult, he could never stand to eat chicken.
In the ’80s & early ’90s, my aunt raised chickens – and eggs – at her home off Klondike Lane. Her neighbors, and city officials, didn’t find it amusing. I think the only thing they could legally enforce was that she was limited to only one rooster.
For “Michelle,” the dog owner above who thinks dogs & chicks don’t mix: remember chicken wire? My neighbor over on Reutlinger kept his chicks & dogs behind proper barriers – and it was a hoot to hear the crowing in the mornings, and at noon, and some evenings…