We get this local newspaper called the Staten Island Advance. I love reading it because the local stories are really interesting and a lot of the stories lately are about agriculture, gardening and cooking. Staten Island used to be a lot of farm land, however it is not known for that anymore. What was once fertile ground is now strip malls, condos, houses and apartment buildings. There are still however pockets of places that grow their own food and raise animals like chickens. My husband has been wanting to raise chickens ever since we moved here. I'm a little more apprehensive. I love the idea of raising chickens for organic eggs, but I'm worried about what my neighbors will think. They live so close to our property. We do have the space for chickens, we live on 1/3 of an acre, however if I were to raise chickens, I would want them to be free range. I don't want chickens to be a nuisance to my neighbors. I've never raised chickens before so I don't know how loud they get or how far they roam. I would love the advice of the blogosphere, do you raise chickens? How loud are they? Do your neighbors mind? What are some key things to know?
I saw this article in the paper last month. It wasn't informative about how to riase chickens, it was more of opinions from residents on raising chickens. If you bigify the article, many of the residents seemed against it. :(
I found this other article online about a Staten Island family who is raising chickens. It's inspiring.
http://www.silive.com/northshore/index.ssf/2009/06/ladies_of_livingston_rule_the.htmlThis is a slideshow of images from their backyard.
| Chicken farm in Staten Island's Livingston section |
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We have chickens and I would be most happy to help in any way if you decide to get them. There are several bloggers I can think of off of the top my head who have them in urban areas.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you have plenty of room to have a good covered run that they can be in for most of the day and then a certain time (maybe an hour)before dusk you can let them free range in the yard and they always find their way back to roost in the coop right before dark...You can email me anytime with any thoughs or questions. Chickens are great, I hope you choose to have them.
Do you know your neighbors well enough to ask them? I also live on 1/3 an acre in Nyack. My neighborhood is suburban, but nobody around me has chickens. My yard is fenced in, and I got a small coop that can hold 3 birds, just enough for my family of 4. There is some ordinance that the coop should be 50 feet from another residence. As it turns out, my neighbors love the chickens. One tried to feed them and the Haitan family next door said they remind them of home! It always helps to give the neighbors a few eggs :-) The Backyardchickens.com site is a great resource.
ReplyDeleteI have been thinking of adding chickens in the next few years and can understand your worries about neighbors. I am lucky enough to have only one neighbor (the rest of the surrounding area is owned by the regional government and is open grassland). My one neighbor is planning to move however and I worry about the new neighbors that might move in. Some people just don't like animals of any kind!
ReplyDeleteI would love to have some chickens, but don't really have room. When we moved here 12 or 13 years ago, a family down the block had chickens. They even had a rooster that we used to hear crowing. I don't know what became of them.
ReplyDeleteMy mother-in-law's father had several chickens on their double lot property. She used to be embarrassed when her dad walked a chicken or chickens, I don't remember how many at a time. Their cat would also tag along. I wish there were photos of that!
Keep us posted about your decision.
We're in Chicago (super urban) with the standard lot being 25 feet wide, and my ex has chickens, I think six of them. He's had no problems with his neighbors at all. People think it's kind of cool.
ReplyDeleteWe luv our hens and they usually only get noisey after they lay their egg. They don't have to have Roos to lay eggs. Roos crow at all hours.....
ReplyDeleteMy husband willing to get for me chickens,but first I would like to meet people who has them allready,or speak to them ,because it is cold on Staten Island and I want to make sure witch coop I have to purchase, all coops that I`ve seen looks like they to cold fo this climate.dianaevz@yahoo.com
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