Keeping a Hen House: Are Chickens the Next "It" Pet?

Anyone with a backyard coop will crow loudly about the virtues of the chicken. For example, my friend Bonny raised chickens in a semi-rural area and often brought us dozens of fresh eggs. There is nothing as delicious or nutritious. But that's beside the point. Bonny's birds had individual names and a happy bond with her - their mother hen. While the feathered fowl is not eggsactly what most people consider a house-pet, aficionados simply scratch their heads, wondering, Why not? For one thing, many cities and towns around the United States have strict ordinances, banning people from keeping poultry on their property. However, according to a recent article in the Orlando Sentinel, Renee Rung, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida is expressing her hard-boiled attitude toward what she sees as an arbitrary ordinance. She is in the process of fighting city hall, questioning the logic behind these regulations. Since she and her sons tend their own vegetable garden and have mango and banana trees in their yard, fresh for the picking, it seems only natural for her to add a pet chicken or two. Rung is not the only one campaigning for the right to a handful of hens. An urban movement has been underway for a few years. Presently, a family in Hollywood is involved in a court battle over keeping chickens as a part of their cultural heritage. While I totally understand some people's reluctance to live in close proximity to overly-noisy fowl, roosters are to blame for the noise, not hens. And as roosters are not essential for hens to lay eggs, worried neighbors don't have to be concerned. As Bonny tells it, the sound of chickens clucking is quite soothing. If we had room on our property and had the time and energy to raise chickens, I would go for it. What do you think? Share your thoughts in a comment. Image Source: Flickr User Maria C