Playing Chicken

By Sherri Collins

Editor, Pet Product News International

This past spring I went back to my roots (no, I’m not referring to my hair color) and planted a plethora of vegetables and herbs in my yard—my tomato plants are so loaded, I’ll be making salsa for weeks. My grandparents were farmers, as were their parents and their parents and…. Several extended family members still live on farms or ranches, but from the 1940s on, my more immediate kin turned to city dwelling, which necessitated buying their produce, milk and eggs from stores.

Grandma appreciated the convenience, but missed the freshness of home grown—she still sought out fresh eggs, though. In the late ‘80s, grandma’s never-ending quest for just-laid eggs led to her keeping chickens (six bantams) in her backyard in the distinctively non-rural setting of uptown Whittier. Who knew “Grammy” was such a trendsetter.

Backyard farms are on the rise across the U.S. in both urban and suburban settings, according to a recent article in the Los Angeles Times. Moreover, a number of those farms are including chickens. A quick Google search of “backyard chickens” brings up more than 100,000 hits, including myriad websites dedicated to nothing but poultry and their needs. The latter is where you, the pet retailer, come in. Many of you already offer backyard farm-type products as part of your pet and feed inventory, but there are numerous others who do not and they just might be missing out.

My grandma had the advantage of living within driving distance of a tack-and-farm feed store that serviced the horse set and also sold chicken scratch and feed. However, a lot of city dwellers don’t have ready access to chicken supplies and ordering via catalog or the Internet can involve hefty shipping fees. The Madison, Wis.-based retailer cited in the L.A.Times article did not carry such products until a plethora of requests caused her to reconsider and now she sells out on a regular basis.

The reasons behind keeping chickens can vary as much as the types of breeds do, from wanting to get back to nature to having a ready supply of inexpensive eggs, from simplifying the food chain to going totally organic. Whatever the impetus for establishing a backyard coop, chickens are becoming for many the new “it” pet.

Even major cities, such as Los Angeles, Baltimore and Chicago, have adapted to the growing poultry craze and have changed their zoning ordinances to allow their denizens to keep chickens (usually a max of four; hens only since roosters can be too noisy). Other cities are revisiting their rules against coops, thanks to numerous grassroots efforts of chicken lovers everywhere.

If you’re located in or nearby an area that permits chicken keeping, it may be worth your while to consider stocking corresponding supplies. I know if I lived in a city that allowed chickens, the local bird population would increase by at least two or three. There really is no escaping one’s roots. <HOME>

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