The sun rises on a warm spring morning. You wake up from that sweet slumber to the sound of a rooster crowing. The smell of coffee is wafting through the house as you greet the new day with a smile. That’s until you hear the neighbor firing up his truck through your bedroom wall and you remember that the Spokane Police Department arrested a guy in your front yard last night (true story).
Living in the city has its pros and cons. One of the pros is that you too can be an urban farmer waking up to that rooster crowing in the morning. Or to chickens cackling as they lay the farm fresh egg you’ll be eating for breakfast.
My husband and I became urban farmers last spring. We brought home four two-day old baby chicks and watched them grow up in the blink of an eye. We don’t have these particular chicks anymore but we’d like to share their journey and ours for those of you thinking about raising chickens. This is the first post of a continuous series.
Can you even have chickens?
Check the ordinances and municipal codes for your area. Sometimes those websites can be a career project to navigate, so calling is always an option. However, it is important that you print or obtain a copy of the chicken raising related laws.
In the City of Spokane you are allowed to have up to four chickens, including one rooster. The chickens are included in the small domestic animal definition.
That means your cat, Buckwheat, and dog, Mojo, count toward that four total, leaving you with only two chickens roaming around the backyard. Half the fun of raising chickens is the variety of colors and personalities they come with. The more the merrier.
