Upcoming Classes Offer Tips on City Chicken Keeping

Earlier this month, a group of Raleigh residents who keep chickens in their backyard gardens held the first annual "Hen-side the Beltline Tour d'Coop," inviting interested people to take a peek at their urban poultry operations around the Capital City. I had the privilege of writing a story for the News & Observer previewing the tour, which benefitted Urban Ministries of Wake County.

I also had the chance to take the tour myself -- and was shocked by how many folks turned out. Hundreds of people carrying tour maps filled the streets of the Five Points neighborhood where four of the seven featured coops were located. Judy Morgan-Davis, one of the organizers, reports that they ran out of all 500 tickets they had printed up for the event. She estimates that the tour drew about 800 people in all -- many of them interested in starting their own backyard coops.

To help them get started, her husband, biologist Bob Davis, will hold three sessions of his "Chickens in the City Garden" class beginning this weekend. The classes, which are open to the public, will take place in Room 159 of N.C. State University's Kilgore Hall on Saturday, June 3 at 10 a.m.; Sunday, June 4 at 3 p.m.; and Monday, June 5 at 7 p.m. Davis is requesting a fee of $3 per person, $1 of which will be donated to the J.C. Raulston Arboretum at N.C. State, another dollar to the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy in Pittsboro, N.C., and the rest going to defray costs. The class lasts about one to one-and-a-half hours, with time for questions at the end.

"From this presentation you will learn that keeping backyard chickens is both desirable and attainable," says Davis. "Chickens produce eggs, are a wonderful pet, and provide an earth connection for their owners. Details of their care will be covered, including sources of birds, housing, feeding, and health."