Raleigh chicken coop tour set for Saturday

This Saturday marks the 3rd annual "Henside the Beltline Tour d'Coop," when backyard chicken keepers from across Raleigh invite the public to visit their operations. This year's tour promises to be bigger and better than ever, with more coops, informational booths and a special guest appearance by The Chickenman.

The tour is a benefit for Urban Ministries of Wake County, and participants are asked to bring a non-perishable food or cash donation. Last year's tour collected 1,500 pounds of food and raised over $2,000 for the interfaith organization, which helps local families in need.

On the day of the tour, maps of participating coops will be available at the offices of dentist Steven B. Andreaus (1637 Glenwood Ave., across from the Rialto Theater); Ornamentea (509 N. West St., one block south of Peace Street); CupAJoe (2109-142 Avent Ferry Rd., in the lower level of Mission Valley Shopping Center); Whole Foods Market (3540 Wade Ave., in the Ridgewood Shopping Center); and Seaboard Ace Hardware (802 Semart Dr., across from Logan Trading Company).

The tour begins at 10 a.m. and goes until 4 p.m. For more information about the event, e-mail Kirsten Reberg-Horton at kirstenrh@yahoo.com. For information about keeping chickens, contact local poultry expert Bob Davis at radavis413@msn.com.

To learn more about the history of the event and what motivates Raleigh residents to keep chickens, click here for my 2006 News & Observer story about the original Tour d'Coop.