estrous pillbox: Backyard chicken bans causing a stir in Southern California cities

Urban farmer John Lyons shows a few of the daily eggs he receives from his chickens in his Winnetka permaculture garden. (SGVN/Staff Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz)

Gallery: Urban farmer John Lyons raises chickens in his permaculture garden

Urbanites searching for cruelty-free eggs and farm-fresh produce are hatching plans to raise chickens and grow vegetables in their own backyards, redefining "local" food even beyond the neighborhood farmers market.

"Once you've eaten an egg that has come from a chicken in your backyard, you kind of turn your nose up at even the organic eggs in the store," said John Lyons, who owns the garden and chicken coop design company The Woven Garden.

But as the "urban homestead" movement continues to take flight in the Los Angeles region, many residents are clucking about some cities' bans on the egg-laying animals, which some see only as noisy neighbors.

When done right, backyard chickens can have many benefits, said Mike Scott of Eagle Rock, who builds chicken coops and vegetable gardens with his company Eagle Rock Backyard Farms. They can provide manure for the garden, eat household food waste, produce fresh eggs every morning and can even be lovable family pets.

"It's definitely a lifestyle, it's not just having another pet. You can have a dog and a dog gives you love back, but the chickens actually give you something for treating them really well, and that's the egg," Scott said. "You can't beat fresh eggs."

Chickens are already permitted in many cities, including Los Angeles, Pasadena, South Pasadena, Monterey Park, Glendora, Chino and Rancho Cucamonga, although many restrict the number of chickens per household and most ban roosters.

But San Dimas, Ontario, Montebello, San Gabriel and Whittier are among the cities that ban chickens in residential areas, and many who live in those cities are asking their city councils to lay off.

Last week, the San Marino City Council lifted its ban on backyard chickens at the request of some residents, though the city restricts the number of chickens per household and bans roosters.

San Gabriel is also looking to change its laws. The City Council last month granted resident Vito Clarizio a conditional permit to keep the eight chickens he's housed in his backyard for eight years, and directed staff to develop a new code that would allow backyard chickens with certain regulations.

Long Beach also has been considering loosening regulations on urban agriculture. A City Council committee considered the issue in June, and city staff are continuing to study how new proposed laws could be implemented.

The seemingly eccentric rule, a relic of Long Beach's

John Lyons raises egg-laying chickens in this Winnetka garden. He owns a company that builds organic gardens and chicken coops and teaches classes on gardening and raising chickens. (SGVN/Staff Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz)

20th century urbanization, was part of a pack of changes to the municipal code debated by the City Council's Environmental Committee recently.

The proposed law would allow up to four hens with no restriction, five to 10 chickens at least 25 feet away from a neighboring residence and 11 to 20 of the birds at least 50 feet away from homes.

Currently, up to 20 hens can be kept on a property if they are at least 50 feet away from single and two-family residences and 100 feet from homes of three families or more.

Lyons, who owns 20 chickens at his San Fernando Valley home, said city chicken bans are likely based on antiquated ordinances, and any city that has them should reconsider.

"The chicken ban makes absolutely no sense," Lyons said. "Chickens are very quiet creatures, I don't understand what the restriction is about."

And the growing voice of urban chicken owners may prompt many cities to, like San Marino and San Gabriel, take a second look at their municipal codes.

Jordanne Dervaes, of Urban Homestead in Pasadena, has made a business raising crops and chickens at her family home and helping others do the same. She said when she first started keeping chickens 10 years ago, it was hard to find any information on how to raise them in an urban environment.

"That was breaking new ground," Dervaes said. "It was very scary for me at the time."

Now, owning a chicken coop has become a way for people to eat healthy, natural food and know where it is coming from.

Dervaes said she's happy that urban farming has become more popular, but also is concerned that some chicken owners might not know what they're getting into.

It can be especially hard, she said, because many urban vets and humane societies won't provide chicken health services.

"Now it is a trend and as with every trend people don't adhere to basic things you need to do to take care of an animal," Dervaes said. "I've seen the good and the bad. It's good when people do it right, but if you don't do it right it could backlash for the rest of us who are doing it right."

Though there might not be a chicken vet in Los Angeles cities, websites like backyardchickens.com and urbanchickens.org, and groups like Los Angeles Urban Chicken Enthusiasts, can provide support for the urban farming community.

Rob Ludlow, owner of backyardchickens.com, said his site has more than 125,000 active members nationally, up from 50 when the site first started in 2007.

"There is a growing awareness of how fun and easy it is to raise backyard chickens," Ludlow said via email. "People are quickly realizing that chickens are a multi-purpose pet."

Ludlow, of Pleasant Hill-based Ludlow Concepts Inc., also co-authored "Raising Chickens for Dummies" and "Building Chicken Coops for Dummies."

Scott, who quit his corporate job two years ago to start his backyard farm business, said he has seen a similar boom in business since he started his company. He has built chicken coops, "edible gardens" and bee hives for residents throughout the region and most recently constructed one for the Los Angeles County Arboretum.

"It's basically sustainable living, and chicken coops are a big part of that," he said. "You're basically creating a mini ecosystem."

Ultimately, he said it's not just the environmental or health benefits that make owning chickens so great, it's the atmosphere and the relationship he has with his chickens that make him glad he chose the lifestyle.

"One of my favorite things to do is sit outside with a glass of wine and watch the chickens peck and look for bugs," Scott said. "It's really relaxing."

Chicken lovers

Cities that already permit chickens, with restrictions on the number:
Los Angeles, Pasadena, San Marino, South Pasadena, Monterey Park, Glendora, Chino and Rancho Cucamonga.