CALDWELL -- Growing tomatoes on your deck or herbs in your garden is pretty common around here, but thousands of people in the Treasure Valley are adding to their home-grown choices and growing chickens in their subdivisions. It's something often called "urban agriculture".
More cities are approving chickens as pets for people living on smaller plots of land, even in neighborhoods. Caldwell is the latest in the Treasure Valley with its revised ordinance taking effect at the end of June.
The original city ordinance said if homeowners have less than an acre of land, they could keep no farm animals. Now, that requirement is just a half acre for farm animals, and other animals, like hens, have been reclassified as "pets". With the revisions, homeowners can keep animals classified as pets on their property, no matter how much acreage.
Lonalee Hoogland keeps five chickens on her property, which is less than an acre in area. The chickens (hens only, no rooster) are called "urban chickens" or "backyard chickens".
"They're just my entertainment. I've always liked birds, but I'm not a parakeet person!" Hoogland said.
Up until a few weeks ago, Hoogland's birds were actually illegal. According to the old city code, her plot of land was too small to keep chickens.
"I was in noncompliance with the ordinance, and I had received letters from the city saying that I needed to get rid of my chickens, and I basically said, no, I want to work on getting this approved," Hoogland said.
Hoogland spoke at city meetings on the subject, and now, anyone living in Caldwell can keep up to ten chickens, even on less than an acre.
Gretchen Anderson, who lives in Eagle, says more cities are opening up to the idea. She's even written a book about it called "The Backyard Chicken Fight".
"[The book] is all about those people who are trying to fight city hall or their county for the right to keep chickens in their backyard," Gretchen Anderson said.
Anderson says the backyard chickens are getting more and more popular for two big reasons: "One is a food security issue. They want to make sure that they know where their food comes from and is it safe? The second issue is a property rights issue. I want to be able to do what I want to do in my own backyard."
Anderson says the main concerns people usually have are noise, odor, and predators and disease -- but says with proper care, those things can all be avoided. In fact, both Hoogland and Anderson say their neighbors don't mind.
"They were surprised, they didn't even know I had hens!" Anderson said.
Both women also agree there's a pretty easy way to keep neighbors happy: Share the "profit".
"I always share my eggs with my neighbors, so that helps an awful lot!" Anderson said.
Caldwell's revised ordinance also classifies a dozen other animals as pets, including goats, miniature horses, peacocks, and pot-bellied pigs, but there are limits on the number you can keep as pets.
