I have lived in the city my entire life, and frankly I don't know what planet people are living on if they expect the city to be quiet. Between sirens, blaring music, motorcycles, barking dogs, mating alley cats, garbage trucks, ice cream trucks, kids playing, and on and on, I am stunned that people are worried about my chickens. I think that sometimes when cityfolk, who are used to tuning out all kinds of noise, get bent out of shape about chicken noise it is coming from a deeper, city-bred mistrust of being in contact with the sources of our food - which are, after all, dirt, plants, and animals.
Fact is, keeping chickens in Chicago is a tradition as old as the city itself, kept alive in part by the large Mexican community here, and in recent times also by growing interest in food security and self-sufficiency. I'm the fourth chicken keeper on my block alone. OK, so at the moment we can go to a farmer's market or organic food store and buy fresh(ish) eggs - if we can afford their premium prices, which most people I know can't. But my nearest "local farmer" is probably 20 miles or more away. What if a time comes when we can't rely on mass production and gasoline-fueled transportation to bring our food to us? Is starvation to be the lot of city-dwellers? To my thinking, it's imperative that the city become a site of food production - now, while there isn't yet a serious food crisis. That's why I am farming in the city. I *am* a city girl and don't know much about growing food and am learning as I go. As are an increasing number of urban and suburban folks.
I'm sorry if this is a bit off-topic but I get so distressed at the "city vs. country" debate. To me, it is a false division. Anyone who is growing healthy food - anywhere - should be commended for helping to contribute to their community's food security.
