The Stealth Chicken Coop - Keeping Swine Flu and Zoning Officers At Bay

stealth chicken coop photo
Stealth chicken coop by My Pet Chicken. Image credit:My Pet Chicken.

With fall approaching, public health authorities are planning for the 'worst-case' scenario swine flu outbreak. Imagine schools closed for weeks on end. You and the family staring out at leafless trees, fearful of leaving home. Monopoly would be so much quieter than kids fighting over the Wii controller. (If only you had kept those old board games.)

Will you bike to the grocery for a respite, and to stock up on eggs? No you won't. Because you have a Stealth Chicken Coop in your back yard. Hungry neighbors and tightly-wound zoning enforcers will be clueless about your prefab, on-site egg source unless you crow about it like the rooster your hens are missing.

In the heartland, folks are getting ready. IndyStar.com reports in 'Chicken underground' emerges in Indiana, that:

Many cities allow urban chicken farming, including Indianapolis, St. Louis, San Francisco, Ann Arbor, Mich., and Madison, Wis.

Restrictions are placed on the chicken lovers in most of those cases, though. For example, in most cases, hens are allowed but not roosters, only three or four chickens are permitted at each household, and chickens must be kept from leaving the property.

The urban chicken movement has businesses that sell equipment and offer tips for raising the birds.

"There are even 'stealth' chicken coops that look like trash cans," Stulp said.

More urban chicken posts.
How To Get Chicks
Urban Chicken Keeping Boom in the UK
Eating Locally: Backyard Chickens