City Chickens

My company has moved me temporarily to Cupertino, California for the summer. The chickens are being taken care of by a friend back in Minnesota but that got me thinking… Silicon Valley is famous for having city ordinances that restrict what you can do with your land, but a quick look at the ordinances of Cupertino and I found the following:

G. The keeping of animals as follows:

I. Household pets limited to one animal per three thousand square feet of lot area except:

  a. Adult dogs are limited to a maximum of two for lots less than one acre and four for lots greater than one acre,

  b. The number of geese, ducks, chickens, rabbits and other farm animals are not limited on a site greater than one acre.

Interesting how many large cities and suburbs allow chickens (within reason) but small towns in the middle of the country have banned them.

While I am on the topic of chickens in the city, let me point to the answers I have found about the risks of keeping chickens in this time of avian flu. I heard this report on NPR and it seems to answer all my concerns.