A Polish Silkie breed of chicken at the Foodshed event.
Credit: Ingrid Sofield/NewtownPANow.com
The Bucks County Foodshed Alliance recently held a discussion at the Anderson Library located on the campus of the George School about raising chickens.
A panel of experts discussed various topics about care, feeding, and housing. Audience members gained insight about raising those cute little chicks into mature birds.
Backyard chicken raisers have many options to choose from for housing such as a chicken tractor, which is portable, in addition to many other different coop structures. Be aware of the risks of free ranging birds, they are targets for predators that live within our environment.
Some chicken facts you may not be aware of:
- Brown eggs result from a more hardy breed of chicken, such as the Rhode Island Red
- Contrary to popular belief, there is no difference in nutritional value between a brown egg and white egg as long as it is farm raised
- Farm fresh eggs have ⅓ less cholesterol in them
- You do not need a rooster for eggs – only if you want them to hatch
Locally, Newtown Borough, Newtown Township, Wrightstown and Upper Makefield all allow for chickens, but there are certain restrictions in place.
Wrightstown Zoning Officer and Fire Marshal Ted Middleman said the township does allow for backyard chickens. Documents provided by Middleman show residents are able to have up to 25 chickens for the first three acres. If residents want more than 25 chickens, property owners would need up to 10 acres of land. Click here to read the full code for poultry.
Newtown Township and Upper Makefield both allow for chickens depending on acreage. “The keeping of poultry shall be limited to lots which contain at least 3 acres of land, and shall be limited to no more than 25 head of poultry for the first 3 acres and up to 25 additional head of poultry per acre up to 10 acres,” the code said. Click here to see the full code.
Newtown Borough Code Enforcement Officer Joanne Brown said there is no specific rule in the town ordinance, however, property owners are asked not to turn their homes into farms. Setback requirements must be followed for residents interested in building chicken coops and the borough noise ordinance must be followed.
From personal experience, I can say chicken raising is a great hobby especially seeing those tiny little chicks grow into beautiful birds and produce delicious, natural eggs with yolks you won’t see in any commercial dozen.
