Community Corner

Backyard Chicken Farming Connects Families to Food

Environmentalists from Chappaqua and Irvington create short film on backyard chicken-farming.

Let's be honest—how many kids now think chickens come out of their shells already plucked, skinned, pre-packaged and ready to be shoved into the oven?

A number of families in the region have tried to combat this trend of drifting further and further from their food sources by growing their own vegetables, raising bees for honey and even keeping their own chickens for fresh eggs.

As part of a film course for non-profit leaders at the Jacob Burnes Film Center in Pleasantville, environmentalists Nicola Coddington and Susan Rubin have produced "Chicken Flick: Backyard Chickens for All," a short film about laws governing independent chicken farming in the suburbs.

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"I didn't know a lot about backyard chickens before this project," said Coddington, an Irvington resident and former village mayor. "The idea of the project was to focus on local food production and empower people to take control of their food sources. The biggest thing we learned is that there's a great disparity in laws concerning backyard poultry—even just in Westchester."

Raising chickens is legal in Dobbs Ferry, Irvington and Hastings.

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But Coddington's filmmaking partner Susan Rubin, a Chappaqua resident was very disappointed to learn that locally people need to have 10 acres to raise chickens. She is evening circulating an online petition, titled "Chickens for Chappaqua," to get the New Castle Town Board to change the law.

"We think that's ridiculous," Coddington said.

Coddington and Rubin represent the nonprofit Transition Westchester, a 'grassroots initiative that seeks to build community resilience.'

 “As people grow more concerned about the economy, the environment, food safety, emergency preparedness and animal welfare, they are returning to basic skills their grandparents knew well—vegetable gardening, canning food and raising chickens,” said Coddington.

Rubin, who has written opinion columns for Patch, added: “Safe, healthy, local eggs are one of the main benefits to keep chickens.”

The budding filmmakers followed a number of folks who raise poultry here in the Rivertowns, including Dobbs Ferry couple David Person and Lenore Lelah.

We have three chickens now, Chipmunk, Poseidon and Athena,” Person said. “When my daughter, Kalle, hatched chicks in first grade at Springhurst Elementary School, she really wanted to take some home. We did—and that was about four years and six chickens ago. We’ve lost two to raccoons and two turned out to be roosters—we’re actually wondering what gender Poseidon is at the moment."

According to Coddington, one of the main reasons people balk at backyard chickens is that they believe the birds may disturb neighbors.

"Chickens definitely don't have to bother neighbors," Coddington said. "And after seeing recent news coverage of major chicken farming factories, people feel like raising their own is more sanitary and that they have more control over what they're eating—not getting hormones and pesticides."

Others, Coddington said, are environmentally-minded and want to reduce the carbon footprint of their food supply.

"I think raising chickens is a no-brainer for people who want to be more connected to what they eat," Coddington said. "And the film is another way to raise awareness."

Preview 'Chicken-Flick: Backyard Chickens for All,' on Thursday, September 8 from 7 to 9 p.m. at South Church, 343 Broadway, Dobbs Ferry, NY. The screening will be followed by a short discussion with filmmakers. 'Rivertowns Chickens' is sponsored by Roots & Wings, the sustainable living initiative of South Church.  


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