Welcome back to Winged Animal Week at Gothamist—yesterday we talked to City Birder Rob Jett about urban birdwatching, and today we're visiting Brooklyn's backyard chicken coops.
Crown Heights resident Noah Leff never expected to be smitten by chickens, but that's exactly what happened when his local community garden, Dean North Community Garden, got its first coop. Soon thereafter, Leff was appointed part of the Chicken Committee and one day a week was tasked with feeding, cleaning, and gathering eggs. Struck by how easy it was to care for the funny creatures, he hatched a plan to make chicken ownership more accessible. And so, his new business Victory Chicken, was borne. But Victory Chicken, which provides New York City residents looking to start their own flock with the basics (coop delivery and installation, 2 months of supplies, "Chicken 101" training, and, of course, the hens), has done more than simply satisfy Leff's entrepreneurial ambition; he now has three great pecking pets.
Leff invited us over for a tour of his Brownstone barnyard and introduced us to his three little ladies. Blair, Shasta, and Robotron spend most of the day in their coop, but are allowed to roam free when the family comes home at night. He tells us that although the hens are capable of laying about 15-18 eggs per week, it's not worth it to make money off of them, primarily because it would take a few years to break even on what you spent on the coop, but also because the eggs become secondary to the psychological and educational benefits of the chickens themselves. Leff, whose day job is that of a non-profit financial consultant, finds it comforting to come back to his coop after a long day in the city. "The eggs are great but they become secondary. They're funny, goofy little animals. And it's a good way to teach my son about the complicated relationship with where your food comes from," he says.
The hens, who are acquired from family farms, are threatened by the usual opossums, raccoons, and hawks, but have chicken wire buried under their coop to prevent midnight marauders. These girls live a pretty privileged life but there are two sides to this poultry story, because across the borough in Bushwick live a few hardened chicks.
Bushwick City Farm, a reappropriated vacant lot turned farm, has grown their brood since the last time we checked in. The farm initially rescued many of its chickens from the Queens slaughterhouse, but has since added to its rank through drop-offs. 27-year-old farm director Masha Radzinsky tells us that people often hatch an egg with their children like it were a toy but don't know what to do with the animal once it's grown. Always willing to rescue a chicken and allow it the chance to free-range and eat organic, Radzinsky has happily adopted the strays, but the farm has now reached saturation. So, please, no more drop-offs!
Rooster drop-offs are a problem for the farm because of NYC's laws against them. Hens are legal in NYC, but roosters are not, and the rule is particularly enforced in that area, partially because roosters are noisy but also because of the neighborhood's propensity towards cock fighting. Radzinsky tells us that roosters left at the farm will be slaughtered, but ensures it is always in the most humane way possible. But it could be worse, the rooster "got to run around and fuck all these hens" before becoming soup for the community. And soup for the community is right in line with the farm's main priority, which is ultimately just about providing free food for neighbors. The farm gives out about 500-600 free eggs a month at a rate of 6 eggs per person every Sunday.
The chickens rule this Bushwick garden because, as Radzinsky says, "there's power in numbers, man." And it seems so! "You can't get chicken feed at the bodega, yet," smiled Leff. He might just be on to something.
