"Nothing calms you more than sitting out in the yard watching your chickens
poke around for bugs and carry on conversations with each other," said Carla
Allen, who keeps chickens on her ranch in San Marcos.
There are no definite numbers available that illustrate the growth. This is
because it is difficult to determine and define who is keeping chickens for pets
and who is keeping them to eat, says Bob Vetere, president of the American Pet
Products Manufacturers Association. He added that there is evidence, however, to
suggest the organic trend is fuelling a pet chicken underground, especially in
Middle America.
Backyard Poultry magazine was resurrected about a year and a half ago after
being halted in the 1980s. Readership in the Medford, Wisconsin-based
publication has skyrocketed compared with its publisher's other two animal
magazines. Publisher Dave Belanger said Backyard Poultry's more than 50,000
subscribers exceeded his expectations tenfold.
"The biggest growth I see is the organic group that wants to know where
their eggs are from," he said. "A lot of urban people fall into that family."
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