Raising backyard chickens becoming more popular in Arizona

If your city neighborhood is starting to look more like a farm, you're not alone.

Posted 10:22 p.m. Mar 20, 2018 — Updated 10:22 p.m. Mar 20, 2018

Heidi Goitia

PHOENIX, AZ — If your city neighborhood is starting to look more like a farm, you're not alone.

More urban residents are blurring the line between city and country living, all in the name of health. They're raising chickens to get the best, most nutritious eggs available.

Greg Peterson owns the Urban Farm near 16th Street and Glendale and has been raising chickens for decades and hasn't eaten a store-bought egg in longer than he can remember. He says they aren't only easy to raise, they're beneficial in other ways, too, like controlling the bug population in your yard.

Let's start with the healthier eggs. Peterson feeds his chicken organic feed and they are free range, meaning they have access to grass, bugs and other nutritious food. This is compared to factory-raised chickens who don't see sunlight and only eat the feed they're given.

Peterson acknowledges that we need that system to provide enough eggs for the world's population but they just aren't the healthiest available.

If you are one of the many who are skeptical about raising chickens, Peterson says, "I think the health issue is when you put ten thousand or a hundred thousand chickens in one place. I have 13 back here and we keep it clean. It's safer on an individual basis."

So why is this trend picking up steam? He says it's because people are finally paying attention to where their food is coming from.

"As people age, a lot of health things are coming up. And a lot of those health things are food related."

If you are interested in raising backyard chickens the first thing to do is check your city code. Most cities do allow them but have restrictions on things like yard size and the number of chickens you can have at one time.

He also says to educate yourself about caring for chickens. He can help you do that by offering podcasts and free lessons at his farm.

For more information, visit his website at www.urbanfarm.org.

Click the links below for your city's code to see what is allowed:

Avondale

Buckeye

Chandler

El Mirage

Gilbert

Glendale

Mesa

Paradise Valley

Phoenix