Abundance of Farm Animals Flourish in Berkeley Backyards
Urban farm animals have become an increasingly frequent sight around Berkeley. Whether it’s a brood of chickens or a few goats, animals living in the city are gaining popularity. The growing slow food movement has encouraged home gardening, and some residents have taken the trend to the next level by raising animals that produce eggs, honey, meat, and milk. The lure of free, fresh eggs in such close proximity to homes has led to an incredible number of chicken coops in backyards. Some urban farmers even raise goats for milk or keep beehives.
Jim Montgomery, a Berkeley resident who lives on Green Faerie Farm in West Berkeley, describes that they have “twenty chickens, about twenty rabbits, and three female goats who have six babies right now.” Green Faerie Farm is located on a double lot near San Pablo. Each week, the farm produces many gallons of goat milk and dozens of eggs. The animals also help to create a more productive garden. “Our vegetable garden and fruit trees are very productive, due to the animal manure that our livestock provide as organic fertilizer,” explained Montgomery. “And there are lots of things in our garden that the animals are happy to eat that we can’t. Things like broccoli stocks and kiwi vines for the rabbits and goats, slugs and worms for the chickens.”
Green Faerie Farm’s herd of goats has become a neighborhood attraction, and the farm even offers volunteer positions to help with the herd’s milking and care. “Two or three times a week, I take my goats on walks around my neighborhood to exercise them and to keep their lives interesting,” said Montgomery. “I want them to be happy. At least twice a week someone will ask me what kind of dogs I have.” Goats are fairly unusual in Berkeley because of the time and space they require, but Green Faerie Farm is very proud of their herd. City laws limit the number of goats kept in Berkeley residences to three female goats and their kids.
Urban farm animals are a relatively new phenomenon, one that many cities’ municipal laws are not yet prepared for. In Berkeley, rules regarding the care and ownership of farm animals date back to the early twentieth century. Berkeley residents are allowed to keep an unlimited number of chickens, but coops must be constructed at least 25 feet from buildings. In cities that do not allow backyard chickens, such as Sacramento, clandestine chicken-raising has become relatively common. San Francisco limits its backyard farms to four chickens or other foul, and other cities have more strict guidelines as to where coops can be built. In Walnut Creek, coops must be 100 feet from the front property line, 50 feet from any interior lot line, and fifteen feet from any side or rear property lines.
Zoning and confusing municipal codes are not the only obstacle to keeping farm animals in Berkeley. “[One of our main] challenges is keeping the chickens and rabbits protected from raccoons, opossums and skunks; we use a solar electric livestock fence these days,” said Montgomery. “It’s also difficult finding affordable organic feed. I usually drive to Modesto to get a decent price — even with the cost of gas.” Space issues are also common among Berkeley residents who are interested in owning farm animals. Each urban chicken requires a minimum of four feet of space inside its coop, and ten feet of outside space. Rabbits require about five square feet of cage space, and goats require ten to fifteen square feet of bedding, as well as extra grazing space.
Although urban farming can be challenging, there are many benefits. “Many people don’t know where their food comes from. We are trying to live a life where we understand what we are eating and what kind of life it had whether it’s a plant or an animal,” said Montgomery of his choice to begin growing and raising his own food. “The benefits [include] having fresh milk, homemade goat cheese, delicious eggs, fresh and healthy rabbit, goat and chicken meat right in our backyard.” Locally raising livestock also decreases the household’s carbon dioxide emissions, and urban farmers are quick to point out the higher quality of eggs laid by their free–range chickens.
As the number of clucking and bleating Berkeley residents increases, human inhabitants can look forward to organic, free–range eggs and goat cheese, as well as flourishing gardens.
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