When you think of chickens and Windsor Terrace, you might immediately think of the roasted ones that sell out so quickly at Brancaccio's (I sure do). But there are plenty of charming, live chickens in the neighborhood! Time Out New York has a profile of one such clucking crew in its home design section this week.
As raising chickens in the city has gained some momentum in the past few years, I've always been curious if it's a pastime only homeowners can enjoy. But James Gillespie talks about how he and Laila Ozols-Gillespie found their rental, and how they made sure to clear the chickens with the landlord first:
If you're curious about raising your own chickens, we have a lot of resources in the area:
As raising chickens in the city has gained some momentum in the past few years, I've always been curious if it's a pastime only homeowners can enjoy. But James Gillespie talks about how he and Laila Ozols-Gillespie found their rental, and how they made sure to clear the chickens with the landlord first:
We knew there was no point seriously considering the apartment until we broached the subject of having chickens. That was a big thing for us. We have four, and we didn’t want to get rid of them, so we brought that up early so as not to waste anyone’s time.... My wife introduced the idea of chickens to the landlord. He had actually heard of [raising chickens] in Red Hook] [where we used to live], because he has a friend there who was a pioneer. He was willing to go ahead and wrote it into the lease.
If you're curious about raising your own chickens, we have a lot of resources in the area:
* Other examples of people who raise chickens successfully in the neighborhood include Maggie Groening, who was interviewed in the recently.
* Drew Waters, who constructs Handcrafted Coops, a line of beautiful portable chicken coops, is based right here in Windsor Terrace.
* Many people buy hay for bedding at the Kensington Stables.
Find out what's happening in Windsor Terrace-Kensingtonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Just remember that if you do decide to raise some feathered friends, roosters are not allowed in NYC, and, as Waters told us, "It's always good to keep your immediate neighbors informed and in supply of the occasional eggs."
If you have questions for other people who have chickens, the Just Food City Chicken Meetup NYC group is an excellent resource.
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