Austin Encourages Residents To Become Urban Chicken Farmers

AUSTIN, TX — The city of Austin wants you to raise chickens.

On the municipal website, city officials beckon would-be chicken raisers with the sweet inducement of a $75 rebate for your coop. The effort dovetails (or chickentails as it were) nicely into the city's broader Zero Waste goal given that raising one's own poultry reduces landfill-bound food waste and provide eggs sans those egg cartons that take up space as well.

Then there's the scraps recycling inherent to raising chickens. And don't even get us started about the prospect of fresh eggs. Fresh eggs, people!

Sorry, we just really get our feathers ruffled over this but in a good way.

Four easy steps outlined in the municipal website yield a primer that will have you on your way to becoming an urban chicken farmer:

• Take a free chicken-keeping class. Click for the current class schedule and to register for same.
• Purchase a chicken coop from any retailer of your choosing. Italics are the city's, but they really do convey emphasis on this important point. No more searching for the sanctioned chicken coop provider, as any retailer will do (boldface ours, just to emphasize this further).
• Submit an online rebate application with copies of your receipt or download and print a PDF application. That's right, you don't have to go at it alone. The city will reimburse your chicken-related needs.
• Receive a $75 rebate check from the City of Austin by mail. Rebate checks will be issued and mailed to the account holder name and address, unless indicated otherwise. Please allow a minimum of 8 weeks for processing. Fun fact: You'll have chickens well before that, given the 21-day chicken gestation period.

See the full Terms and Conditions.

So when are these chicken-keeping classes, you ask? We have you covered:

• April 23: 10 a.m., Mueller Farmer’s Market, 4209 Airport Blvd.
• May 13: 10 a.m., Sunset Valley Farmer’s Market, 3200 Jones Road.
• May 24: 6 p.m., Triangle Farmer’s Market, 4600 Guadalupe St.
• June 18: 11 a.m., HOPE Farmer’s Market, 412 Comal St.
• July 29: 1 p.m., Recycled Read, 5335 Burnet Rd.

Bear in mind that only those who don't already receive a home composting rebate are eligible for the coop one. These are folks who pay the so-called clean community fee on their utility bills. But don't let this dissuade you! Just think about those fresh eggs!

Fresh eggs, people! And those adorably eccentric birds!

Visit austinrecycles.com for more information. Those with composting-related questions can email composting@austinrecycles.com.

>>> Photo credit: Luis Miguel Bugallo Sánchez (Lmbuga Commons) via WikiMedia Commons