Kitty Cooper’s friends tell her she’s flown the coop. But in reality for the past year or so she’s been raising chickens in a coop she built in her backyard.
Cooper isn’t alone.
Lake County’s agriculture extension officer said she now gets as many as 20 calls a week from people wanting to own backyard chickens.
“People are really wanting to get back to the farm," said Meg Brew with the Lake County Ag Extension office. "They enjoy producing their own food and the idea you can go in your backyard and have a healthy protein source is appealing to a lot of people.”
So Lake County decided to host Central Florida’s first ever Small Flock Poultry Conference Tuesday (Poultry Con), where dozens of people asked ag extension agents anything and everything about chicken's diets and how to care for them.
“Just the quality of the food in the stores has a lot to do with how we feel about it,” said Rodney Dilday, who is considering getting chickens.
Now before you buy chickens and build a coop of your own, you will want to check with local officials about the zoning regulations in your area."
But where they are allowed may surprise you. Increased demand the past couple years has led to more urban areas to approve at least a few backyard hens.
“It’s very common in the city," said Dennis Mudge of the Orange County extension office. "There’s 75 people in Orlando very successfully having hens and fresh eggs, very quietly keeping them there. But it’s not just Orlando, it’s also Maitland and Apopka and Tampa, much of Florida now.”
Many people end up selling eggs for profit and the chickens for stew.
But as for Kitty Cooper, she said she’ll just keep sharing their eggs with friends.
Lake County approved backyard chickens a year ago, but some cities we found that don't allow them include Clermont, Tavares and Mascotte. And though you can have them in Orlando, you can't in Orange County, unless you live in an area zoned agricultural.