Recently, a woman living in the small Idaho town of Kootenai (about fifty miles northwest of Spokane, Washington in the middle of Idaho's panhandle) called her city council to find out what the regulations were about keeping chickens in one's back yard.

The problem was, there weren't any. Turns out nobody had ever brought up the issue before.

I've talked a lot here about the open as well as the hidden costs of beef and why America's favorite source of protein is liable to get much more expensive (and admittedly, healthier and of better quality) in the future. Fortunately, chickens and ducks are much less resource-intensive, take up much less space – and produce an excellent source of inexpensive protein.

Yes, factory farms abuse poultry as well, as but more and more people vote with their pocketbooks and are willing to pay $3 to $5 a dozen for eggs laid by happy, free-range hens, that may very well go by the wayside. But another way people are taking control of their food supply is by raising chickens in their backyards. (My friend Scott in Hawaii just got 3 hens)

It's a bit of a project; you'll need a good, safe enclosure that raccoons and neighborhood cats  can't get into, and of course, you'll need to invest in a regular supply of chicken feed. The good news is however that most municipalities today are quite open to the idea of people keeping chickens in their backyards. Several folks I know of are even turning their flocks into a nice little revenue stream by selling eggs to their neighbors.

Most city ordinances that restrict this kind of enterprise are not necessarily directed toward chickens particularly; when these laws were passed, people were mostly worried about their neighbors keeping cows, horses and pigs – all of which give off aromas that many people do not find especially pleasant (and the fecal matter can pose a distinct health hazard in an urban or suburban area).

Chickens and ducks are pretty unobtrusive (geese can be noisy, however). Nonetheless, you'll definitely want to check in with your city council members before you start raising chickens. You should also know that while an increasing number of cities and towns are allowing residents to raise chickens in their back yards, there is no way that anyone is going to allow you to keep roosters – for reasons that should be patently obvious to anyone who works the night shift. If you like the idea of roast chicken on occasion, you'll still have to rely on your traditional, rural farmer, or pick up some free-range chickens at your nearby Trader Joes or Whole Foods market.

That said, if you are an egg connoisseur, you're going to find that home-raised eggs are tastier and healthier than the bargain brand you've picked up for years at .88 cents a dozen from the local Mega-Lo Mart most of your life.

Yes, it's a lot of time and trouble, and you may have to fight with the city council – but trust me, it's well worth it.