Eggs-ellent

I grew up downwind from a chicken house and didn’t much enjoy it, but now I’m thinking of getting a few cluckers for my backyard.

There’s a movement afoot called the Campaign for Legalizing Urban Chicken Keeping, or CLUCK, and it’s been henpecking the city council for some time. Now, it looks like the council will meet soon to decide.

Did you know that 97 percent of all eggs sold in the United States are from hens packed in battery cages, with little room to move? Even so-called free-range chickens may not be able to range very far. So I’m hoping to rustle up a little coop in my yard, and let some hens have at the tomato hornworms and snails.

In return, maybe I’ll be rewarded with some fresh, really free-range and delicious eggs. Call your council member today, and squawk about changing the law. In the meantime, look for local eggs from the farmers’ markets. Vega Farms and Good Humus are two farms that usually have eggs for sale.