Meet Your Neighbor’s Backyard Flock
DRA’s Sioux Falls Chapter Hosts 2nd Annual Tour de Coop
Sioux Falls residents are showing off their backyard chickens and coops on Saturday, August 17, starting at 12:30 pm. The tour will feature five coops and kicks off at the first coop at 2217 W 18th Street, Sioux Falls, SD. Over 75 people attended last year’s tour to discover why and how people were raising the birds in town.
City chickens have received a fair amount of attention over the last year as the city revisited its urban agriculture policy. In April the city council voted that chickens could stay and now Dakota Rural Action’s Sioux Falls Chapter is celebrating by holding the 2nd annual Tour de Coop.
Chicken owners highly prize their feathered friends, building beautiful coops for them that keep them sheltered from weather and predators. Many tour attendees last year were surprised at how a well-built coop and small flock can improve the aesthetics of a backyard.
Dakota Rural Action member Monica Pugh was one of the attendees of last year’s tour. “I wanted to get ideas for coops and what kinds of chickens people had.” Monica and her husband, Glenn, now have a coop and some backyard chickens of their own.
Pugh cites eggs and using the chicken’s manure as fertilizer in her garden as some of the reasons she enjoys raising chickens. Plus, “they’re fun to watch,” she adds.
Many people find chickens to be a very interesting novelty item. When a fire crew visited Pugh’s house recently one of the fireman was surprised to see the chicken abode, “Wow! You guys have a coop.” When their work was finished the crew didn’t miss the opportunity to hang around for a moment and satisfy their curiosity.
Ian Caselli, also raises chickens in Sioux Falls. “I really enjoy urban agriculture and the idea of producing our own food. Backyard chickens is just one more way that we, as a family, can do that,” says Caselli, a Dakota Rural Action member.
This year’s tours may inspire yet more residents to bequeath a part of their backyard to these beneficial birds. The tour is free and open to the public.