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Fort Collins, CO may soon become the latest city to adopt an ordinance that would allow people to keep hens in their backyards.

Citing the ability of chickens to "green up" the city while providing a viable food source (eggs), the new chicken ordinance may revolutionize the way we think about our backyards. Your backyard could transition from a place for relaxing into a food-producing and natural recycling center.

Not only do hens produce eggs, but they also eat food waste. Think of them as living compost piles. You feed your highly nutritious food waste to the chickens, they get rid of it for you, and leave you with equally nutritious manure... for fertilizing your garden, lawn, etc. Suddenly you have a lot less garbage to put out at the curb every Wednesday morning. Plus, you have delicious eggs fresh from your backyard. You control what the chickens eat, you control what you eat.

According to an article in The Denver Post, chickens are great for waste management. In Belgium, for instance, the recycling rates jumped 72% after a backyard chicken program was instituted. Other eco-conscious cities in the U.S. have already adopted similar chicken ordinances. Boulder, CO; Seattle, WA; Portland, OR; and Madison, WI all have backyard chicken programs in place. Chickens have received a lot of praise in those cities and few complaints.

The program in Fort Collins would include hens only, not noisy roosters. And coops would have to be well-maintained and not be within 15 feet of property lines.

What do you think about having chickens in cities? Would you want hens in your backyard?