People throughout central Florida have become increasingly interested in locally produced, organic food. Chicken-keeping for egg production is one of the simplest ways for county residents to supply themselves with a fresh, healthy, and easily sustainable food source. Chickens also offer many other benefits. They remove bugs, weeds, and weed seeds from the landscape; they consume table scraps that would otherwise end up in the waste stream; and they provide one of the best organic fertilizers available. Chickens are no more of a threat or nuisance to neighborhood life than a dog or cat, and they offer a benefit that legal pets do not: eggs - a healthy, sustainable food source. By allowing residents to keep a limited number of hens (10), the county will encourage stewardship of the environment and food production on a sustainable, household scale.

Help us to make Orange County a leader in sustainability and more natural living!