Across the United States, modern homesteading is gaining momentum through awareness cultivated by social media platforms like TikTok. Meanwhile, farmers’ markets are at an all-time high, having risen from 1,755 in 1994 to 8,771 in 2019 where it has remained stable ever since, according to the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service. Furthermore, an increasing number of people in cities are bringing rural tradition into their urban landscapes with gardening, sourdough baking and even raising chickens.
While not all cities allow the ownership of chickens, those that do often limit the number of hens per household and put a ban on roosters. Placing restrictions on roosters to prevent too many early morning “cock-a-doodle-doos” is reasonable and fair, but some cities, like Wayne, go even lower and bar all persons from being permitted to raise any hens on their properties, due to concerns of regulation management and the attraction of vermin.
Some cities in Nebraska like Lincoln and Blair allow people to obtain permits to own chickens. Even Hartington recently reassessed its ban on chickens and settled on the issuance of annually renewed permits of up to six hens. This happened after Hartington City Council was petitioned by 14-year-old Sylvie Nieman, a small flock owner, on Sept. 22, 2025, according to Cedar County News.
Joe Whitt, resident of Wayne, had less luck petitioning Wayne City Council with hopes of being granted an annually renewed permit to keep three hens on his property on June 17, 2025. Council members voted 5-1 against allowing a permit for the chickens, according to Wayne Herald.
Whitt said he was drawn to raising chickens for egg production because of his restorative orientation toward the environment, and his desire to invite the responsibility and activity his animal-loving children crave. Whitt said council members had concerns with the idea of chickens in town, fearing irresponsible ownership and the potential attraction of vermin.
Far more important than an issue of pest control or the worry of a sudden excessive proliferation of irresponsible chicken ownership within city limits, a city’s restriction of chicken ownership is an undue infringement on important principles of living. Food sovereignty, the ability to make a positive environmental impact, and the experience of having responsibility are far more important.
Caring for a small flock of hens simply for egg production is just one small part of the idea of food sovereignty. La Via Campesina, an international movement founded in 1993, defines food sovereignty as “the right of peoples to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods, and their right to define their food and agriculture systems.”
University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Indigenous Youth Food Sovereignty Program highlights the idea that, at least in Nebraska, food sovereignty has been most relevant to Indigenous populations and their goal to preserve methods of growing and preparing traditional foods, in turn preserving not only a way of life but the health of the population as well. We could be taking several cues from the original owners of the land, and the propagation of food sovereignty is one of them.
The concept of food sovereignty incorporates a respectful relationship with nature in a way that mitigates harmful and unnatural environmental impact. In the same way that caring for a small flock of chickens promotes the supplication of healthy, unprocessed food, backyard flocks also reduce the negative environmental impact that large-scale corporate poultry and egg production facilities generate.
From decreased transportation-related fuel emissions to the ability of chickens to recycle household food scraps and manage insect populations, backyard flocks provide a more eco-friendly option than corporate production facilities. City residents should have the right to engage in such positive environmental impact.
Further than eco-friendly advantages backyard chickens provide, caring for even a small flock of hens facilitates the experience of a responsibility and a positive relationship with nature.
In an article published by the American Psychology Association titled “Nurtured by nature,” Kirsten Weir indicated that spending time in nature correlates with cognitive benefits and improvements in mood, mental health and emotional well-being. Moreover, the feeling of being connected with nature correlates with similar improvements in well-being, regardless of the actual amount of time being spent outside.
In addition to the effects on mental health, and emotional and physical well-being that being involved with nature promotes, the responsible engagement with the environment brings awareness to the fragility and interconnectedness of ecosystems throughout the natural world and our role in protecting them, according to Brent Phillips in his Milk and Honey Ranch blog article “The Importance of Connecting with Nature.”
Responsibility promotes personal empowerment. A sense of emotional connection and responsibility toward caring for the land and its inhabitants promotes positive environmental decision-making, according to Robert C. Stebbins’ book “Connecting with Nature: A Naturalist’s Perspective.” In this way, the ownership and care of backyard chickens is a way for both adults and children to experience such a responsible relationship with nature and realize the power available to each of us to make a meaningful difference in the way we inhabit and interact with our environment.
Whitt summed it up best: “At the end of the day, it’s not even really about the chickens – it’s about what type of town we want to live in, and what we really value.”
Are we worried about the sterility and picture-perfect imagery of a town, or are we worried about food sovereignty, environmental impact, and our relationship to nature?
