THE INTEGRAL URBAN HOUSE

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The principal reasons for raising small stock are to obtain high-quality protein for human consumption in the form of meat and eggs, and manure to use in composting and ultimately in the garden as fertilizer, as well as for pleasure or recreation. Additional benefits are obtaining rabbit pelts or wool (the latter from the Angora breed), and the satisfaction of knowing that the meat you eat is relatively free of the pesticides and hormones frequently used in commercial livestock production.

Under some circumstances, the cost of producing these products compares favorably with their prices in the store. In any case, both chickens and rabbits—but chickens particularly—can recycle the family organic waste effectively.

A common response of many novices to the art of small-stock raising is, "But they're so cute, I could never bear to kill them.” Perhaps. We refer to this as the "Bambi syndrome". It results from the fact that urban children grow up unaware of what it takes for life to survive:

They are exposed to countless sentimental stories of anthropomorphized, "cute" little animals, and their limited experience leads them to believe that meat and eggs originate in the store in sanitary-looking plastic containers.

In fact, through a simple demonstration of how quick, painless, and aesthetically acceptable the butchering of these animals is when done properly, we have, between us, taught hundreds of meat-eating people to do an adequate job of it and find satisfaction in accomplishing the task. Our feeling is that, if you do eat meat, confronting directly the fact that someone must butcher it might be desirable. Rather than confining someone to a slaughterhouse for eight hours a day as an occupation, you might better handle the job yourself.

Both chickens and rabbits need an area that can be protected from dogs, teasing children, rain, winter winds and snow, and the heat of the summer sun. They must be located where the cackles of chickens or an occasional whiff of rabbit urine will not send the neighbors to telephone the police. Some cities have ordinances specifying the distance animals must be from the property line, others will not permit more than a specified number of certain animals, and a few forbid the raising of stock altogether. In any case, the unwritten law seems to be: Don't annoy the neighbors.

Most municipal ordinances restricting livestock were made to protect urbanites from the smell, noise, flies, and general nuisance-causing behavior associated with farm animals that are managed in the city as if they were still on the farm. Systems must be constructed that allow small livestock to be raised compatibly with urban sensibilities. This requires some special technology . . . but first, adequate space must be made available for the job.

The amount of time the various animal systems will take depends on several factors: how large or small the systems are, how well-designed and automated you make them, how experienced you are in working with the animals, and how leisurely or efficiently you approach the process. Naturally, putting the system together will take more time than managing it when it is running . . . and the more you learn, the easier and quicker it becomes.

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