Nothing excites my dog more than the chicken coop we stroll past on our morning constitutional – the sight of all that poultry clucking and pecking intrigues even a domesticated predator. And we don’t even live on a farm – this is the city. Urban chicken farming has become all the rage, you see. In upscale Clayton, in fact, so many people have decided to get the freshest eggs they can by building coops in their backyards that the city may reconsider its poultry zoning laws.

And now the nearby Maplewood Richmond Heights School District is throwing its hat into the ring – or, um, coop, as the case may be. Later this winter, the district will offer two new one-evening courses for urbanites on raising poultry: “Chickens 101” on Jan. 27 and the provocatively titled “I Have Chickens … Now What?” on Feb. 24. Both courses will run from 4 to 5 p.m. at the MRH Early Childhood Center at 2801 Oakland Ave.

Participants will have the chance to tour the center’s own chicken coop and meet the birds. Leading the courses will be Julia Weese-Young, who teaches classes in raising urban chickens through the Missouri Botanical Garden. Enrollment for the two courses is limited, notes a release from the district. To register, contact Debi Gibson, MRH Seed-to-Table Program director, at 314.644.4405 or d.gibson@mrhsd.k12.mo.us.

– Byron Kerman

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