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Have you ever wanted the benefits of living on a farm, but live in an apartment or house in the city? Some people in the U.S. are not allowing their small living spaces to "get in the way of" (prevent them from) their desire for fresh meat and "dairy" (milk) products.

One recent "trend" (general direction that something is developing) is for "urban-dwellers" (people living in cities) to keep "barnyard" (farm) animals in their backyards or even indoors. Some people keep chickens, rabbits, turkeys, bees, and even "dwarf" (miniature; small-sized) goats! This trend has been "fueled by" (encouraged by) people wanting to eat food grown locally and "organically" (without the use of chemicals), and also because the uncertain economy has made people want to be more "self-sufficient," able to rely on themselves for producing food.

Some people keep chickens for eggs, and there are even companies that sell "diapers" (material you normally put around a baby's bottom and between his/her legs to keep clean) for your indoor chickens. Miniature goats are kept for milk and for eating "weeds" (unwanted plants) in the yard, and bees are kept for honey.

As you can imagine, not everyone is happy about having barnyard animals as their neighbors. Some animals are noisy, others smell, and still others can do serious damage if they "escape" (get out of their cage or living space). That is why cities are "scrambling" (doing something quickly and perhaps not doing it well) to change or develop new laws to control and limit this type of "animal husbandry" (the science and keeping of farm animals).

In Seattle, Washington, for example, you can have no more than three goats on a 5,000-square-foot property. In Atlanta, Georgia, you are limited to 75 rabbits on a "residential" (home) property, and in Oakland, California, you must leave 20 feet between any place chickens are kept and a place where people live; "roosters" (male chickens) are not allowed.