No one knows just how many urban dwellers have gotten into backyard chickens, but momentum has clearly grown, especially in the past year.

Backyard Poultry, a Wisconsin-based magazine, aimed for a readership of 15,000 when it launched five years ago, but the number quickly mushroomed to 110,000. Registered members of the website, www.backyardchickens.com, nearly doubled to 50,000 in the past nine months.

The St. Louis Slow Food chapter is holding two chicken-related workshops this winter and spring.

Educators in the St. Louis area are even helping people into the chicken game. The Maplewood-Richmond Heights School District, which has been working to encourage more sustainable eating practices, built a chicken coop in August.

The district also held a free "Chickens 101" class for the public last month and will hold a follow-up class later this month. "We want to encourage 50 families to have chickens in their backyards, to be able to have access to their own foods," said Tom Wickersham, a spokesman for the district.

By Georgina Gustin