In The NoCo

Ever dream of keeping your own chickens in the backyard? Here’s how to get started

By In The NoCo,

Published September 4, 2025 at 5:35 AM MDT

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A black chicken with feather lined feat walks across the ground. — Many people are becoming interesting in raising backyard chickens. We talked with farmer Paul Fleischer for some advice on where to get started.

More people in Colorado are turning their backyards into coops and runs for chickens. According to The Denver Post, people are finding satisfaction in raising their own broods – especially as egg prices remain high.

Paul Fleischer leads an introductory class to backyard chicken keeping at Fleischer Family Farm in Lakewood. The class addresses everything from how to build your own coops to how to keep your birds healthy. Paul says fall is a great time to start planning for your spring brood.

He joined Erin O’Toole to talk through some of the basics and told her that he and his wife started their farming career with a few of their own backyard chickens.

A man with a hat and overalls poses and smiles next to his dog.

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In The NoCo

KUNC's In The NoCo is a daily slice of stories, news, people and issues. It's a window to the communities along the Colorado Rocky Mountains. The show brings context and insight to the stories of the day, often elevating unheard voices in the process. And because life in Northern Colorado is a balance of work and play, we celebrate the lighter side of things here, too.

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Ariel Lavery

Ariel Lavery grew up in Louisville, Colorado and has returned to the Front Range after spending over 25 years moving around the country. She co-created the podcast Middle of Everywhere for WKMS, Murray State University’s NPR member station, and won Public Media Journalism awards in every season she produced for Middle of Everywhere. Her most recent series project is "The Burn Scar", published with The Modern West podcast. In it, she chronicles two years of her family’s financial and emotional struggle following the loss of her childhood home in the Marshall Fire.

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Erin O'Toole

As the host of KUNC’s news program and podcast In The NoCo, I work closely with our producers and reporters to bring context and diverse perspectives to the important issues of the day. Northern Colorado is such a diverse and growing region, brimming with history, culture, music, education, civic engagement, and amazing outdoor recreation. I love finding the stories and voices that reflect what makes NoCo such an extraordinary place to live.

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Brad Turner

Brad Turner is an executive producer in KUNC's newsroom. He manages the podcast team that makes In The NoCo, which also airs weekdays in Morning Edition and All Things Considered. His work as a podcaster and journalist has appeared on NPR's Weekend Edition, NPR Music, the PBS Newshour, Colorado Public Radio, MTV Online, the Denver Post, Boulder's Daily Camera, and the Longmont Times-Call.

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