City girl Tracy Newel had dreams of living in the country, growing her own food and harvesting farm-fresh eggs.

And two years ago, she began living that dream. She built her own chicken coop and bought several hens.

There's just one catch: She never left the city.

Newel turned a patch of her central Fresno backyard into a chicken coop where she houses three plump hens. And every day, the hens busily scratch around her lawn, eat lots of bugs and, of course, plop out an egg.

Standing in her sunny backyard, feeding her chickens pieces of a bagel, Newel marveled at her little farm in the city.

"Once I started to do this, it just seemed so natural," said Newel, assistant director of development for California State University, Fresno's Craig School of Business. "I love doing this, and I love my girls."

Across the country, thousands of city dwellers are plucking eggs from their backyard chicken coops, despite zoning restrictions in some cities. Websites, magazines, and how-to books have been written on the subject.

For many, the decision to raise chickens in the city is driven by a desire to become more self-sufficient and be part of the local and organic food movements. Others do it because they prefer to eat eggs that don't come from large-scale commercial egg factories.

Some see the trend as helping to strengthen the connection between consumers and farmers.

"I think this really helps people understand what it takes to raise food, and by doing it themselves, they recognize how much time and resources it takes," said Liza Burke, community relations manager for Seattle Tilth, an urban farming advocate.

Whatever the reason, the number of people wanting to join the flock appears to be growing, said Rob Ludlow, co-author of "Raising Chickens for Dummies" and owner of backyardchickens.com.

Although no one tracks the number of backyard chicken farmers, Ludlow uses the growth of his website as a guide. The Bay Area-based site has grown from just 50 members in 2007 to more than 82,000 today.

Members are posting at least 7,000 times a day.

"Unfortunately most people do not have the resources -- land, time, money -- to have a huge garden and raise cows, pigs, etc.," Ludlow said. "Having a handful of egg-laying hens in a relatively small yard allows people to participate in these movements without having to move."

Fresno-area feed stores and chicken breeders have seen more people looking for supplies and chicks.

"We get calls every week," said Marla Enns, owner of Chick-Ens n' Eggs, a chicken and egg seller in Fresno. "It really is amazing how much interest there is out there."

Enns estimates that about half of the urban chick raisers she meets have some experience raising livestock, but the rest are rookies. She does her best to guide them in selecting breeds and how to care for chicks.

She recalls one young couple who built an extensive coop for their newborn birds, only to find out the birds needed to be in a box under warm lights and heat.

"They got a little ahead of themselves," Enns said. "Around here, we teach Chicken 101."

Many enthusiasts must skirt local laws.

Within the Fresno and Clovis city limits, farm animals -- including chickens -- are illegal.

But enforcement usually only happens after someone has complained. Many backyard chicken owners know that.

Newel asked her neighbors if they would mind if she had chickens, and no one did. One of her neighbors even helps feed the hens. She tosses bread scraps over the fence.