Tour de Coops, started in 2009, is a self-guided backyard chicken coop tour in Phoenix. The tour is organized by the Valley Permaculture Alliance (VPA), a local nonprofit environmental education nonprofit organization.

The home of “urban farmer” Bryan White, who likes to entertain his flock with a little music, will be on this year’s Tour de Coops, featuring a variety of backyard chicken coops and other permaculture ideas that can be incorporated into an urban environment (submitted photo).

The Valley’s most unique home tour, this “Parade of Combs” features hens and coops tucked into neighborhood gardens and urban farms around the downtown area. Many of the homes also sport other permaculture features like rain gardens, productive veggie gardens, alternative energy sources, composting, and a general pursuit of urban sustainability.

The seventh-annual tour hatches from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 14. This will be a bike-, walk-, and drive- friendly event. Visit the coops and learn from feathered friends about a wide variety of topics to help you incorporate chickens and productive vegetable gardens into your backyard system. Each site will include “egg-ucational” booths to help educate folks who are considering taking on a coop of their own.

Tickets are $20 in advance for ages 13 and older, $30 the day of. A four-pack is available for $75. Children ages 12 and younger tour for free. Advance ticket sales close 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13. All tickets must be picked up by 2 p.m. at Coop Headquarters, inside the Southwest Autism Research and Resource Center, 2225 N. 16th St. There you will receive your tour wristband. For more information, visit http://vpaaz.org/TourdeCoops.