Chickens on the agenda
Ellen Smith
backyard chickens at its work session on Thursday, February 11, at 5:30
pm. This is the very first formal consideration of a topic that City
Council members have been hearing about from citizens for some time
now.
Read a lot more about this on my blog at
http://ellensmith.org/blog/2010/02/09/chickens-r-us/
I won't be able to be at this meeting, but I've passed Rob Gunter's
ideas along to the planning staff (without using his name). I've also
given them some comments from citizens who have a variety of worries
about the possible downside of chickens in residential neighborhoods.
This is a public meeting...
Ellen Smith
Robert J. Gunter
some sort of license (so the city can police problem owners), and not
allowing roosters (noise), I think this is very workable.
Thanks Ellen!
Ellen Smith
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Robert J. Gunter
I would like to encourage each of you to consider writing our City Council
(ccou...@cortn.org) to support the changes in the laws of Oak Ridge to
allow people to raise a limited number of chickens (up to 4 hens) for fresh
eggs. Anyone who has ever raised a chicken realizes that the cost of
raising them far exceeds the cost of eggs at the store. That said, the
nutritional value, and lessons learned from raising your own chickens far
outweighs the cost to some.
I am not worried about someone who would work within the law to raise
chickens to create a mess in their yard. The economics indicate that
someone who does this is a little more deliberate than most folks and not
likely to be a problem. Should one arise, the city through the licensing of
pens, would have the ability to go out and ensure remediation. There is
lots of information online regarding raising chickens in the city. Here are
a few web sites to check out:
http://www.backyardchickens.com/
http://home.centurytel.net/thecitychicken/
http://seattletilth.org/learn/resources-1/city-chickens/citychickensfaqs
http://www.madcitychickens.com/
http://www.worldwatch.org/node/5900
http://urbanchickens.org/
http://www.wikihow.com/Keep-Chickens-in-a-City
Having researched this quite a bit, I have found the following guidelines
seem to be followed wherever chickens are allowed:
1. Limited numbers: A flock of 3 or 4 is different than a flock of 100!
2. No roosters: I have distict memories of being awakened in 3rd world
countries starting at about 5am with crowing... (BTW, roosters are not
needed for egg production).
3. Setbacks: There are typically setbacks like 50' from a structure, but I
think these are not necessary, and some Oak Ridge lots would not have any
space that is 50' from a structure! Rather the law should be written to
combat smell. If your coop is a smelly nuisance, clean it or lose it.
There are many ordinances:
http://urbanchickens.org/chicken-ordinances-and-laws so there is no need to
re-invent the wheel.
Many will say that we should not waste any time on such a frivolous issue.
I agree. Lets pass this post-haste!
Orenv
Rob
allow chickens in Oak Ridge, a setback to this cause. That said, I
think there was a lot of unnecessry bureaucracy associated with the
effort here in Oak Ridge. It seems to me that all we really need are
regulations, not licenses. Do you have a license for your dog and
cat? Why would you need one for a small animal like a chicken. IF
there is a problem, it will be reported just like a nuisance dog and
handled by the same people. The conditions under which the animals
are kept would be compared to what is permitted.
I really don't think much effort is required on the part of the city
to allow this. In fact, I think less effort is better.
I encourage all who would like to see chickens allowed send an email
to our city council and let them know what you think:
ccou...@cortn.org <ccou...@cortn.org>
Facts:
Dogs are noiser than hens
Dogs are messier than hens
Dogs poo more than hens
Dogs are bigger than hens
Dogs are more of a hazard to other people than hens.
So why the fuss over hens?
Orenv
On Feb 23, 11:38 am, "Robert J. Gunter" <rjgun...@chpconsultants.com>
wrote:
> Greetings All,
>
> I would like to encourage each of you to consider writing our City Council
> (ccoun...@cortn.org) to support the changes in the laws of Oak Ridge to
> allow people to raise a limited number of chickens (up to 4 hens) for fresh
> eggs. Anyone who has ever raised a chicken realizes that the cost of
> raising them far exceeds the cost of eggs at the store. That said, the
> nutritional value, and lessons learned from raising your own chickens far
> outweighs the cost to some.
>
> I am not worried about someone who would work within the law to raise
> chickens to create a mess in their yard. The economics indicate that
> someone who does this is a little more deliberate than most folks and not
> likely to be a problem. Should one arise, the city through the licensing of
> pens, would have the ability to go out and ensure remediation. There is
> lots of information online regarding raising chickens in the city. Here are
> a few web sites to check out:
>
>
> Having researched this quite a bit, I have found the following guidelines
> seem to be followed wherever chickens are allowed:
>
> 1. Limited numbers: A flock of 3 or 4 is different than a flock of 100!
>
> 2. No roosters: I have distict memories of being awakened in 3rd world
> countries starting at about 5am with crowing... (BTW, roosters are not
> needed for egg production).
>
> 3. Setbacks: There are typically setbacks like 50' from a structure, but I
> think these are not necessary, and some Oak Ridge lots would not have any
> space that is 50' from a structure! Rather the law should be written to
> combat smell. If your coop is a smelly nuisance, clean it or lose it.
>
> There are many ordinances:http://urbanchickens.org/chicken-ordinances-and-lawsso there is no need to