Backyard chickens: local omelets or fowl play?
Urban and suburban chickens have a buzz about them these days that hasn't been seen in several generations. It makes sense that if people are looking to shorten the distance between field and fork, some of them will also want to shorten the distance between fork and omelet. This "fair and balanced" video presents the two sides of the backyard chicken debate as it is playing out in Missoula, Montana and in many other parts of the US.
Comments
What a charming video. :)
In most councils in the city I live in the rule is you can have chickens as long as the neighbours don't mind. Simple as that!
The truth is, not many people are going to want to keep chickens.
People are much more likely to be complaining about falling down fences and storm water run off than chickens!
There's a rooster down the road from me. A rooster behind my friend's place and there were roosters in previous suburb we lived in.
Its a lovely sound.
And when we lived in Munich, 1 km from the centre of the city, there were chickens in the yard of the apartment block next door!
Samantha
Posted by: Samantha | February 12, 2008 9:27 PM
Hi! Just found your blog and love it.
I live in Portland and keep chickens, like many people here do. Any household can keep up to 3 chickens without a permit, and more than that (not sure of the limit) with a permit. And no roosters. I love watching our birds, love feeding them and collecting eggs every morning, and I love being able to take a little step towards self-sufficiency. I've never had a neighbor complain about any smell or noise issues -- most of them are curious, and enjoy getting fresh eggs.
Lots of other cities have similar ordinances -- Seattle and Madison come to mind immediately. Hopefully Missoula will follow soon, too!
Posted by: Stella | February 15, 2008 1:24 PM