Comments on Urban Chickens Network blog: you want chickens? get a farm!

What's really insane about Salem is that the much ...

2009-08-25T00:46:36.210-07:00

What's really insane about Salem is that the much bigger city only 50 miles to the north has been allowing urban flocks for many years and is considered a model for the rest of the country but Salem instead chose obstinate ignorance.

I've also never had a loose chicken come up and bite me drawing blood as a couple dogs have. Chickens have not woken me up with their all-day barking, not one has stolen my food from me in a park during a picnic, they haven't jumped on me leaving muddy tracks all over my best clothes, and they have never tried to keep me from entering my own home... I'm all for limiting dogs to rural farms; or at least the irresponsible dogs' owners (but is that fair to the farmers?).

To me, sustainability is something that can contin...

2009-07-27T12:04:04.228-07:00

To me, sustainability is something that can continue: not for a year, but for generations.

So, one year raising chickens is no test.
Sustainably raising food - chickens - would include raising their food, too. Otherwise, you're overlooking the "footprint" of growing and shipping that grain. It has to be done, either way, but a cooperative would have one truck deliver a ton of grain, rather that have 100 cars drive to the feed store, etc.

That's my main objection to raising poultry in cities: it was determined not to do that in the past as a result of accumulated issues.

Cooperatives could have a place just outside the city - CSA - Community Supported Agriculture - it a wonderful way to grow your own food...from vegetables and fruit, to poultry, lamb, beef, milk, etc.
http://www.localharvest.org/csa/
Check it out.
check it out.

Yippy, our definitions of "sustainability" seem to...

2009-07-26T11:51:25.721-07:00

Yippy, our definitions of "sustainability" seem to differ, as I'm not sure how your definition includes the cost of transportation/distribution of the co-ops?

Sustainability means efficiency and maintenance: u...

2009-07-26T11:49:12.777-07:00

Sustainability means efficiency and maintenance: urban folk could create cooperatives where by they hire a local farmer to raise their chickens, dispose of feces, process the eggs, slaughter the birds - all without increasing disease vectors, or insinuating a host of disputes around skunks, racoons, dogs, smell and avian flu into your neighborhood. Or shop at your local grower's market!

Pets are a problem everywhere, but dogs are regulated and cats are a scourge to wildlife. Your need to have pet poultry in the city providing you eggs is sweet, but not sustainable.

Thank you! I was outraged at Mrs. Frohnmayer's idi...

2009-07-20T16:55:13.767-07:00

Thank you! I was outraged at Mrs. Frohnmayer's idiotic comment as well.

If your dog is vicious, it should be put down (in ...

2009-07-16T15:37:56.191-07:00

If your dog is vicious, it should be put down (in my not-so-humble opinion). Any animal that kills our birds can expect to shortly leave this world...for good.
What would the dog owners do if, say, someone's pet lion came into their yard and started eating dogs?! Maybe we should outlaw dogs...!

The chicken owners can protect their birds, the dog owners can contain their dogs. Is that really so difficult?

I think the city folks need to get a handle on wha...

2009-07-16T15:12:36.689-07:00

I think the city folks need to get a handle on what really matters in life, and that is FOOD. All urban chic aside, especially in a stressed economy, people should have the right to provide for some of their own food. Hens are quieter than most dogs, and if coops are kept clean, they are not smelly like some farm animals. I am glad I am outside any city limits and am on 2 acres, because my hens free range on one full fenced acre from sun up to sun down every day. They are happy, and my garden prospers from their presence.

I have chickens and lots of neighbors with dogs. N...

2009-07-16T13:35:14.708-07:00

I have chickens and lots of neighbors with dogs. No problem there, since tall fences keep the dogs out. I do have a friend nearby who used to let his chickens roam his front yard. I was visiting one day when a woman walked by with her dog- who was off leash, which is illegal here in L.A., I believe. The dog saw one of the chickens and zipped into my friend's yard to snap up one of his favorite silkie bantams. I had to witness the thing die in his arms. The dog's owner was very ashamed but there was nothing she could do. The dog should have been on a leash and my friend should have had his chickens behind a fence or in a coop.

But chickens are far less of a nuisance than dogs so it is ridiculous that dogs should be allowed and not chickens. All my neighbors have dogs and I wish they had chickens instead. They wouldn't be nearly as loud.

We came up against the same "helpful" advice from ...

2009-07-16T11:27:33.166-07:00

We came up against the same "helpful" advice from chicken opponents when we were trying to change the law in Caledonia, WI. Let's see - cost of raising a few urban hens vs. cost of buying a 5+ acre property where chickens are permitted. Hmmm....! Our chickens were eventually evicted, but in their last two weeks with us, we let them free range in our yard, and the 7 hens and 2 beagles paid absolutely no attention to each other! I have pictures of beagle and chicken, side by side, peacefully coexisting!

I have indoor chickens too. (They have their own ...

2009-07-16T08:43:07.198-07:00

I have indoor chickens too. (They have their own bedroom :). At first it was from necessity, but they really are happier and healthier inside. (I do take them outside every day.)

Wonder how many cockatoos are in Salem. . . .

That's just INSANE! Our chickens are safe, QUIET...

2009-07-15T20:27:04.191-07:00

That's just INSANE! Our chickens are safe, QUIET, and will give us free EGGS! They also like to sit in our laps. And our dog, Chelsea, is very calm in their presence and doesn't try to eat them. Chickens make great pets. See my blog to see our chickens INDOORS.