As a member of the citizen committee put together by the Community Development Department of Greeley to voice opinions both for and against the introduction of an ordinance that would make backyard hens more accessible, I can’t help but notice that there is a good deal of misinformation about the proposed ordinance going around. This presence of misinformation, I feel, is causing a good deal of unnecessary worry and some very illogical responses to the proposed ordinance.
The first thing many people do not immediately realize is that chickens are already legally allowed in Greeley. Any given homeowner, or renter with the permission of the homeowner, can own up to ten hens per acre of yard. Some of you may even already have hen owners in your neighborhood and not even know about it. The problem being, that the current regulations are very unspecific—stating only that the hens can be kept in large yards (with footage given), must be kept clean, quiet and in “sufficient” housing.
In comparison, the proposed ordinance offers more enlightenment on hen ownership within city limits. The new ordinance proposes that hens must be given two square feet of roosting space (per hen) and ten square feet of fenced run space (per hen). The proposed ordinance also states that the sufficient housing, so notably undefined previously, must now be fully enclosable, pest and predator resistant and that all feed must be kept in sealable, water tight containers. Another advantage of the ordinance would be the regulation of where and how the coop could be kept in a yard; setting limits on how close to property lines a coop can be. Other key factors in the ordinance that would allow for increased code enforcement would be the issue of a permit to those wanting to own hens in their backyards, followed by a home inspection.
Better regulations, better treatment for the animal, a permit, inspection – aren’t these all good things? Not to mention, far more restrictive than any dog or cat owner in Greeley would ever tolerate. Yet the debate continues…
In the sake of total honesty, let me say that I am pro-hen. I want hens as pets and I feel as a tax-paying citizen and a homeowner; I have a right to use my backyard to do so. Just as my neighbors use their backyards to raise dogs and cats and pot-bellied pigs, I have a right to raise chickens. I have learned from experience that hens make excellent pets. They are easy to care for, they are quiet and unless they are improperly housed, they are apparently much easier to keep in the yard than my neighbor’s rabid Jack Russell pack that eats the fence on a regular basis. So I can’t help but wonder, if rabid Jack Russells are okay, and bands of part-feral cats that wander all over the town are ok … why not chickens?
The answer I keep hearing repeatedly is this, “I don’t want Greeley looking like a third world country”. I have to admit that this excuse for not wanting hens to be more popular in Greeley baffles me. Mainly due to the undeniable truth that chickens are not found only in third world countries. They are surprisingly enough, found right here in Greeley, Colorado and have been for many a generation. That’s right, chickens are all around us, every minute, breathing our air and making eggs… right now. And we have yet to devolve into a third world country like those opposed to the ordinance have proclaimed. We have also yet to catch the dreaded “chicken flu” I have been hearing so much about. Truly, it must be a miracle!
The presence of urban hens in non-“third world countries” are in fact not a miracle, nor are they anything new. New York City allows hens. Salt Lake City, Miami, Missoula, all allow hens, even our neighbors north of the border in Vancouver allow hens. Closer to home, you ask? Ft. Collins allows hens, Loveland, Boulder and Denver… all allow hens. Are these all third world locations? Should we be organizing aid for our underprivileged neighboring towns that have sunk into third world status due to the infernal presence of backyard hens? Perhaps organize a “FoCo Aid” concert to send rice and toilet paper to the poor residents of Ft. Collins?
The answer is obvious. They are not third world countries, not even remotely so, despite the presence of backyard hens in many of their residents’ homes. They are metropolitan towns who have realized that their citizens (a good segment of them anyway) want to keep hens in their yards as both pets and a localized food source free of pesticides, hormones and the other filth that commercial chicken farms fill their chickens’ eggs full of. Like the organic gardens that are popping up all over town, chickens offer a healthier way to live.
They also make a statement, and that statement is this, we do not rent our land from the town of Greeley. We have a right to use our yards as we see fit so long as it does nothing to harm, molest, or unfairly hinder our neighbors. We have a right to a decent pet that is every bit as acceptable as a dog, or cat, or parrot. So then, if not to avoid the encroachment of the clearly terrifying “third world”… I ask you, why not chickens?
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Friday, August 14, 2009
Self Sufficiency a No No in Greeley
I recently inquired at the City of Greeley concerning the possibility of keeping laying hens (no roosters) on my property, as I am interested in learning more about self-sustained and natural living. I have a good-sized back yard with plenty of space for a large coop and completely enclosed pen. I have a few neighbors only blocks away, who have had chickens in the past and always thought I would like to have them as well. I also thought it was a good idea, considering the tough economic times, to learn how to be more self-sufficient. After all, many people in the depression of the 1930’s routinely raised chickens in the city for fresh eggs and meat and while I have no interest in butchering a chicken, the thought of fresh, chemical and hormone free eggs, combined with an interesting pet intrigued me. So I thought, “why not?”
The practice of backyard chicken rearing has become quite popular in many urban towns in the past few years. Towns such as Ft. Collins, Loveland and Boulder have recently passed hen ordinances allowing hens to be kept in resident’s back yards. The information on the known benefits of raising backyard hens is not only easy to find, but indeed bountiful and many find that keeping chickens as pets are not only easier and cleaner, but quieter (when roosters are not present) than your average dog. Not to mention cheaper.
Being excited about the prospect of my own “urban hens”, I immediately did what any reasonable person would do… I researched. I visited a ranch with chickens. I read up for months not only on what would be required to properly rear chickens, but the best kind to raise in an urban setting. I spent hours designing the perfect, pest and predator proof coop/ pen. I literally obsessed over every piece of information I could find on keeping chickens within the city. But most importantly, I also carefully read the Greeley Municipal Ordinances referring to livestock (or specifically the ordinance on fowl). I saw no reason, or law, that would prevent me from properly and legally keeping two, or three, well cared for, pet hens in my backyard with the appropriate pen and coop.
Apparently, I was wrong. My family found this out while doing the right thing and calling the office of City Planning, just to make sure. We were told was that while yes-- it is acceptable to own chickens that are well cared for, healthy and contained as per the Animal Ordinance of city codes-- under chapter 18.58.030 of the Municipal Codes, this allowance becomes reliant upon figures that would allow literally no one (without a yard that could rival your local mansion) to own laying hens within city limits. The figure that I was given by the office of City Planning is 4,326 square feet of unused land per chicken. That’s right per chicken. Just for reference, this is approximately 385 times the suggested square footage necessary to keep a single chicken as per just about any poultry site, hatchery, association, or expert out there deems necessary. It’s also about a thousand square feet bigger than I fit a family of four humans, three dogs and a cat in and call home.
Just like that, there goes my dream of chickens, of fresh eggs, of living closer to the earth and having a new and much loved pet. As a rational human being, I understand that the land usage bit had most likely been tacked on in an effort to keep people from creating bizarre barnyard hovels in their duplex parking lots. But that doesn’t keep me from being angered and disappointed that this “stipulation” also prohibits those of us who are responsible pet owners, who understand the benefits of raising back yard hens for pets, healthy eggs, mineral rich, natural fertilizer and insect control (just to name a few), from doing so. Or to be more precise, it prevents those of us who are not obscenely rich with a city acre lot to spare from doing so.
In all the years that I have lived in this town (and it has been quite a few), I have heard repeatedly about Greeley’s “hometown attitude”, “pioneer spirit” and “rich agricultural roots”. The city routinely boasts and puts forth all these attributes as our town’s defining character. Yet, as a resident of Greeley, it would seem I am not really allowed to be a part of any of that. Nor am I allowed to make any attempt at self-sustained, natural living unless of course I can afford that extra lot, or to buy a farm. Which, or course—being your average working Joe, I can’t.
We all hear about Greeley’s peculiar smell, and we all laugh it off or give them the standard response of “that’s the smell of money, son”. We think it’s amusing because we live in an agri-centric town…don’t we? Except I’m starting to think that we don’t live in such an agri-centric town after all. I mean sure, we can have our cow painted mailboxes, or slippers, or other assorted household items (come on admit it, you either have one or have seen one) and we can go to the Greeley Stampede and play cowboy for a day, but unless you have a yard the size of Nottingham field, don’t expect to take an active role in that agricultural heritage we are supposed to be so proud of and not mind when the air is “not so fresh”.
The practice of backyard chicken rearing has become quite popular in many urban towns in the past few years. Towns such as Ft. Collins, Loveland and Boulder have recently passed hen ordinances allowing hens to be kept in resident’s back yards. The information on the known benefits of raising backyard hens is not only easy to find, but indeed bountiful and many find that keeping chickens as pets are not only easier and cleaner, but quieter (when roosters are not present) than your average dog. Not to mention cheaper.
Being excited about the prospect of my own “urban hens”, I immediately did what any reasonable person would do… I researched. I visited a ranch with chickens. I read up for months not only on what would be required to properly rear chickens, but the best kind to raise in an urban setting. I spent hours designing the perfect, pest and predator proof coop/ pen. I literally obsessed over every piece of information I could find on keeping chickens within the city. But most importantly, I also carefully read the Greeley Municipal Ordinances referring to livestock (or specifically the ordinance on fowl). I saw no reason, or law, that would prevent me from properly and legally keeping two, or three, well cared for, pet hens in my backyard with the appropriate pen and coop.
Apparently, I was wrong. My family found this out while doing the right thing and calling the office of City Planning, just to make sure. We were told was that while yes-- it is acceptable to own chickens that are well cared for, healthy and contained as per the Animal Ordinance of city codes-- under chapter 18.58.030 of the Municipal Codes, this allowance becomes reliant upon figures that would allow literally no one (without a yard that could rival your local mansion) to own laying hens within city limits. The figure that I was given by the office of City Planning is 4,326 square feet of unused land per chicken. That’s right per chicken. Just for reference, this is approximately 385 times the suggested square footage necessary to keep a single chicken as per just about any poultry site, hatchery, association, or expert out there deems necessary. It’s also about a thousand square feet bigger than I fit a family of four humans, three dogs and a cat in and call home.
Just like that, there goes my dream of chickens, of fresh eggs, of living closer to the earth and having a new and much loved pet. As a rational human being, I understand that the land usage bit had most likely been tacked on in an effort to keep people from creating bizarre barnyard hovels in their duplex parking lots. But that doesn’t keep me from being angered and disappointed that this “stipulation” also prohibits those of us who are responsible pet owners, who understand the benefits of raising back yard hens for pets, healthy eggs, mineral rich, natural fertilizer and insect control (just to name a few), from doing so. Or to be more precise, it prevents those of us who are not obscenely rich with a city acre lot to spare from doing so.
In all the years that I have lived in this town (and it has been quite a few), I have heard repeatedly about Greeley’s “hometown attitude”, “pioneer spirit” and “rich agricultural roots”. The city routinely boasts and puts forth all these attributes as our town’s defining character. Yet, as a resident of Greeley, it would seem I am not really allowed to be a part of any of that. Nor am I allowed to make any attempt at self-sustained, natural living unless of course I can afford that extra lot, or to buy a farm. Which, or course—being your average working Joe, I can’t.
We all hear about Greeley’s peculiar smell, and we all laugh it off or give them the standard response of “that’s the smell of money, son”. We think it’s amusing because we live in an agri-centric town…don’t we? Except I’m starting to think that we don’t live in such an agri-centric town after all. I mean sure, we can have our cow painted mailboxes, or slippers, or other assorted household items (come on admit it, you either have one or have seen one) and we can go to the Greeley Stampede and play cowboy for a day, but unless you have a yard the size of Nottingham field, don’t expect to take an active role in that agricultural heritage we are supposed to be so proud of and not mind when the air is “not so fresh”.
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