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”.