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?
No comments:
Post a Comment