Chickens cometh to Chesterfield
Longtime petitioners for chicken ownership are celebrating the coop d’etat.
Update #6 — January 28, 2014; 6:17 AM
Last week, the Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors approved an ordinance that allows residents to keep up to six hens, provided the hens are kept within a minimum 10-square-feet structure and at least 25 feet from all property lines.
Before approving the ordinance, supervisors increased the number of hens residents may own from four to six, and added a requirement that chicken owners regularly collect and remove animal waste from the property.
A copy of the ordinance is available here (PDF). Video of the ordinance discussion and its approval is also online.
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Update #5 — October 16, 2013; 9:33 AM
Chesterfield residents are one step closer to owning backyard chickens without the paperwork and hefty fee. The County Planning Commission voted 4-1 last night in support of allowing residents to keep up to six chickens in their backyard without obtaining a permit from the Board of Supervisors and paying a $300 application fee, as they currently must.
The Board of Supervisors must approve the measure, which it will likely vote on next month.
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Update #4 — September 9, 2013; 6:33 AM
Chesterfield County officials are now drafting an ordinance amendment that would make it easier for residents to own backyard chickens.
In August, the Chesterfield Board of Supervisors voted 3-1 asking county staff to produce an amendment that would allow residents to own chickens without a conditional use permit. Those permits have been required since 2002 and have a $300 application fee.
In April, Richmond City Council passed an ordinance making it easier for Richmond residents to own backyard chickens (see below).
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Update #3 — April 8, 2013; 8:51 PM
In the days leading up to the ordinance passed by City Council that makes owning chickens more viable for city residents, Valerie West–who for years has advocated for backyard hen ownership–was cautiously optimistic.
“I’m not going to count my chickens before they hatch,” she said last week ahead of Council’s vote.
She can count her chickens now.
City Council passed a zoning ordinance that completes the efforts of Council, City officials, and many residents who’ve advocated feasible chicken ownership within city limits. Residents can own chickens, provided that they:
- Own no more than four female chickens (no roosters allowed)
- Keep coops in backyards
- Coops must be no closer than 15 feet from neighbor dwellings
- Owners must obtain a $60 annual permit from City Hall
- Maintain coop upkeep (coops can be inspected by officials without announcement)
“This is a breakthrough,” said West, who’s helped coordinate the efforts through local backyard hen advocacy group Chickunz since 2011.
Before then, West, a beekeeper, learned that chickens combat a common predator to bee colonies: hive beetles. She read more about the benefits of owning chickens: the compostability of their feces, how they maintain yards by eating weeds, to say nothing of their eggs.
“I found out more benefits every day,” West said. She also found out that owning them was nearly impossible (see bottommost post).
So she partnered with an old friend, Copeland Casati, and used Chickunz has a way to advocate for chicken ownership and educate people on its many benefits.
In December 2011, she and supporters started attending each City Council meeting to promote amending City ordinances to allow chicken ownership. But a handful of supporters wasn’t enough to inspire councilmembers, who didn’t think enough residents even wanted chickens. West knew better.
She and cohorts began signature drives to show Council that there was a devoted following of chicken owners (some of whom already owned illegal chickens) who were being misrepresented. “We were on a mission to get signatures,” she said
West said that when Chickunz amassed 1,107 handwritten signatures in 2012, Council couldn’t ignore them any longer.
Soon after, City Council policy analyst, Joyce Davis, began a study on backyard chicken ownership. Then the office of the City’s Chief Administrative Officer conducted their own study. A gust of wind then caught the sails of the backyard chicken movement when, in April 2012, the City’s Food Policy Task Force recommended that residents be able to raise chickens in their own backyards.
In addition to egging Council and City officials on, Chickunz has worked to debunk misconceptions about owning chickens.
Some think that owning chickens means one can also own roosters. Not so–it’s illegal to own roosters. Some think chickens themselves will increase noise levels. This is also untrue: most chickens only cluck in the early hours, and at a volume much lower than of a barking dog.
Not only do chickens lay eggs in conditions much safer and more pleasant than factory farms, but they also serve as a natural pesticide, eat lawn weeds, use their feces for fertilizer, and can feed on household table scraps that would otherwise be sent to a landfill.
“A world with more chickens is a world with less pesticides, a world with less petroleum based fertilizer, and that’s a good place to be,” West said. “Chickens are the best assistant we could have.”
Benefits that many Richmonders will now have the opportunity to learn first hand.
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Update #2 — February 22, 2013; 12:03 PM
“April 8th is when we expect people will be legally allowed to own chickens,” said Councilman Charles Samuels (2nd District) by phone this morning.
This comes amid news of a resolution scheduled to be voted on by City Council this Monday regarding amendments to existing City zoning laws, which will afford Richmonders the ability to own chickens in their backyard. But Council won’t be voting in a new ordinance next week.
Council will instead initiate the legal process of implementing that new ordinance with the goal of making it law in the spring, according to Jan Giradi, liaison to Councilman Samuels.
“It’s going to go through eventually,” Girardi said. But she added that the changing the City ordinance regarding chicken ownership is no easy feat. It involves the Department of Planning and Development Review, along with Animal Control, to review and approve any amendments. “It’s just a much more complicated issue than it appeared to be,” she said.
Since late last year, Councilman Samuels has been working with residents and City officials to amend the existing ordinance to make chicken ownership more viable to residents (see bottommost post for background).
But the original proposal Samuels submitted “didn’t have the support of the [Mayor’s] administration,” he said. The administration wasn’t against the idea — it just wanted to make sure the law was easy to understand, practical, and enforceable.
So he and the Planning and Development Review have been working in recent weeks on a simply-worded ordinance that the administration could support, that Council could vote on, and that residents would approve.
Essentially, there are two wheels involved in allowing Richmonders to own chickens.
The first is the Animal Control portion: the City needs an ordinance on the books that allows for residents to apply for permits and to own up to four female chickens. On Monday, Council will vote to amend an ordinance that does so, scheduling it to go into effect on April 8th.
On Monday, Council will adopt another resolution (the second wheel) that will essentially declare their intent to amend the City’s zoning restrictions to allow for chicken ownership. On March 11th, Council should pass that new zoning-specific ordinance. It will then head to the Planning and Development Review, which will review the proposed ordinance and hold a public hearing on it on April 1st.
If it’s approved, the zoning ordinance will return to Council for a vote on April 8th. If it passes, each of the two wheels will be synced and aligned, and Richmonders will be able to own chickens.
Samuels said that since Planning and Development Review has already been working on changing the zoning ordinance to allow for chicken ownership, he expects the amendments will be approved.
“I don’t think anyone is going to be fighting against this,” Samuels said. “I think it will pass quickly.”
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Update #1 — January 28, 2013; 6:31 AM
A City Council vote on an ordinance that would foster chicken ownership in the city will be delayed as city officials review and amend its details.
City Council President Charles Samuels (2nd District), said that he’s heard “a lot of feedback from [city] administration” regarding details of the ordinance, previously scheduled to go before Council vote today.
Current language in the proposed ordinance (PDF) would allow residents to own up to four chickens in a fenced area 15 feet from another dwelling,1 provided residents pay a $60 fee and have at least 50,000 square-feet of property.
That land requirement caught the attention of Mark Olinger, Director of the Department of Planning & Development Review. “That’s over an acre of land,” he said. As a result, most properties wouldn’t have been able to satisfy the requirement. He said that “very few–if any–coops” would have been permitted had the ordinance passed.
Officials will propose changes to the ordinance that include a smaller land requirement as well as other nuanced changes, which Olinger said will provide “ample opportunity” for residents to raise chickens.
He said additional revisions beyond the land requirement are minor, but necessary. For instance, the current language in the ordinance doesn’t explicitly say that only female chickens are permitted. Revisions will affirm that distinction, to clearly rule out residents owning roosters.2
Last year, the Chief Administration Office presented a report supporting urban chicken ownership in Richmond after organizations like Chickunz petitioned for changes (see below).
“We just wanted to make sure that as this goes forward, that what came out of the CAO office translated into an ordinance that Council could act on,” Olinger said. He added that the some of the faulty language in the ordinance “just got overlooked,” and officials are working to revise it so that it is more practical for residents, and enforceable for the City.
Many who have advocated for an ordinance are disheartened by the last-minute delay. Councilman Samuels sympathized with “how frustrating it must be for those who’ve advocated for the changes to this ordinance to know that it is going to be continued.” He hopes a revised ordinance can be voted on before spring.
When Mark Olinger was asked when a revised ordinance would be given to City Council for its consideration, he wouldn’t guess, but added, “It’s very imminent.”
Related
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Footnotes
- Residents can own chickens now, but coops must be at least 500 feet from another dwelling and residents must have at least 50,000 square-feet in property, restrictions that are difficult for any resident to meet. ↩
- The term “fowl” is used in the ordinance, a generic description that can include roosters. ↩
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Original — April 13, 2012
When the city’s Food Policy Task Force announced last Wednesday that it would formally recommend that residents be allowed to raise chickens in their own backyards, the audience applauded. Copeland Casati, who has been advocating that the city amend the existing ordinance for five years, was elated. “It’s so exciting,” she said about the headway that’s been made. “I’m excited for Richmond’s future.”
Casati created the local group Chickunz to educate Richmond about the benefits of owning and caring for hens. In 2010, she started the Richmond Coop Tour, which other cites—including Charlottesville—have. Casati said that owning hens makes “good economic and environmental sense.” Hens cut down on the presence of nuisance bugs and pests, their fecal waste make for excellent soil fertilizer, and food scraps that would otherwise go in the trash could be provided to her hens (“Anything I couldn’t compost, I could give to the chickens”). All of these are benefits, to say nothing of easy access to fresh eggs. Casati owned chickens in Richmond for three years, before a disgruntled neighbor reported her illegal hens.
Chicken code
To keep chickens under the current city code you must abide by the following restrictions:
“No person shall keep, place or maintain fowl on any parcel of real property in the city which contains less than 50,000 square feet in area.”
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“All fowl shall be kept in securely and suitably fenced areas, and no fenced area or pen for fowl shall be permitted closer than 500 feet to any house or other building used for residential purposes by anyone other than the person maintaining such fowl or such person’s immediate family.”
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There are also several provisions requiring the chickens’ living space be kept clean and free of pests and rodents.
Interestingly, the only restriction placed on owning cattle is that they must not wear a bell.
A family “ripped apart”
The neighbor “never heard them, never saw them, never smelled them,” said Casati. She affirmed that those very concerns are misconceptions that people have about residential hen ownership. She said that ten hens produce less feces than the average Labrador retriever, and while hens do cluck, most clucking takes place in late morning hours (Casati and most others who advocate for backyard hen ownership do not support owning roosters). She said that the time needed to properly care for these animals is “somewhere between a cat and a goldfish.”
Despite the minimal disturbances to neighbors, Casati and many others in Richmond have had their hens confiscated. “To say our family mourned is an understatement,” she said, calling it a “most violating, disappointing, disgusting experience…it still affects us to this day.” She and her family were so upset, that they moved to a neighboring county that allows hen ownership. She said that it’s “not about just taking the hens away, it’s about ripping a family apart.” The city’s current ordinance (see sidebar) restricts hen ownership to those with over 50,000-square-feet of property, a requirement very few city residents can meet. Casati said that the inability of individuals and families to raise and care for hens is untenable. “It’s an incredible violation of a family’s basic food rights.”
”They do so much for so little”
Lisa Dearden worked in sales and marketing for twenty-five years. In 2002, significant health issues “caused a life shift” in how she thought about food and nutrition. She studied sustainable agriculture at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College and learned of the many health and environmental benefits of hen ownership. “Now people are a lot more concerned about where their food comes from.” She said that it was not uncommon for homeowners to care for chickens pre-World War II. The country’s food became increasingly centralized after the proliferation of factory farming. All that appears to be changing.
“Chickens are the center of the local food movement,” said Dearden. She noted and that roughly 500 cities amended their ordinances to allow for hen ownership in 2011.1 Dearden believes that, should Richmond join that list, it would become a “more sustainable place to live.”
To help make that happen, Dearden created ChkinEgg Productions, LLC. to educate and promote hen ownership in the area, along with sustainable agriculture and food growing. She initiated a working relationship with Pat Foreman, author of the book City Chicks: Keeping Micro-flocks of Chickens as Garden Helpers, Compost Makers, Bio-reyclers, and Local Food Producers, and helped screen documentary film Mad City Chickens at the Byrd Theatre last summer.
She also offers classes for would-be hen owners. Among the course topics: laying hens, how to handle chickens, gardening with chickens, and even how to hypnotize chickens (“you have to come to the class to learn that,” she said). While people can complete a full eight-week program to become a certified backyard chicken owner, they can also take individual courses. Dearden will start a new round of classes somewhere centrally located in Richmond beginning sometime in June. She said that if Richmond were to allow residents to own hens, it “could really change our city.”
”People want those animals treated humanely”
Laura Donahue, Virginia director for the Humane Society of the United States, said that an amended city ordinance that would allow for hen ownership “can be huge” for the well-being of chickens. “Over 280 million hens live in battery cages,” said the Virginia director. Other benefits would include a “reduction in environmental costs” as well as a way for people to “gain an appreciation of [chickens’] complex personality.” While acknowledging the many benefits of owning urban hens, Donahue highlighted aspects that concern animal welfare advocates. One is how individuals would procure their chickens.
The Virginia director said that it is not uncommon for hatcheries to kill male chicks by grinding them alive. Donahue also said that hatcheries will send day-old chicks to locations via mail packages. “Most people have no idea” that chicks and chickens can be treated in such ways, said Donahue. “People want those animals treated humanely.” She encourages would-be hen owners to use services such as Pet Finder, local farm sanctuaries such as United Poultry Concerns, and even Craigslist to find hens for adoption.
Despite the relatively easiness of caring for hens, Donahue pointed out that hens are heat and cold sensitive, and are possible prey to raccoons, possums, and even domesticated dogs, and should be fenced for their own protection. The animals also “need to express nesting activities.” As long as these things can be monitored and enforced by Animal Control officials, she said that backyard hen ownership can be a boon for sustainable agriculture and provide better living conditions for chickens.
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photo by Fionnuala Bradley
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Nathan Cushing
Nathan Cushing is a writer, journalist, and RVANews Editor.
Notice: Comments that are not conducive to an interesting and thoughtful conversation may be removed at the editor’s discretion.
That would be VERY exciting for Richmond…now if Henrico would just get on board that would be great. I would love to own my own chickens!
I have a family member who lives on a farm and raises chickens. Hens are SO NOISY when they lay eggs. I would hate living next to someone with chickens. Good thing I live in Henrico!
why is it that barking dogs, loud vehicles, lawnmowers, chainsaws, weedwhackers etc are tolerated in cities and suburbs, but chickens clucking are abominated?
Finally, I’m very excited! Hoping that Henrico will follow suit. I used to own hens and they cluck for about 2 seconds when they lay an egg. Also having 2 or 3 hens, you probably won’t even know they are there! Fresh eggs are much better than store bought. Both nutritionally and they way the hens were treated. I’m so happy that Richmond is finally growing with the times!!!
I’ve lived in homes with hens before and I can say that they do sometimes make noise when they lay eggs, but it was far less volume and far less frequent than the neighbor’s dog a few houses down. It was also less noise than the garbage truck, which could be heard much earlier in the morning. I would have been surprised if the neighbors ever heard the hens during the week; they usually laid their eggs around 10 in the morning. Hopefully the sort of person who would complain about that doesn’t live next door to any dogs, or anyone who owns a lawnmower for that matter.
im all for this chickens in the yard thing, noise isnt an issue. BUT… what happens when a hen gets too old to pop out eggs anymore, is Animal Control gonna get upset when ppl start eating their own chickens too?
“As long as these things can be monitored and enforced by Animal Control officials”
this teeter totter ppl want to play with the govt is sickening, either its your yard and your chickens or its not.
***Despite the minimal disturbances to neighbors, Casati and many others in Richmond have had their hens confiscated. “To say our family mourned is an understatement,” she said, calling it a “most violating, disappointing, disgusting experience…it still affects us to this day.” ***
While I am sorry to hear that this experience was so traumatic for you, I do wonder: what exactly did you think would happen when you knowingly broke the law to keep them in the first place? You took a risk, and lost.
***Casati said that the inability of individuals and families to raise and care for hens is untenable. “It’s an incredible violation of a family’s basic food rights.”***
No it isn’t. Keeping livestock withing city limits has been a public health concern for MANY decades. Some city neighborhoods are ill-suited for this activity, the older ones in particular (such as Church Hill and the Fan) because lots are TINY. Changing laws to suit a small group of enthusiasts can also be seen as a violation of the property rights of individuals who specifically do not wish to live near livestock.
These ordinances did not arise out of a vacuum, folks. Chickens carry Salmonella and E-Coli: the manure MUST be properly composted prior to use in vegetable gardens in order to kill the pathogens. E-Coli is taken up through the roots by some vegetables, and E.coli strains are becoming more resistant to antibiotics. A slow compost heap at your property line has the potential to contaminate your neighbors garden.
And then of course there is the fun avian-human influenza virus connection.
Feed attracts rats, the presence of hens attracts more niche predators such as raccoons, and keeping hens can end up being more of a chore than people bargain for.
I also marvel at the way that these articles also gloss over the cost and care of involved in maintaining hens.
For those of you contemplating keeping hens: the first question you should ask yourself is whether or not you intend to treat them as pets (with benefits) or as livestock. Farm kids learn not to make friends with the livestock…
Do you have a veterinarian lined up, and are you prepared for the cost of that care? Will you even know when your chicken is sick? Do you know what to do to prevent egg-binding? Are you willing to invest in fire-safe lighting and heating to keep your hens laying all winter?
Are you willing and able to build a secure coop to protect your hens from the many predators that will stalk them? Don’t forget the abundance of hawks we have around here! Oh and black rat snakes will eat anything, including chicken eggs: you can’t legally kill them as they are a non-game protected species and may be your friend later when the rat population grows. If you’re lucky, Copperheads might show up if the rat situation gets busy. (Can’t legally kill Copperheads either.)
What will you be prepared to do when your chickens drive your neighbor’s otherwise well behaved dogs to barking non stop? Report the dog owner for nuisance barking?
What are your plans for the hens when they stop laying? What would you do with them when the little urban farming experiment loses its appeal? How about if you have to move? When the kids lose interest? When your cholesterol levels spike and your doctor says to stop eating eggs?
These are some of the questions that prospective hen keepers need to be asking themselves.
And before any of you assume that I am anti-chicken, I am not. I live on a 9k sq ft lot here in the City and have decided that we a) don’t have enough room, and b) don’t really eat that many eggs because my cholesterol levels flirt with the limit, and c) have enough animals to take care of already.
Henrico is facing the same issue: http://wtvr.com/2012/04/12/henrico-woman-issued-citation-for-backyard-chickens/
Nicole, aka Chicken Little: This is not re-inventing the wheel. All of your unfounded fears have already been explored by, addressed, and instituted into Most Other Cities’ Zoning at this point, with no backlash.
Thank goodness Richmond is finally getting on board with urban chicken-keeping. I hope those with fears about it will do some research with an open mind. Most major cities in this country allow chickens and have no issues. This is a great way for Richmond to help families have access to healthy, inexpensive food, with many side benefits for the garden and educationally.
If New York City allows backyard “penned” chickens why on earth can’t a city like Richmond do the same?
Questions aren’t fears, my friend. Many of my questions are directed at prospective chicken owners and have little if anything to do with ordinances.
When you refer to “most other cities’ zoning”, surely you have the data to back up the statement. Right? I’ll check back.
This is a response to Nicole’s comments. Salmonella is handling problem wash your hands. E. coli is everywhere, and is especially dangerous in animal confinement lots. Anywhere where you have a high concentration of animals,or children for that matter, there is a higher risk of disease. There’s a very unlikely chance of E. coli from your compost spreading under a fence line to a neighbors lot…that’s a ridiculous assumption.
As for most of your other comments, you can plug in the word child for the word chicken. People raise children all the time without any preparation. They might get sick or they might not have adequate housing, and they might make the neighbors dogs bark, but they carry on because they’ve made a commitment. Most people who purchase chickens for urban life do so with forethought and planning. They are well aware of issues that might come up in the raising of pet chickens.
As for your comments on eggs and cholesterol, you have been duped. There is no scientific evidence that cholesterol from eggs cause a spike in blood level of cholesterol.
As with any animal, chickens need to be cared for and protected. If you have a cat you have to protect it from predators… I have to protect my cat from my dogs!
Also, there are plenty of resources online for the chicken enthusiasts to get healthcare information and in almost no circumstance would someone have to call a veterinarian about a sick chicken.
If anyone has a chicken that needs to be relocated, please contact me and I will assist with finding an alternate home in the country somewhere.
Lisa, I have not been duped at all: I am one of the 35% or so of people, known as “hyper-responders”, whose blood-cholesterol concentrations spike after consuming dietary cholesterol. As mentioned above, about 1/3 (or more!) of the population has this problem.
Here’s a fun article that spells out some of the nuances in layman’s language, but you’ll have to read the WHOLE thing:
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/7301/title/Reevaluating_Eggs_Cholesterol_Risks
So for you to say that there is no scientific evidence” on egg cholesterol is remarkable in face of the evidence. Or are you being disingenuous because you are so pro-urban chicken that you are willing to skim over all the possible negatives in order to persuade people that this is a good idea?
As for chickens getting sick, well, maybe you have been lucky. I wonder how many people are prepared to treat a prolapsed uterus without veterinary assistance? Here are few of the fun things chickens can come down with:
http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/common-chicken-illnesses-and-treatments.html
http://www.compassionatespirit.com/Keith-Blog/2011-04-26.htm
Or have I misunderstood your comment, and what you mean to say is that sick chickens are disposable and one shouldn’t bother calling a vet if yours gets sick?
A word or two on poultry manure:
The Washington State University Extension Service advises that pathogens in chicken manure, particularly E. coli, can present an ongoing human health hazard in crops harvested where fresh manure has been spread. They recommend waiting at least 120 days from the time you turn chicken manure into the soil until the time of harvest of any crops intended to be eaten by humans uncooked (such as strawberries).
Read more: How Long Should Chicken Manure Be Composted Before Use? | I am well aware that other animals and their fecal matter also contain pathogens: the problem with your inappropriate analogy is that people in this country do not spread dog manure on our vegetable gardens.
Chicken manure needs to be properly composted:
The Washington State University Extension Service advises that pathogens in chicken manure, particularly E. coli, can present an ongoing human health hazard in crops harvested where fresh manure has been spread. They recommend waiting at least 120 days from the time you turn chicken manure into the soil until the time of harvest of any crops intended to be eaten by humans uncooked (such as strawberries).
Read more: How Long Should Chicken Manure Be Composted Before Use? | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/way_5767802_long-manure-composted-before-use_.html#ixzz1s22p7Ytr
And a bit on E. coli:
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/2011/06/02/why-this-e-coli-outbreak-has-me-scared/
http://www.newsinferno.com/food-poisoning/cdc-wont-reveal-sources-of-e-coli-tainted-lettuce/36440
http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/foodnut/09369.html
You should note that E. Coli is taken up through the roots INTO plants, rendering washing ones vegetables to prevent infection something of a leap of faith. And YES, a chicken manure pile located too close to a vegetable garden can, in fact contaminate the garden, even if it is located on the other side of a fence in a compact city lot.
So there are VERY valid concerns, everyone should make an informed decision on whether or not to support an ordinance change, whether they want to keep hens themselves or not.
Oh, and by the way: you RAISE chickens, but you REAR children.
This is great news for Richmond!! I do not wish to have hens, but if my neighbors do, why not? My last city that I resided in, had hens next door, and I loved that there were no bugs! Those chicks ate them up! Nicole – You are grasping at straws. Your egg blog that you posted has the trial group eating 3 large eggs per day. I’m also sensitive, but I love a fresh egg for breaky!! I have lived in over 30 cities and I think only 2 did not allow hens. Richmond is one of them.
@Nicole – read up: http://www.westonaprice.org/cardiovascular-disease/myths-a-truths-about-cholesterol. I maintain my stance on cholesterol, and medical science is now starting to change its collective mind on the subject of eggs. Most of America has been duped by statin toting drug companies.
I’m not saying that we shouldn’t be compassionate about treating chickens… Personally, I don’t know of any vets who will treat a chicken…even my farm vet. That is a reality. People do need to understand that if they can’t treat a sick chicken, they may have to resort to putting it out of its misery. Also reality, chickens are not as likely to get sick in a healthy backyard flock, and mostly can be cared for quite easily. I agree that people do need to be prepared for this reality, and that’s why I teach classes on raising chickens. I’m not just trying to get this ordinance changed for personal gain…I believe that chickens are integral to our food system and, in fact, to our national defense.
You missed the point I was making on compost. Poultry litter DOES have to be composted…it contains too much Nitrogen to put directly on plants and should be composted for a minimum of six months to a year to destroy any pathogens. The point I was making is that it’s highly unlikely that pathogens from an urban compost heap containing poultry manure will creep to another property. There is e coli everywhere, but far less chance of an e coli outbreak from an urban flock than a CAFO. The pathogens have to be there to creep in the first place. Show me where an e coli.outbreak from an urban flock.
Keeping a flock of backyard chickens is a great stress reliever. Numerous studies she that reducing stress can lower cholesterol levels…
So many items to comment on, but I’ll stick to just one for now and please keep in mind I am no expert on chickens, but have just been taking workshops, visiting coops, reading up, and talking to folks who have chickens in order to make an informed decision before getting them-I told MY Vet here in the city last fall that I was contemplating geting hens in the spring(thought they’d be decriminalized by now). HE said he would be happy to make house calls for my hens if necessary and has already started reading up on hens to refresh his education because he hadn’t gotten that request anytime recently-the (many)folks he knows with hens haven’t needed vet services for them.
Richmond should certainly allow people to keep chickens. People will decide whether or not to stay in or move to our city on the basis of policies like this. Furthermore, even Richmond’s urban communities have famously generous lots and plot ratios. Neighborhoods such as the Fan and the Museum District have many houses with back yards large enough for chickens. The city should discontinue this restriction of our personal freedoms and pave the way for urban development, progressivism, and sustainability.
I would like to have chickens. That said, I appreciate Nicole’s contribution to the thread, and I decidedly do not fall in with all of the commenters who are just brushing her well-stated points aside. Oddly enough, I had not ever, in any of the pro-chicken posts I’ve read, seen anything about needing to wait months before putting chicken poop on the garden. That’s a pretty big asterisk, and it should inspire some curiosity as to what other details are getting left out of the pro-chicken movement.
Also, she’s right – if the rule is “don’t keep chickens,” get the rule changed, rather than ignore the rule and then squawk about how your rights have been violated.
My dogs wouldn’t be friendly to chickens, so I can’t own any chickens myself, but I welcome having some in the neighborhood. If any of my immediate neighbors decide to get some chickens, I will have them over for a drink to collaborate on how to keep the chickens safe and the dogs sane (and to try to set up a barter arrangement for some eggs!).
I expect that chickens who are safely cooped in my neighborhood will be much less a factor in my daily life than the free-roaming cats that keep me on high alert while walking my dog.
Love it…I am pro-chickens!
Why not just buy fresh eggs at the farmer’s market and support a local farmer?
If changing the ordinance would be a reasonable process I would agree with not breaking the law. Before we obtained our hens we asked our neighbors that fall within the 400 feet rule of Henrico county if they were ok with us having chickens and nobody had an objection. Two years later a housing inspector signing off on our neighbor’s addition spotted our hens and reported us. An ordinance is supposed to protect citizens not being enforced because it can be. The reasoning behind zoning restrictions have nothing to do with health concerns. Chicago and New York have far smaller lots than Richmond and they have successfully allowed backyard hens. The zonig ordinances came after the new middle class after world war two made chicken keeping into a “poor man’s” activity.
If you do not know that any type of manure other than rabbit’s has to be cured you probably should not be gardening:) As to the other concerns regarding pet ownership I could not agree more. But do those same problems not exists with dog and cat ownership? Check the shelters. Nobody is talking about restricting pet ownership of thse animals, right?
Here’s a compelling addition to the “pro” column : http://m.wric.com/default.aspx?pid=2705&wnfeedurl=http%3a%2f%2fwww.wric.com%2fstory%2f17537020%2fusda-to-allow-chicken-producers-to-inspect-poultry%3fclienttype%3drssstory
Looking forward to someone local selling these (at a more affordable price):
http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/cedar-chicken-coop-with-planter/?pkey=cagrarian-garden-chicken-coops&
Nicole, stop telling other people how to live. Live and let live, geesh. It’s nice you’ve decided yourself what you and your lands can handle, but maybe everyone is not the same. People aren’t going to spend a bunch of money on coops and feed before learning as much as they can and deciding themselves whether or not they want a chicken. Don’t take away the choice! People should have the choice! I live in Hen-rico in an apartment and we’re about to close on our first home and we’ve been thinking about buying a pet. A chicken seems like an interesting idea, now that we have a yard, and I have been reading a lot about it. Not sure if I am up to it yet, but I’d like to have the option!
What house in Richmond has a 50,000 square foot lot? I’ve read the proposed language in the link, and that portion of the old code is not changing. What good is any of this if that part does not change?
@Watthe? – that’s one of the aspects that will likely change (see update #1 for details)
@Nathan Cushing, thanks, I read it again. I see that the original revision was going to keep it, but the anticipated revision will reduce the lot size. Thanks for correcting my misread. I really want some chickens, and was disappointed reading the proposed revision.
Hilarious how catty the comment section is….stop hen pecking eachother!
Support Hampton, VA
http://www.change.org/petitions/city-of-hampton-virginia-allow-chickens-without-distance-from-dwelling-restrictions
I do not see making citizens pay $60 each year to own 4 laying hens as a victory. Richmond elected officials have proven the quintessential politicians: they pass a law that appears on the surface as having the citizens best interests in mind while finding a way to excessively tax said citizens in a manner that makes it financially unfeasible to keep 4 laying hens. In the first year, 4 hens will lay 180 eggs, at best, and 360 eggs a year for the next 18 months, depending on the breed. The $60 is essentially an annual tax on eggs, which in the first year of hen ownership equates to 32 cents per dozen eggs, and 16 cents per dozen for the next 2 years of laying. They essentially have levied an 11% food tax on eggs on you with a smile and Richmonders are saying “thank you”. So I ask you, would you exclaim a victory if Richmond levied an overnight 11% food tax on food? I think not. Proof that politicians only real goal is to find clever ways to levy taxes while perpetuating the front that they are representing their constituents in the best possible way. The cost of the chicks, feed and now an egg tax makes it cheaper to buy your eggs at the store.
I also want to add; what public service is the $60 annual fee covering? What chicken related service is the government providing for the citizen’s benefit upon collecting the $60 annual fee? You cannot day the annual fee covers the cost of revising the language of the ordinance because revising the language is their job. If there were no requirement to ask permission to have 4 chickens (file a permit), there would be no cost associated with paperwork. Enforcement can and should be part of the job description of the zoning officials and enforcement can and should be handled as it usually is done now; when someone reports you or a city official learns of a violation. In other words, there simply is no good justification to levy an annual tax on citizens to own 4 chickens.
Next on the backyard-barnyard agenda: Ending the unjust and discriminatory ban on Donkeys within City limits. END THE BAN!
Colleen, how sweet of you! It truly is these types of entertaining living in G-ville and sharing it can be goings on. Everyone coming jointly, that is what it can be about residing in a small town!br /Now who wants to buy me coffee?