I am writing to request that you legalize small numbers of hens (not roosters) in residential zones in our city. In this letter, I will describe the benefits of chickens (and other types of poultry for comparison) and a few logistics about keeping them in the city. I will also address concerns that other cities that have considered allowing chickens and other poultry have raised, and provide examples of backyard chicken laws from other U.S. cities.
Benefits of Chickens
1. They are social animals and relatively docile, fun pets.
2. They provide eggs that, depending on the birds' diet, may have more vitamins, better fats, and less cholesterol than store-bought eggs.
3. They eat waste products like bugs, weeds, and kitchen scraps.
4. Their droppings provide valuable fertilizer that is high in nitrogen, preventing the need for petroleum-based commercial fertilizer.
Other Poultry: Ducks, like chickens, can also be kept for eggs. Turkeys can be kept for meat but not eggs, as they only lay eggs during the breeding season.
Chicken Logistics
Chickens typically live in a coop. This is required as they are vulnerable to a number of predators, such as neighborhood dogs, hawks, or opossums. Sometimes people set up "chicken runs" (enclosed areas in their yard for the chickens to explore outside their coop) or they may get a "chicken tractor" (a portable chicken coop, which allows the birds to move around the yard, fertilizing each area). Approximately 2 sq ft per chicken is required in a coop, or 4 sq ft per chicken in a chicken run. When night falls chickens will roost in their coop and go to sleep, not awaking until the next morning. A hen will lay her egg mid-morning and then start her day. Roosters are NOT required for hens to produce eggs. Roosters are, however, required for hens to produce fertile eggs capable of hatching chicks.
Just like dogs, chicken comes in a variety of breeds that vary in size and other qualities. The Great Dane of the chicken world is the Jersey Giant, which can reach 10 lbs. The "toy breeds" of the chicken world are called Bantams, and they may be as small as 1.5 lbs at full size. The most commonly kept egg breeds for backyard flocks are the Rhode Island Red, which reaches 6.5 lbs in the standard size or 2 lbs as a bantam, and the Barred Rock, which reaches 7.5 lbs in the standard size or 2.2 lbs as a bantam. These breeds are frequently chosen not only for their high quantity of large eggs but also for their docile personalities and hardiness in all kinds of weather. Egg laying begins in the hen's first year and peaks during the next two years. After that, egg laying tapers off, but hens do continue laying. In one case, a hen died at age 16 (very old for a hen) and she was still laying eggs even at age 16.
Chickens can be purchased at local breeders or via online companies that ship the birds in the mail. Believe it or not, live day-old chicks or full-grown hens can be sent via the U.S. Postal Service. A chick must be kept indoors under a heat lamp until it is large enough to live outdoors in a coop safely. Eggs may also be purchased to incubate at home.
Other poultry: Chickens can live in harmony with other fowl, such as turkeys and ducks.
Housing: Ducks differ from chickens and turkeys because they require at least enough water to fully dunk their heads in for optimal health. They do not, however, require a pond for swimming, even though they enjoy the opportunity to swim if it is available. Ducks require 2-6 sq ft indoors per bird, plus (ideally) 10-50 sq ft per bird outdoors in an enclosed yard. Turkeys require at least 3 sq ft per bird indoors. Also, the myth that a turkey will drown in the rain by looking up is not true.
Size: Ducks range from 2-12 lbs. Turkeys range from 12-33 lbs. A turkey raised for meat takes 6 to 8 months to mature.
Eggs: In general, the smaller breeds of ducks are capable of producing more eggs. The small (3.5-5 lb) Khaki Campbell duck can lay 340 eggs per year, compared to the best layer of the (8-10 lb) heavy breeds, the Silver Appleyard, which can only produce up to 270 eggs per year. Turkeys do not lay eggs year round like chickens and ducks.
Concerns
Typical concerns municipalities raise about backyard chickens are noise, odor, or fears that the birds will escape.
Noise: A noise concern is a valid worry for noisier fowl like roosters, peafowl, or guineas. Hens, however, are among the quietest of poultry species. They do cluck - for example, to brag about an egg they just laid - but if they are outdoors, they cannot be heard inside nearby buildings. Turkeys and ducks are louder than hens, although gobbles and quacking are not as loud as a dog barking. A wonderful trait all poultry species have is roosting at sundown and quietly sleeping all night. In other words, the time of day when it is most important for animals to be quiet, poultry will be quiet.
Odor: An odor concern is frequently warranted if an industrial chicken operation locates nearby with thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions of birds. However, with only a handful of birds, the odor should be no more problem than a cat's litterbox. It takes about 4-5 chickens to poop as much as the average dog. The poultry droppings should be composted in order to use them in gardening as a valuable fertilizer, and if they are composted, odor will not be a problem at all.
Escaped Birds: Realistically, an escaped bird will not be an escaped bird for long. With any number of species - including dogs, humans, and hawks - preying upon chickens, in all likelihood, an escaped chicken will be eaten. All poultry species except turkeys can fly to some extent (chickens aren't known for their flying), but their wings can be clipped to prevent this, or else they can be kept in enclosures that are not open on the top. Typically, it's a bigger concern that a predator gets in than a chicken or other type of bird gets out.
Other Cities' Policies
A good rule of thumb when considering legalizing chickens or other poultry in residential zones is that you can outlaw nuisances while still allowing chickens. For example, you can allow a small number of hens but require that they are kept in a well-maintained coop, thus outlawing any potential odor from chickens. If a resident keeps chickens in a smelly coop that is a nuisance to neighbors, the resident will be in violation of the law.
Chicago: An unlimited number of chickens may be kept for pets or eggs. Slaughter is not permitted and the chickens must be penned.
Madison, WI: Each household may have up to 4 chickens if they purchase a $6 annual permit from the city.
New York: An unlimited number of hens may be kept (no roosters or other poultry). The chicken coop must be kept clean.
Portland, OR: A maximum of 3 hens may be kept without a permit (no roosters). A permit for more costs $31.
San Francisco: You may keep any combination of 4 small animals on your lot without permission.
Seattle: Three domestic fowl may be kept on any lot.
For more examples, see: http://home.centurytel.net/the...
Thank you for your consideration of this issue. I would be incredibly happy if I were able to keep up to 6 hens (no roosters) as pets and for eggs. I live on a small lot on [name of street] with a fenced in yard. I've included information about ducks and turkeys in this letter as I feel they might also be appropriate for allowing within residential zones in the city of [city name]. Please let me know how I might be able to be of help in your investigation of this matter.
Thanks,
Jill Richardson
