Posted on 01/31/2009 4:32:11 PM PST by Diana in Wisconsin
Monona Ald. Doug Wood is trying to make his city more chicken-friendly.
"The first reaction is they sort of laugh," Wood said of his constituents when they hear about his draft ordinance to allow Monona residents to raise chickens.
Even he thought the idea sounded funny at first. But, after a number of sustainable-living enthusiasts egged him on, he took stock of other urban chicken laws across the country — including Madison's, approved in 2004 — and decided one might fit well in Monona.
The proposal will be presented to the City Council at their next meeting Monday. The most recent draft would allow single- and two-family households to buy a permit to keep up to five hens, but no roosters. Owners would be required to keep the hens in secure and clean housing at least 20 feet from neighboring residences, and would not be allowed to slaughter their animals outside.
People like Kate Heiber-Cobb couldn't be happier at the prospect. A Monona resident for about eight years, the 56-year-old lacto-ovo-vegetarian has been buying organic eggs from the Willy Street Co-op for the past 31 years and can't wait to set up her own coop.
Aside from the prospect of having her own supply of antibiotic- and hormone-free eggs, she also touts the benefits of chicken ownership for gardeners. "(They) feed your soil because chicken poop is a natural fertilizer, and they eat slugs and garden pests ... and they also weed," she said.
Additionally, proponents of the incubating legislation point out that owning chickens can serve the same purpose as having a cat or dog.
"They're kind of fun to watch; they're fun pets," said Chris Whelley, 47, who moved to Monona about six years ago with her two children from Long Island, where they kept six chickens. One of the reasons she started raising chickens was her son's allergies to typical household pets.
Town of Blooming Grove chicken-owner Penny DePaola, 56, brushes away concerns about the noise or smell involved in owning chickens.
"Both of our closest neighbors love the chickens," she said. And her other neighbors were surprised to discover she even had them, she said, because they were so quiet.
Ald. Chad Speight, who will co-sponsor the proposed law, said so far no one has cried foul.
"I don't expect there to be a large outcry," he said.
Just keep an eye out if Sarah comes to visit — you know how she can be with fine feathered creatures.
Raising chickens? I figured it would be about San Francisco.
I’d kill and clean one myself for her for supper, if she stopped by. :)
I guess Madison will lose its monopoly on raising chickens at the University of Wisconsin?
Hope they know what they’re getting into. Roosters don’t only crow in the early morning! They do it all day long to keep the hens in line, and will sometimes do it at night, too!
The article says that they’re not allowed to have roosters, only five hens.
I was just trying to be funny, thinking she might bring that hatchet guy with the funnel and ghoulish grin. In that case you wouldn’t have to bother.
That was kind of gross, LOL!
Yea, it was.
Hi Diana in Wisconsin! Did you enjoy our first day above freezing? It was downright balmy!
On the chickens,,,I was in charge of raising our chickens as a kid, about 100 at a time for eggs and meat. It was fun. They are quite noisy and produce a lot of uh, to put it plainly...chicken crap. I think Madison (the crazy bastards) will soon regret they allow chickens and Monona will too. I doubt those city folks will have the nerve to butcher the chickens and will have them for eggs and as pets.
Oh, they’ll be pets, alright. And when an accidental rooster shows up (it is hard to sex them when young; I’ve been fooled a time or two) Monona and Madistan will end up looking like Mexico City with all the roosters running around there, LOL!
Well, maybe for a while in the Spring, Summer and Fall. They’ll be dead by winter, LOL!
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