Yukon Cornelius Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 chickens in town? soon people will want to marry animals... oh the shame Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEC=UGA Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 chickens in town? soon people will want to marry animals... oh the shame Why buy the cow when you can screw your neighbor's cow for free? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
detlef Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Just noting that my argument itself did not include arguments about noise. As for responsible owners, and I suppose there may be some, I don't worry about them. I worry about the irresponsible who may potentially move in next to me. They will have some excuse as to why they are exceeding the bird limit. They will not keep their feed well stored nor their poorly built coop clean. They will bring a trashy element to my neighborhood substantially driving down my property values. Eventually, and the eventuality is not too distant, they will abandon the hobby as it is foul, dirty, and ultimately unsatisfying, no matter the current fad. (Fads always fade) I will be left with a decaying, abandoned coop, vermin who have gathered for the spilled feed which now are looking for other sources of feed, and predators which had previously abandoned the neighborhood will now be back and hungry and looking to the pets in the neighborhood. I am currently watching this debate in Denver and in my City. Denver is already pushing for more goats, higher limits on numbers of birds, and for the ability to slaughter chickens in residential neighborhoods. The slippery slope is getting snow packed even as we debate this here. There is a time and place for everything. The place for rural uses is in rural areas. And least you think I know not of what I speak I am a midwestern farm boy who has done a stint as a planning attorney. BTW, good luck to you in getting back to your agrarian roots. Though I left the farm I have contemplated at least a partial return to that lifestyle. If I choose to do so it will entail a move to an area accomodating of that lifestyle, and that will be a place where my neighbors home and my own is not set back a scant 15 or 20 feet from my property line. It will be a rural or semi-rural area. History just needs to repeat itself. No big deal, it always does, such is our doom. What kind of hens do you have? Have you heard the joke with the punchline "Here, just hold my cock and pullet while I scratch my ass."? Oh,.... I meant to type throw off feathers in my first post, not throw of feathers I realize that your argument, specifically, did not mirror those that could be made against dogs. But, rather, that a similar argument could be made against people having dogs and, yet, there's virtually no control over it. It's all you can get to pass a law in your city that you're not allowed to keep a dog chained to a pole all day every day. By comparison, there is some pretty significant control over keeping chickens, at least in my city. As for your question, we have four; a Rhode Island Red, New Hampshire, Cukoo Maran, and Amerecauna. And the coop is rather pimp. I just added a new addition that allows them to hang out behind the shed in where it's shadier and cool. However, when we're out in the veggie garden, which is rather often, we let them out anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delusions of grandeur Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 I realize that your argument, specifically, did not mirror those that could be made against dogs. But, rather, that a similar argument could be made against people having dogs and, yet, there's virtually no control over it. It's all you can get to pass a law in your city that you're not allowed to keep a dog chained to a pole all day every day. By comparison, there is some pretty significant control over keeping chickens, at least in my city. As for your question, we have four; a Rhode Island Red, New Hampshire, Cukoo Maran, and Amerecauna. And the coop is rather pimp. I just added a new addition that allows them to hang out behind the shed in where it's shadier and cool. However, when we're out in the veggie garden, which is rather often, we let them out anyway. The difference is that we've completely domesticated dogs to the point to where there's overpopulation/euthanization, while they of course are not part of our food chain... So to put a bunch of regulations on dog ownership beyond simple leash, pooper-scooper, and neutering laws doesn't make alot of sense, and would only hurt rescue efforts to do more than that. Chickens on the other hand, while somewhat domesticated for consumption, are a completely different matter when you're talking about inside city limits. There should be alot more regulations when you're talking about something that can easily be a big burden on the community surrounding you... I've only been around very large chicken farms, so I don't know if the awful smell is comparable at all with just a few, but as DW notes, it can bring forth alot of issues, especially if you live within 15-20 feet of a neighbor and/or are on less than an acre. Also I agree it is a slippery slope to people demanding the right to keep other non-domesticated animals inside the city limits. Not saying that you shouldn't be able to have a few chickens if you want, but there absolutely needs alot more control there, well beyond how we treat the issue of dog domestication. Wait, how the hell did this turn into a discussion about dog/chicken regulations? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
detlef Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 The difference is that we've completely domesticated dogs to the point to where there's overpopulation/euthanization, while they of course are not part of our food chain... So to put a bunch of regulations on dog ownership beyond simple leash, pooper-scooper, and neutering laws doesn't make alot of sense, and would only hurt rescue efforts to do more than that. Chickens on the other hand, while somewhat domesticated for consumption, are a completely different matter when you're talking about inside city limits. There should be alot more regulations when you're talking about something that can easily be a big burden on the community surrounding you... I've only been around very large chicken farms, so I don't know if the awful smell is comparable at all with just a few, but as DW notes, it can bring forth alot of issues, especially if you live within 15-20 feet of a neighbor and/or are on less than an acre. Also I agree it is a slippery slope to people demanding the right to keep other non-domesticated animals inside the city limits. Not saying that you shouldn't be able to have a few chickens if you want, but there absolutely needs alot more control there, well beyond how we treat the issue of dog domestication. Wait, how the hell did this turn into a discussion about dog/chicken regulations? Well, there are far more significant regulations on urban chicken ownership, and I really don't have much problem with that. Because they didn't ask me to do anything that didn't make sense anyway. If anything, they simply put up enough barriers that some yahoo who is likely too lazy to see it through won't bother. And since part of the process is to get written permission from each adjoining neighbor, it would be pretty easy for someone to turn you in if you just went out and got chickens. My point in bringing up the dogs is that, for every person who shouldn't have gotten a chicken because they're prepared to take care of them, there's likely dozens of people who are that way with their dogs. And the consequences of poorly raised dogs can be far more severe than those of poorly raised chickens. At least a small flock (the most you can have in the Durham is 10, and to do so, you have to build a 40 sq ft coop and 100 sq ft pen. The pen must be completely covered and the fence must be buried a ft deep to keep predators out. Dogs can spread disease, dogs can attack, dogs can keep you up all night barking... So, in terms of "there goes the neighborhood", some idiot with a pit bull on a chain in his front yard is every bit as bad for your property values as a dude with a coop in his backyard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEC=UGA Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 (edited) One of my neighbor's rooster used to start calling at 5:30 AM for the better part of 6 months... That SOB would perch on the copper window box outside of my bedroom and go to town. He was tasty... ETA: I never knew Det was a redneck. Edited June 15, 2011 by SEC=UGA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
detlef Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 (edited) ETA: I never knew Det was a redneck. If you only knew. Pitchfork and all. Best shot I could find on-line. I guess the magazine didn't do a web version of the article. Edited June 15, 2011 by detlef Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ditkaless Wonders Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 I realize that your argument, specifically, did not mirror those that could be made against dogs. But, rather, that a similar argument could be made against people having dogs and, yet, there's virtually no control over it. It's all you can get to pass a law in your city that you're not allowed to keep a dog chained to a pole all day every day. By comparison, there is some pretty significant control over keeping chickens, at least in my city. As for your question, we have four; a Rhode Island Red, New Hampshire, Cukoo Maran, and Amerecauna. And the coop is rather pimp. I just added a new addition that allows them to hang out behind the shed in where it's shadier and cool. However, when we're out in the veggie garden, which is rather often, we let them out anyway. Are the eggs of the Marans as dark as I have heard, like the color of maple syrup? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
detlef Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Are the eggs of the Marans as dark as I have heard, like the color of maple syrup? That's what we're told and that's why we got her. Though, apparently Black Marans have the darkest brown eggs. Thing is, they're all still too young to lay. No eggs until about September. We also got the Ameracauna for the green eggs. We actually had two Rhode Islands because they're apparently the best producers. Thing is, one turned out to be a rooster, so we traded it back to the guys we got them from and they didn't have any RR hens the same age or older, so we took the New Hampshire because it's nearly the same breed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ditkaless Wonders Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 That's what we're told and that's why we got her. Though, apparently Black Marans have the darkest brown eggs. Thing is, they're all still too young to lay. No eggs until about September. We also got the Ameracauna for the green eggs. We actually had two Rhode Islands because they're apparently the best producers. Thing is, one turned out to be a rooster, so we traded it back to the guys we got them from and they didn't have any RR hens the same age or older, so we took the New Hampshire because it's nearly the same breed. I thought they were blue eggers. I didn't know they laid green as well. How very Sam I am of them. Learn something new every day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
detlef Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 I thought they were blue eggers. I didn't know they laid green as well. How very Sam I am of them. Learn something new every day. Well, they're sort of bluish green. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEC=UGA Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 If you only knew. Pitchfork and all. Best shot I could find on-line. I guess the magazine didn't do a web version of the article. That is awesome!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEC=UGA Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 Though, apparently Black Marans have the darkest brown eggs. Racist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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