Egg prices are soaring, and shortages are causing limits on egg sales. 

Back yard chicken keeping is becoming increasingly popular and can be beneficial to the entire community- even if chicken keeping isn't for you. No matter if you would love the opportunity to have chickens, or have concerns about a neighbor who does, we feel we can make changes to the current ordinances that would benefit the community and keep everyone happy. 

While the City of Green allows limited chickens on properties larger than 2 acres, many area residents have expressed a desire to keep chickens on city lots. Neighboring communities have had success keeping small flocks in the city and have shown that it is possible to successfully keep chickens on smaller tracts when set up and managed properly. Even if you don't desire to have chickens, you may wonder how you could be affected if your neighbor does.

What's all the fuss? Why should I care?

-- The number one reason people like chickens? Chickens provide a versatile, low-cost, and nutritious food source. Home grown eggs support far more ethical living conditions for the chickens, and are hormone and antibiotic free.

-- Eggs are 1-2 months fresher than store bought and filled with a far higher vitamin content, including Omega 3s, and Vitamin D; and have far better flavor- which can be tasted even in baked goods and seen in lighter, fluffier breads and cakes. 

-- Chickens divert waste from landfills. Up to 50% of all household waste is compostable and chickens are happy to eat much of that waste. Introducing chickens reduces the cost of disposing of waste. By feeding table scraps to chickens, you reduce your waste by up to 50%! Less waste in the landfill is beneficial to all!

-- According to the USDA, Chickens are not considered barnyard animals. They are small, do not require much space, have no natural odor, and are easy to care for. They have quirky, individual personalities. Hens are smart, affectionate, and can distinguish between human faces. Additionally, they provide excellent companionship as pets. Chickens make an entertaining hobby for seniors looking to spend more time outside, stay busier and eat healthier; or they can teach kids responsibility through caring for an animal who can show and reciprocate love. Local 4-H programs are suffering from low enrollment, but chickens make ideal 4-H projects. It is a way for kids to get involved, learn new skills, make new friends, and participate in county fair. Additionally, Autistic children have shown extra benefits from caring for pet chickens as well.                                               

-- Chickens are excellent natural pest control. They love eating weeds, bugs, flies, mosquitos and grubs, and even mice and small rodents like voles. 

-- A chicken's manure should not smell if managed or composted properly.

-- It takes 10 chickens to make as much poop as 1 large dog.

-- Chicken manure is excellent garden fertilizer and is recommended by US Extension agencies for use in composting. 

-- An average dog's bark is 90 decibels. Only a rooster is as loud as a barking dog; however roosters are NOT needed for a hen to produce eggs. Roosters are only needed to fertilize eggs to get baby chicks, so roosters are not needed in a backyard flock. 

-- A hen's laying song (no more than a few moments once a day) is 60 decibels or less (quieter than most native songbirds). It would take 12 hens producing noise at the exact same time to produce more noise than 1 dog. 

-- Hens make no noise at night and will lay eggs inside a coop, dampening any sound from their laying song. 

When I kept chickens in our neighborhood, our neighbors never heard or smelled them. They only knew we had chickens when we offered them extra eggs. Once you taste natural, fresh eggs, you will not want to go back to store bought!

Why now?

It's chick season! Now is the time to educate our neighbors so they don't come home with a random flock of birds. I want to maintain a clean, peaceful, quiet community as much as the next person. By passing this amendment to the ordinance we can spread the word about the benefits of keeping a small backyard flock, and the best way to do so, so the city can better monitor those that have chickens. This ensures those that choose to keep chickens do so within the boundaries of the law in a way that is agreeable to all.

What do we propose?

93% of cities allow backyard chickens in some capacity, however most cities specify how many hens are permitted: usually 4-10 in an urban setting. 
It is important to note that egg production does slow after the first few years, and hens generally need to be introduced in pairs, so even numbers are best.

-- 6 hens are an ideal size for a backyard flock and will provide enough fresh eggs for an average family, even when production slows.
-- Quieter breeds preferred:  Australorps, Cochins, Brahmas, Wyandottes, Orpingtons, and Faverolles are both quieter birds and excellent egg-producing breeds.
-- Hens must be enclosed in an appropriately sized, predator proof tractor or coop and run. The enclosure should be located in the back yard only, and kept at least 25 feet from a neighbor's dwelling. 
-- A permit would have to be approved by the city. As approval for backyard chickens becomes more popular, several towns have found compromise in allowing a limited number of permits to be issued as a trial run the first year, before approving permits on a larger scale. Informational sheets could be distributed to those new to chicken ownership with tips, suggestions, and links to keep a healthy flock and happy neighbors.

Even if you do not want chickens at this time, I encourage you to sign the petition amending the ordinances to include up to 6 hens on city properties. Chickens may not be for every family at this time, but when done correctly, a small backyard flock has no negative impact to neighbors; and could prove to be very beneficial to many families who want regular access to a cheaper, healthier and more ethically sourced food source. They may even share extras with you as well!