After calling codes enforcement (Todd) I have found out that Monday March 16, 2020 Bremen City Council will be passing laws forbidding anyone in the city limits to have Hen’s due to the Mayor’s (Sharon Sewell) niece being special needs. Todd told me on the morning of March 9, 2020 Mrs. Sewell’s niece picked up something (did not disclose what) from a chicken and now our mayor is planning to stop all owners from having back yard chickens. I can understand if the owner of chicken’s  isnt doing what they’re supposed to be doing to make sure their chickens are well cared for as far as their coop staying clean. We pay to live here and I really dont feel our government should tell us what we can and can not have to a degree on the property we pay city and county taxes for our property. WE AS THE COMMUNITY SHOULD BE ABLE TO HAVE A SAY IN THIS! 

Instead of forbidding ownership of chickens why not make laws that require chickens be kept in a well-maintained coop, i.e., one that doesn’t smell and attract flies. Some laws require that the coop be a certain number of feet from neighboring homes, or that it not be visible from the street. Additionally, some cities require that chicken owners register and pay a small fee to the city.

Some of the most common concerns are: noise, smell, predators eating the chickens, and chickens turning up in local animal shelters. The first three issues are the easiest to answer:

Noise: If you don’t have roosters, chickens aren’t noisy. Hens cluck and peep softly all day long, and then go to bed at dusk and remain quiet all night.

Smell: A small flock of four or five chickens will poop about as much as an average dog, and their coop won’t smell if it is kept clean. This is where crafting a good chicken law comes into play. If the law only allows chickens in a “well-maintained coop,” then a chicken owner with a messy, filthy, smelly coop is out of compliance and can be cited under the law.

Predators: The sad fact is that chickens are food — not just for humans, but for foxes, coyotes, opossums, raccoons, hawks, and sometimes neighboring dogs. It should be the responsibility of the chicken owner to keep his or her chickens safe from predators — just like it is for cat owners, say — , and there is ample advice available on how to do so. Even though a careless owner may lose chickens to predators, I fail to see how this is a municipal problem, as it is not something that causes a nuisance to anyone except for the chicken owner.

-Why cities should ❤ chickens-

Chickens are fun, friendly pets with educational value for children about where food like eggs comes from
They can provide food security for poor families
They lay healthier eggs compared to store-bought eggs
They give gardeners high-quality fertilizer
They control flies and other pests, not add to them, and dispose of weeds and kitchen scraps that otherwise might end up in the landfill

Instead of banning ownership of back yard chickens why not just make laws around owning them like we have to do to own dogs, cats or any other pet?!