Given the current economic crisis and the high cost of living, we thought having organic eggs would be a good idea for our family and neighbors since we value self-sustainability and neighborhood cooperation. Homesteads and backyard gardening are a huge “trend” right now with everyone trying to better their lives and a step in the right direction for local governments.

My children were interested in being active in 4H so what better project and responsibility than raising chickens! We hand raised a small flock of hens as our pets and we love spending time with them. My children have greatly benefitted from caring for them and learning how to provide them all their needs.

After a year of raising them with no complaints from neighbors or our community, we received a letter from our city council in regards to them “driving by” and noticing our birds. There is a city ordinance we were unaware of against the keeping of foul as livestock. Definitely my fault for not researching the matter further but many of our neighbors within walking distance do have chickens as well for pets. It is unfortunate our local government had the time and the money to spend on prosecuting citizens like us by sending letters without giving them the right to appeal and sending inspectors to our property. We have been given two weeks to get rid of our birds which seems unfair. Backyard chickens have numerous benefits that could benefit our community as listed below,

• Backyard chickens provide a better alternative to the excessive environmental impact of factory farming.
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  Backyard chickens are pets since they provide companionship to their owners and are able to recognize faces and come when called.
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  They provide an organic and healthy source of food.
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  They are great as pest control for gardens
  Decrease the use of harmful herbicides since they eat unwanted weeds.
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  They make less noise than the cars or motorcycles that pass by or dogs, so they cannot be a noise problem as long as no roosters are kept within city limits which is a reasonable request.

We believe that politicians who get paid a high salary from our taxes should have the dignity to review the laws and change them in favor of the people who vote for them. This situation is very hurtful and to our family, our pet chickens and the many others that have been or will be affected by this.

With this petition, we want to change the Ravenna city ordinance since surrounding cities like Kent, Rootstown, Hudson, and Akron allow the ownership of backyard chickens. We ask the help of anyone who is reading this to sign this petition to end this ordinance. Thank you!