During the last meeting of the year on December 13, 2021, the Coshocton City Council proposed an amendment to Ordinance 505.06 Keeping Farm Animals. This ordinance would overturn the previous law allowing citizens to own poultry within city limits. 

            I propose to the citizens of Coshocton the overturning of this decision.

            According to an NPR article published in 2023 titled Mung bean omelet anyone? Sky high egg prices crack open market for alternatives written by Stacey Vanek Smith, it is stated “The price of eggs have risen more than the price of almost anything else in the economy.”  

            NPR also reports that the average American eats 280 eggs a year. At an average of $4.35 per dozen, a single American is spending $1,218 of eggs alone in a year. Perhaps that may not seem like a lot by today’s economy standards, but in a rural community such as Coshocton where the average household income is reported by the United State Census Bureau as $52,408 -which is below the state average of $65,720- every penny counts. 

With that said, according to Green America’s article, The Many Benefits of Backyard Chickens, eggs sell around $5.00 a dozen at Farmer’s Markets. This can prove invaluable to families who are looking for ways to bring in some extra cash to keep up with the ever-rising prices in the grocery store and at the gas pump. While we in Coshocton may have a more modest income, we’d rather give $5.00 to our neighbor than to a multimillion-dollar corporation. 

Ohio is one of the largest producers of eggs with 35.1 million egg producing hens in 2021, reported by The Human League. Some of Ohio’s largest cities such as Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati allow the keeping of backyard chickens. If our state’s capital allows the keeping of backyard chickens, why should a small rural community such as Coshocton ban it? With a single hen producing about an egg a day, a mere two hens would give approximately a dozen eggs in a week’s time which would greatly benefit our residents. 

Aside from the financial benefits, backyard chickens are exceptional for pest control. In 2019, Coshocton stressed the importance of property owners not decorating their yards with old tires due to the harboring of dangerous mosquito larvae. They also eat ticks, reduce food waste, and provide compost. 

One could also go into the educational opportunities for our growing adolescent population where more children would have the accessibility to compete in 4-H livestock shows, but I digress. 

With a reinstatement of backyard chickens, I advise the adjustment of the lot specifications. The previous law stated each enclosure must be 50ft from any city street, alleyway, and/or dwelling. I find these specifications are far too prohibitive for the average city lot.

According to Poultry Extension Small and Backyard Poultry, the recommended space allowance for hens is a minimum of 3-4 square feet per hen indoor and 10 square feet per hen outdoor. By these standards, more residents would have the ability to own chickens than the previous law dictated. 

With this information provided, I hope that we can open a discussion for the reinstatement of our rights to own backyard chickens - especially in a world where self-sufficiency is being slowly eliminated.