Iowa City Does Chickens

Updated June 30. 2009 8:23PM
Chickens like the dog next door
By Jennifer Hemmingsen
Gazette columnist
jennifer.hemmingsen@gazettecommunications.com

Is Iowa City going to join the growing ranks of urban chicken communities?

Early signs are favorable.

Poultry proponents expected to hand over at last night’s city council meeting more than 700 signatures petitioning council members to allow chickens inside the city limits.

They want council members to approve up to five backyard hens, no roosters, in residential areas.

I can’t tell you how council members responded — the meeting happened after this column was put to bed — but it’s safe to say they won’t dismiss the idea out of hand.

I saw council member Amy Correia at a Saturday screening of “Mad City Chickens” — a documentary about Madison, Wis., chicken owners who pushed the city to allow the fowl there several years ago.

“I wasn’t really sure before going, but the movie made me think it’s a definite possibility,” Correia later told me. She said she’ll bring up the idea to council.

About 35 people attended the screening — kids, gray hairs, long hairs and others — evidence that more than a few people around here are interested in raising their birds.

I’ve never owned chickens, but I’ve baby-sat them for a friend. They are no more a nuisance than other common urban animals. You could favorably compare them to some — no offense, dogs.

Iowa City Animal Services Director Misha Goodman also has been looking into the idea, checking with other cities that allow backyard chickens.

There are more than you might think. According to the folks over at City Chicken, the birds are allowed in Des Moines, Sioux City and a few other Iowa towns, along with dozens of farther-flung cities as big as New York, Chicago, Albuquerque, N.M., and Portland, Ore.

Goodman wouldn’t comment yet this week on what her recommendations to council might be. She and Correia reminded me that nothing in city government happens overnight. So I’ll try to contain my excitement.

But I hope council keeps an open mind.

It wasn’t unusual for people to have chickens in town before World War II. In these modern times, people are becoming increasingly interested in knowing where their food comes from.

Raising your eggs is a logical step toward local and sustainable eating. Advocates say those homegrown eggs taste better, too.

You can find out more from IC Friends of Urban Chickens at www.iowacityurbanchickens.ning.com

Why are Some People Against Backyard Chickens?

From the research I've been doing, the same objections have been brought up in communities everywhere. Some of these are valid, but like so many other pets, it depends on the owner.

Some objections to having chickens in the city are:

Chickens are noisy. The gentle clucking of a hen is a soothing noise, unlike the neighbors barking dog, the police sirens, and the beating bass from passing car speakers. Typically, a hen clucks in excitement after she lays an egg. She's proud of her accomplishment and wants to announce that something marvelous just happened. A hen lays an egg approximately every 24 hours. I'm thinking the noise would be hardly noticed in comparison to other typical city noises.

When talking about chicken noises, usually roosters come to mind, don't they? Roosters are quite loud. Most cities prohibit having roosters because of this noise. Which really isn't a problem, because roosters are not necessary to get eggs. They are only necessary if you want that egg to turn into a chick.

Chickens smell. It is true that an unclean chicken coop can smell. If the chicken areas are cleaned once or twice a week, there should be no problem with the smell. The same holds true with dog houses - they also stink if their feces are not cleaned up. A positive of chicken dung is that is a wonderful addition to our gardens once it is composted. Cat & Dog poop should not be used for composting.

Tending to chickens has been described as therapeutic, much like working a garden. I can't wait to get my chicken therapy!

Local Food Sources

Many say that having backyard chickens is as satisfying as having your own garden. With self-sustainability and getting food locally envogue right now, having backyard chickens makes sense.

Locavore, as described by Wisconsin Public Television, are people who pay attention to where their food comes from, and eat as much of it from local sources as possible. WPT went so far as to list 10 Ways to Become a Locavore.

Why should you eat local? There is a wonderful article explaining things in much more detail than I will attempt, but here are the reasons, according to www.eatlocalchallenge.com:

• Eating local means more for the local economy

• Locally grown is fresher

• Local food just plain tastes better

• Locally grown food has longer to ripen

• Eating local is better for air quality and pollution

• Buying local keeps us in touch with the seasons

• Buying locally grown food is fodder for a wonderful story.
  

Whether it's the farmer who brings local apples to market or the baker who makes local bread, knowing part of the story about your food is such a powerful part of enjoying a meal.

• Eating local protects us from bio-terrorism

• Local food translates to more variety

• Supporting local providers supports responsible land development.

While I do not fully agree with all of the above, I definitely feel that eating local is just a great way to do things overall.

Monona's Chicken Fight With City Hall

The following article in the Wisconsin State Journal appeared on Friday, July 17th.

Monona's chicken ordinance continues to generate controversy

By GENA KITTNER
608-252-6139

gkittner@madison.com

In January, when a proposal to allow Monona residents to keep chickens was introduced, the Munson family was totally on board with the idea. After all, they already owned several hens.

But now that two city commissions have voted against the proposed ordinance, which is expected to go before the City Council Monday, they just want the whole issue to disappear.

“We had no idea that it was even controversial,” said Scott Munson, who worries about what may happen to his chickens if the plan fails next week. Although he’s confident no “chicken Gestapo” will come knocking, he now believes the city’s don’t ask, don’t tell policy may be the way to go.

Monona Ald. Doug Wood introduced the proposed zoning change in January. It would allow single and two-family households to buy a permit to keep up to five hens — but no roosters.

Owners would be required to keep the hens in secure and clean housing at least 20 feet from neighboring residences and would not be allowed to slaughter the animals outside.

That’s not a problem, Munson said.

“No one really knows that we have chickens unless we tell them,” he said, adding the chickens are quiet, unobtrusive and “no odor comes from the coop.”

Madison approved a similar law in 2004.

But Monona’s Public Safety Commission unanimously voted against the proposal, July 1, citing enforcement as the main reason. The Plan Commission voted 3 to 2 against it June 22, mainly because the agricultural usage was not consistent with residents’ expectations in an urban setting like Monona, said Paul Kachelmeier, Monona’s planning and community development coordinator.

Mayor Robb Kahl, who has been against the zoning change from the beginning, agrees.

Kahl said residents have told him, “If I wanted to be out in an area where things like chickens were allowed. . .I would have moved to a more rural area.”

But Wood said the effort to allow chickens in the city goes beyond reducing energy associated with transporting food and having fresh eggs — it’s also about individual property rights.

Some people have said having chickens is an “East Side of Madison idea,” and they want Monona to be different, Wood said.

“That’s not really good enough when you’re telling someone how to use their private property,” he said. “You need to have some reason. I think chickens would probably be less of an imposition on your neighbors than a lot of things.”

Supporters say some have also expressed fears that allowing chickens would make the city look tacky.

“There’s this mindset of this being something low class, that if we allow chickens that pretty soon cars will sprout up on blocks,” said Heather Gates, executive director of The Natural Step Monona, a local organization working toward an environmentally, economically and socially sustainable community.

“It’s not very forward thinking,” she said. “We’re going to be looking for ways to have our food sources. . .be more local.”

Munson said he checked Monona’s codes when his family got their chickens in September and didn’t think they were breaking any laws.

The chickens are part of the family’s sustainable lifestyle, which includes a vegetable garden that occasionally gets help from a chicken eating Japanese lady beetles and slugs. The chicken manure is composted and used as fertilizer.

“It all really works well together as a system,” he said.

If you read the comments section of this article, you will see a great debate of how different minds think alike.

Why Raise Backyard Chickens?

Backyard Chickens is a terrific website that has a list of why we should keep chickens in your backyard:

• Easy and inexpensive to maintain (when compared to most other pets)

• Eggs that are fresh, great-tasting & nutritious

• Chemical-free bug and weed control

• Manufacture the worlds best fertilizer

• Fun & friendly pets with personality (yes, you read that right)

I am learning so much from others who have chickens in their backyards. There are several message boards out there, where members can ask questions and get advice from others who have done it before. It is a wonderful resource - check it out!