Chickens in Washington
I noticed on last month’s Washington City Council minutes that there is some interest in being able to have chickens inside the city limits. Evidently this is currently not allowed? I need to do a little research.
Anyway, would this be of some interest to people or is it something that citizens don’t want to see allowed?
The Salina Journal recently had a front page story on the topic. Evidently Salina citizens can have up to 12 chickens as long as they are housed at least 50 feet from a neighboring residence. In the more dense parts of a city, that setback would limit chicken ownership. In newer developments, there would probably be plenty of space (as long as homeowners associations allow it.)
Nationwide, there is increased interest in chicken ownership for food. Probably partly because of the economy, but there also seems to be a growing interest in knowing where your food comes from.
Some people might think they’d be annoyed by a crowing rooster, but would it be any louder than a barking dog?
Are people wanting chickens for fresh eggs and meat or just as pets?
I hope to do a story on this topic.
(My 11 chicks are growing quickly, by the way. I moved them out to the henhouse on Friday because they were getting too big for their box in the garage. I had to kick the lone guinea out of the henhouse though, because it was pecking at the chicks. It has to fend for itself now.)
As a kid we raised chickens. Can be a lot of work at times. I think as long as the chickens pinned up and the pin kept clean so not to smell and also a limit like no more then 20. I wouldnt see a problem myself.
Does it really matter what we think or want to do? The government will decide for us anyways.
I sense a bitter tone.
Actually, the government often decides this stuff for us because our representatives in government never hear from us. Having covered various local government entities for a decade now, it is a rare thing for anyone to show up at a city council, school board or county commission meeting to voice their concerns over anything unless it is absolutely urgent. And in those cases having people show up is rare too.
I know there have also been big issues set on the laps of various councils over the years and people don’t even call or talk to their representatives outside of meetings. How are those representatives supposed to know what people want if they don’t have anyone letting them know their opinions?
I’m not saying this is the case with you, but I’d love to see more people show up at these meetings and adding their two cents on issues they care about.
Several years ago livestock was permitted inside the city limits, chickens,cattle,hogs.
For obvious reasons it was stopped sometime in the late 70′s early 80′s. I have no problem with chickens in town. But if you allowed one person to have chickens you know someone would challenge the right to have hogs and cattle or whatever else in town.
Yep, livestock is not allowed within city limits and this includes chickens. I’d love to have some chickens but I understand the point of not having them in town. Some people’s properties are bad enough without adding a bunch of animals to the mix. I have some neighbors near me that, in the past, butchered chickens in town and one got away from them. I tell you, nothing stops traffic in town faster than a chicken running around, it was too funny!
Dawn
I have no right to voice an opinion on this since I live in the country, but here goes.
When I visit my mother who lives in a small town that does allow chickens and small livestock, crowing roosters a few blocks away wake me up very early in the morning. I don’t know what I would do if I actually lived there and had to sleep later in the morning if I had a work shift that started in the late evening. Of course, barking dogs would also wake me up, but there’s something about a crowing rooster that’s hard to block out from your consciousness.
Also, some chickens are very smelly. We have some Polish crested chickens that are cute and petite, but they have an extremely pungent pen if it’s not kept up with. If the wind is blowing and it’s time to clean the pen but we’ve been at ball games all evening, that smell covers a wide area. Luckily we have no close neighbors to consider.
Also, would “chickens” in town also include geese and ducks which can also be very smelly if their pens aren’t cleaned regularly? A neighbor’s backyard could be unusable for entertainment if the other neighbors clean the pen only every 2-3 days and it’s the 2nd or 3rd day.