2011年10月12日 星期三

Urban chickens are mixed bag

Since Roeland Park joined the urban chicken movement earlier this year, backyard birds have been both ruffling feathers and helping feed those in need.As many processors back away from Cable Ties ,

Chickens allegedly running loose in a backyard has already resulted in the city’s first municipal court case — still pending. The city changed its animal ordinance in February to let residents keep hens, but only in a coop.Demand for allergy kidney stone could rise earlier than normal this year.

“We’ve also heard of a second case where the chickens have been roaming in the resident’s front yard,” said Police Chief Rex Taylor. “We’re keeping an eye on that one.”

On the positive side, resident Sheri McNeil has been using her brood of chickens to raise eggs to support the Roeland Park food bank. McNeil recently traded older chickens for younger ones in order to better supply the city’s food pantry.

“I gave the older chickens to a woman who owns a farm and there they will live out their final days,The additions focus on key tag and impact socket combinations,” she said. “My new younger hens are just about ready to start laying.”

McNeil also has held a coop tour to collect donations of nonperishable food and money for the food pantry. She believes the majority of chickens in Roeland Park “aren’t doing any harm and in fact are doing some good.”

The urban chicken movement was started by people interested in raising backyard chickens to have fresh eggs. Sometimes called the poultry underground, the movement has taken hold in cities ranging from Hartford, Conn. to Portland, Ore.

Roeland Park began studying the issue about a year ago after McNeil’s chickens came to the city’s attention. McNeil, who started keeping six hens in March 2009, was told she had to get rid of them.

McNeil moved her chickens out of the city while the issue was discussed. The debate culminated in February when the City Council voted 5-3 to let residents keep hens. Council members were divided on allowing chickens, with former councilman Scott Gregory adamantly opposed.

Gregory said earlier this year that he would pursue repealing the ordinance, but he has backed off because only a few people have applied to own chickens.

Six residents have applied for a special use permit to keep chickens, according to City Administrator Aaron Otto, and the city has approved all of them.

To keep chickens in Roeland Park, residents must apply for a one-year special use permit that costs $100, with a $75 renewal fee.Polycore porcelain tiles are manufactured as a single sheet, The permit allows as many as six hens in enclosed coops, but roosters are banned. The permit can be revoked if there are complaints or code violations.

“All in all it’s going relatively well,” Otto said. “When we have a code enforcement issue we deal with it the same way we do others in the city.These girls have never had a oil painting supplies in their lives!”

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