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Glad you asked this is exactly the reason I started this thread to have open conversation.I think you can raise chickens in all of those places if they're suitable - I mean, with all the necessities like food, water, and a space to roam. I live in a city/suburb and keep chickens in my backyard, and they're happy and healthy. One of my friends who has chickens lives in a 'county community,' which may even be better than a city since chickens have a lot more places to forage there. I'm not saying that cities and county communities are the BEST places that chickens should be raised, but I think it's perfectly fine if they are raised there. Just wondering, why do you think they shouldn't?
My wife and I enjoyed your comment. Except, we thought about it for a few minutes then said this. EPA animal units per acre. I'm going to include all possible animals in a given area of say a forty home area and each home sits on a typical half acre lot. Homes are large in these developments so available space for animals is around 1/8 acre to account for front yard. Now lets say half the homes have a dog or cat that's twenty animals. Let's ad in ten homes have five chickens each. That's 50 chickens for a 70 animal units in a given area. So basically the per acre animal unit would be 70 units per 3.6 acres. This is how state and local governments determine how many chickens people can have or not. The ten homes of the forty don't count because they don't have animals. So their land doesn't count. So my numbers may be off I'm not sure but as more people increase their animal units the problems become massive. Hard to believe average people are regulated just like large commercial farms.I've lived in cities where there were "smell, flies, rodents, noise and pollution," and not a chicken within miles. These issues were obviously not due to the presence of chickens, but to the mismanagement and carelessness of humans only. In some cases, but not always, there were dogs and cats involved. Should we pass ordinances forbidding people to have or keep dogs or cats in "cities, county communities, or near any of these?" Or should we restrict people from living in "cities, county communities or near any of these" since it is clear that in many cases it is humans, not animals, that cause these problems?
People produce trash and often that trash stinks, spills out on the street, or blows into their neighbors' properties. Dogs and cats produce excrement that often is not contained on the owners' property, as these animals often wander about the neighborhood. Even if the animal is contained, the odors often are not. Urban chickens, on the other hand, typically are caged and cooped within the confines of their owners' properties, as these are vulnerable - and valuable - prey animals. Their excrement is valuable as compost to be used in gardening. Unlike cats and dogs, they produce eggs and meat and as such are likely to be carefully tended. Three or four hens in an urban dweller's back yard is a far cry from a commercial producer's millions of birds, and not likely to have a negative impact on a neighborhood, and I'm sure you're well aware of that fact.
Um..you ever been to NYC in the morning before the garbage trucks come? Those five words describe a lot of urban spaces very broadly and it has nothing to do with chickens. I guess some wealthy white picket fence type places are cleaner and quieter. Still, one place I worked could perhaps have used some office chickens to help eat the mice that kept infesting filing cabinets.Smell, flies, rodents, noise, pollution
I know I'm picking at just one point to your overall comment - but in my neck of the woods I believe our average folks are regulated more than commercial poultry businesses. While I don't live urban, all the nearby cities have started to instill urban hen policies. These policies are strict, require proof of chicken husbandry training, coop development permits, and lengthy applications in order to obtain 4 maximum hens; all of which must be over 16 weeks (I believe to mitigate the risk of accidentally ending up with roosters - which are not allowed). There are also extensive waste/carcass removal policies in place for these urban hen keepers who have managed to obtain a permit to keep 4 hens in their backyard.My wife and I enjoyed your comment. Except, we thought about it for a few minutes then said this. EPA animal units per acre. I'm going to include all possible animals in a given area of say a forty home area and each home sits on a typical half acre lot. Homes are large in these developments so available space for animals is around 1/8 acre to account for front yard. Now lets say half the homes have a dog or cat that's twenty animals. Let's ad in ten homes have five chickens each. That's 50 chickens for a 70 animal units in a given area. So basically the per acre animal unit would be 70 units per 3.6 acres. This is how state and local governments determine how many chickens people can have or not. The ten homes of the forty don't count because they don't have animals. So their land doesn't count. So my numbers may be off I'm not sure but as more people increase their animal units the problems become massive. Hard to believe average people are regulated just like large commercial farms.