Janesville WI.. please provide postive input!

[littlefarm_bighappy]

http://gazettextra.com/news/2009/nov/16/man-wants-change-chicken-ordinance/


Most people here view chicken raising as backward... the last time it was put up to a city council, one member actually was quoted as worrying that "hispanics" would be slaughtering all over the place, and that "rituals" might be commonplace (um, WI is moslty German Lutherans and Irish Catholics... haven't seen a VooDoo temple here EVER)

PLEASE, those of you in an URBAN/CITY setting, leave a comment and educate the fine citizens of Janesville...

 

[Daisygirl]

The city is 5 minutes from my house...I have a motorway pratically on my front doorstep...And I'm just popping down to the voodoo temple to practice ancient rituals on my beloved pet chickens??!!! Somehow this doesn't fit...Oh, that's right, because there is no voodoo temple, I don't know any rituals and I would just as likely practice cruelty on my chickens as I would do on my cats and fish. These statements our communities have been making are out of ignorance - - I said ignorance, not stupidity. It's simply a lack of contact from these beautiful and feathered animals that grace our lives...If most people owned chickens, it would be a step forwards in reducing our carbon footprint on our earth.

I am aware that some cultures use their chickens as a food resource, and whilst some of us dissaprove of this custom, we must respect their culture providing that they slaughter in the most humane way possible and obey the bylaws placed over our communities. If there are upsets on such slaughterings, it is usually an isolated incident, and is for the animal rights enforcement groups to deal with. Also, how many chickens do we go through that we buy at a local food store? Many of these chickens may have lived out their lives as battery hens. We must accept that we ourselves are held responsible for the lives that we have taking by buying our own meat and, in doing so, are approving of the cruelty that we reject.

Keeping chickens is not "backward", as it is another way to interpret the wonders of our earth. Most modern societies today strive to achieve global understanding. If people hold such arguments against you, then it means they are frightened of what they do not know. Neither complaints are valid arguments - - where is the proof, and why is it backward? what is considered backward in a modern society?

I agree with the arguments made in the article. It would change our earth, and it would be us who reap the benefits. What is backward is poisoning the land that we love and depend on. What is backward is allowing ignorance to influence our opinions, and to make mistaken conclusions drawn from these arguments. We must accept that the world will change, and that we must adapt in order to survive. If the way forwards is to accept previous traditions that have been labelled "backward", then I'm all for it.

I am a minor, so whilst I am young I have been able to grasp these concepts and will guide my life according to what I see as the right way to live. So, age is no excuse for ignorance. Get out there and learn!!!

 

[sillyaboutchickens]

Wow! I am surprised. My husband is from WI. I have most often experienced pragmatic, conscientious people when visiting his family. It is interesting that the folks in Janesville view chickens as "backward". We live in a suburban area in Southern, NH and raise layers for the eggs. We are thrilled to be teaching our children responsibility and stewardship, not to mention we are having a lot of fun enjoying the antics of our friendly flock. Perhaps you could gather stats on chicken ordinances in towns/cities in WI where the attitude is a little more "chicken friendly" and present that to the council.

 

[beckyschicks]

I live about an hour northwest of there and am seeing this alot. People want to be self sufficent. Shorewood just went though the same thing in May and was turned down. It's things like this and what you mentioned that make me remember the small mindness of some people. Chickens aren't dirty and create little mess and smell. If you have hundreds and don't clean the coop often then maybe. When I got chickens alot of my friends and family said "oh, chickens stink! Why would you want them?" I have 19 cochins and they smell better then the goats and horses. They make little mess and I use the bedding as compost for my garden. I view my chickens as a great learning exsperience for my childern. We all built the coop together and collect eggs together. They were just a excited as I was with the first egg. We go and sit in the coop at times and just watch the chickens together and talk. And this spring when I hatch eggs, the school is getting some eggs for their science class for the educational purpose. Madison does have the right idea, 4 hens, talk to your neighbors. I don't like having to get permission from your neighbors though. But if it will get it passed, whatever works. I hope that for the gentlemans sake that they pass this. From the article it seems like there is alot of forward thinking in this matter. Chickens make great pets and make less mess then dogs, carry less dieseases then dog waste and are a great teaching tool because of the work involved in keeping happy chickens. Good luck!

 

[Tweeza]

Quote:
How many people would dare put dog waste into their compost? I don't know of anyone except those who are new to gardening and have not done their home work. Chicken poo on the other hand... well, I don't have to tell ya'll.

I think 4 chickens is not enough for a family of 4. We have 10 hens and at times we've not gotten enough eggs to feed us. I would not want more than 10 though. We do have a rooster but only because he "got away" and is not keen on letting us get within about 5 feet. He doesn't know it but his days are still numbered. Just haven't figured out the number yet.

 

[beckyschicks]

Tweeza- I hope that I didn't imply that I or others should or do use dog waste as compost. What I ment was that in the city when you have a dog and they leave their poo all over your yard and you pick it up and put it in a bag to go to the dump or where ever you dispose it. It carries so many dieseases and actually leaves traces in your yard even though you have picked it up. Then you let your kids out there to play. Now again don't get me wrong I have dogs and yes they poo on my yard and yes my kids play out there, but for a point in the chickens favor, chickens are sometimes cleaner than other things we let in our lives.
Good luck littlefarm-bighappy! Hope something changes for the better.

 

[Amyable]

Read the article and almost all the comments. There are a few chicken-educated folks and a lot of people who know nothing about small backyard flocks. It seems most naysayers think having a few chickens will give the impression that Janesville has no class, when in actuality keeping a few hens is often considered hip (think Madison) and gives people a link to their food (which is all but gone in the cities.) Some can be convinced, others will have their ill-educated opinions til the day they die.

Will some people be irresponsible with their birds and cause trouble for neighbors? Yes, probably, but they are of the ilk that already cause problems in the community, often by having other neglected animals, not maintaining their property, violating noise ordinances, etc. But that should not be the reason to deny everyone the pleasure of keeping backyard flocks. Look how much drunk driving there is in WI, but no one is denied the right to drive until they break the laws.

Why has it become a dirty thing to raise a few chicks within the city limits? People keep parrots and other exotics as pets and there is no uproar. At least chickens provide utility by laying eggs for eating. Good luck in Janesville.

 

[Tweeza]

Quote:
I'm sorry! I'm right there with you! I'd rather step barefoot on chicken poo any day but never dog doo. I've heard that chicken poo makes the best compost of all manures. Don't know it's just preference or not.

I did work with some one years ago that was putting her dog's doo on her garden. She thought any manure was a good thing. The rest of the staff (nurses) were horrified. That was before the internet, when information became easier to obtain.

 

[Wifezilla]

I said ignorance, not stupidity.

I don't know...I've been the Janesville...

 

[wombat]

One of the issues you might be running into is that Wisconsin is very much an agricultural state, and many people there are only a generation removed from farming. They may have very set ideas about what chicken keeping consists of. My mother grew up on a farm, and when I mentioned that I was keeping chickens, there was dead silence on the phone, followed by "why on earth would you want to do that when you don't have to?"

My mother grew up on a dairy farm, much like most of the farms in Wisconsin. Dairy farming is very labor intensive, and was even more so in her day. I suspect that didn't leave a lot of time for the chickens. My mother had to tend them as a small child, and does not much care for them as a consequence.

If your only exposure to raising chickens was a crowded coop of psyco leghorns that was kept for extra "egg money", you might seriously question allowing your neighbor to raise chickens in their back yard. People's pre-conceived notions of what small scale chicken keeping might be like is probably what you need to address.