NO CHICKENS? WE’RE MOVING!

An Amherstburg woman says her family is seriously considering moving out of town if they can’t keep their four family hens.

 

Sarah Lock says she investigated whether she was allowed to keep chickens before she brought them into her home six weeks ago. The town has a bylaw banning residents from breeding farm animals in a residential area. Since that wasn’t what Lock’s family had in mind, she next emailed the town’s bylaw enforcement office directly. When she didn’t get a reply, her family picked up the chicks, then just two weeks old.

The controversy exploded when a bylaw enforcement officer visited her home this week and told her a neighbour had filed a complaint and that the dispute “could escalate.” The officer didn’t expand on that point but made it clear, the chickens could not stay.

Lock says she got the chickens to teach her two young children where their food came from and her three year old son has grown emotionally attached to the birds. She says she wants to keep them on principal and will fight the town’s ban on live poultry, but likely from another address. A real estate agent came to her home yesterday to discuss how much the property is worth on the market.

Story by Adelle Loiselle, Blackburn News.

The photo was taken from my facebook profile without my knowledge.

Lock family disappointed by town's orders

By Ron Giofu/The Amherstburg Echo

Posted 5 hours ago

AMHERSTBURG — Aaron and Sarah Lock had planned to teach their children where food comes from and to get fresh eggs.

The Park Lane Circle residents acquired four chickens July 5 and placed them into a coop in a small, fenced area on their property. Thanks to a complaint from one of their neighbors, the couple was forced to get rid of the chickens by order of the town.

The fact they were forced to get rid of their chickens was news the Locks found disappointing as they said they took consideration of their neighbors when acquiring the birds. Aaron said they bought four chickens and no rooster.

"We didn't want a rooster. They are noisy. We didn't want to disturb the neighbors," he said.

The coop is a portion of land located the furthest it could be from neighbors in the subdivision and Aaron said the location actually quieted the area down as their dog can no longer get to the fence and bark at pedestrians and other dogs. He said they have not had any smells or noise coming from the chickens.

"The cars are louder. The birds in the trees are louder," he said.

The town's bylaw officer called the couple Aug. 8 and attended the home Aug. 9 with a notice requiring the couple to have the chickens off the property by Aug. 16. Faced with few alternatives, Aaron told the Echo last week that they would likely turn them over to the same group in McGregor that a series of Windsor residents did when faced with similar chicken-related issues.

"We've had three or four people offer to take in our birds," added Sarah.

Aaron said they made an effort to call town hall in early June to see if it was legal to house the chickens in their subdivision but did not receive a response.

"We took that as affirmation," he said.

The Locks are unsure as to who complained to the town, but wished the person or people would have come to them first so they could have explained what they had planned.

"We were very disappointed when the complainant didn't talk to us," said Aaron. "I don't know the nature of the complaint. I don't know who the complainant was. We've talked to neighbors and they don't see an issue."

He said the chickens were "treated very well" and that not only would they have benefitted from fresh eggs, the manure compost was going to go into the Lock's vegetable garden.

"It's the whole cycle of food," he said.

Since they were told poultry is not permitted in the residential subdivision, the Locks are considering moving from the house they have lived in since 1997. They are thinking about moving to an agriculturally zoned area, although they considered their chickens both birds and pets.

"I think if we have to move based on this, it will be outside the town," he said.

Aaron said they never had any intention on selling any of the eggs or any other product and believed the town should be "progressive" like Vancouver and New York which he said are starting to allow urban chickens as long as there is no rooster.

"We're not causing anyone any harm," he said.

CAO Pamela Malott confirmed Monday night there was a violation. Malott received a complaint from a resident regarding the keeping or raising of chickens in the Park Lane Circle home.

"The identity of the complainant and nature of complaint, while known to town administration, is kept confidential," Malott said in an e-mail Tuesday morning. "Administration deals with any contravention to a town bylaw."

Malott stated that town staff met with the Locks Aug. 9 at roughly 3:40 p.m. adding

"they are keeping four chickens in their rear yard for the purpose of consuming the eggs the hens lay and to use the feces from the chickens as fertilizer in their garden."

The inspection disclosed the property to be in violation with the Amherstburg Zoning Bylaw 1999-52.

The keeping of "poultry in the form of chicken hens" in a residential area is not a permitted use, the town contends.

"We served Mr. & Mrs. Lock with a Notice of Violation granting them 14-days to completely cease the restricted use," Malott stated. "I am unaware of details of any contact they attempted to have with town staff."

Myth # 1) They are noisy.

Reality: Chicken hens are one of the quietest domestic animals. They cluck softly from time to time, and will often cluck to let you know they recently laid an egg. Unless they are in danger, they do not squawk. They sleep at night just as people do and are completely quiet from dusk to dawn. They are quiet because they want to be left alone to hunt and peck and do not want to attract attention to themselves. Roosters, on the other hand, can be quite noisy as this is their role in the flock.

Myth # 2) They are dirty.

Reality: Chickens are very clean animals. They will occasionally give themselves “dirt baths” but this is actually in order for them to preen their feathers and keep themselves clean and cool. Their droppings usually do not smell, especially if they are allowed to range freely in a grassy yard and are not caged or confined in a small area. The droppings are easily hosed off and break down into an excellent fertilizer for the lawn. Just like all pets and animals, chickens need responsible owners to keep the area tidy and clean out the living area from time to time.

Myth # 3) They are “3^rd World creatures”.

Reality: Chickens have been given a bad rap. Because they are so low maintenance and cost so little to raise, many people view them as a social status symbol of the uncivilized or uncultured class. This is completely an image issue. Some areas of the world have problems with stray dogs. This is not because dogs are inherently “3^rd World creatures”, but rather because the animal control laws of those countries are not adequate.

Myth # 4) They carry disease.

Reality: Chickens are just like any other animal including humans, dogs, cats and others when it comes to disease. They are not any more likely to carry disease than a dog. If they are well-cared for, fed, watered and kept in a clean environment, then they are more likely to stay healthy. Diseases are much more likely to be harbored in confined animal feeding operations due to their sheer size and tight conditions than in a healthy backyard setting.

Myth # 5) They attract pests.

Reality: To the contrary, chickens love to eat insects of all kinds including worms, beetles, grasshoppers, earwigs, mosquitoes and their larvae, fly larvae, ticks and more and are one of the best methods of insect control. Chickens have even been known from time to time to eat small mice! As long as their feed is properly stored just as dog or cat food should be, it will not attract added pests either.

Myth # 6) They attract predators.

Reality: It is true that predators such as foxes, skunks, racoons and hawks often eat chickens if they can catch them. However, these same predators might eat cats, rabbits and even small dogs if given the opportunity. Chickens do not attract predators any more than these other animals. They have instinctual defenses that protect them from these predators, such as sleeping in a protected area (coop) at night and making very little noise. Most family dogs and cats generally leave chickens alone and throughout the ages have all lived together in harmony.

Myth # 7) They need a lot of space.

Reality: Free range chickens need very little space. Most poultry associations designate that chickens need about 3 square feet of ranging area. Of course they will do even better with more, but an average-sized backyard would easily accommodate 4-6 chickens -no problem. Chickens are completely content to peck around in a fenced yard and have no reason to flap over fences, especially if they are not able to look through those fences at scrumptious bugs on the other side (privacy fencing works best). A small coop to sleep in at night is required. This can be very small if it is only used for sleeping. A coop that is 3x3x3 feet for about 4 chickens would be perfect if they are allowed to roam feely during the day. A coop of this size is about the same size as an average dog house.

Myth #8) They require a lot of equipment, work, or time.

Reality: Chickens are very low maintenance. They simply need water, food and shelter. They do not need to be groomed, washed, pet, walked, spayed, neutered, or trained. You can spend as little or as much time with them as you want. Their bedding area should be cleaned out about once a month which is not much of a problem.

Myth #9) Chickens are dangerous to have around children.

Reality: While chickens are thought to have evolved from the Tyrannosaurus Rex, chickens are definitely not dangerous. Most chickens have no interest in humans unless they are feeding them. They have no teeth and could not hurt a child as a dog or cat might.

Myth #10) You need a rooster in order to have eggs.

Reality: Roosters are unnecessary in the laying process and, in fact, are unnecessary to raising chickens. Chicken hens will lay eggs with or without a rooster. The only difference is that with a rooster, the eggs may be fertilized. Without a rooster they are not.

Info taken from lifetransplanet.

and one more myth to bust...

Myth #11) All chickens carry Salmonella.

Reality: Sometimes chickens, just like other animals, can have Salmonella bacteria. When hens are detected with the bacteria only a small number of hens seem to be infected at any given time, and an infected hen can lay many normal eggs while only occasionally laying an egg contaminated with the Salmonella bacterium. Here are just some of the other animals who cancan carry salmonella: lizards, snakes, turtles, hamsters gerbils, birds, dogs, cats, ducks, horses and even Humans!

More info see Salmonella.org

1. It is thought that the nearest relative of the Tyrannosaurus rex is a chicken.
2. A castrated male chicken is called a capon.
3. Chickens will be less 'flighty' if while tending a pen or chicken house the caretaker walks backwards.
4. You can literally hypnotize a chicken by holding it and drawing a line in the dirt over and over. The chicken will stay still right there as long as you do this.
5. Some breeds of chickens can lay colored eggs.
6. Christmas has different meanings in different countries. Christmas Eve in Japan is a good day to eat fried chicken and strawberry short-cake.
7. The average hen lays 265 table eggs each year.
8. There are more chickens on earth than there are humans.
9. A chicken's gizzard will likely have gravel to help "chew" the food for digestion.
10. A rooster will usually perform a special waltz or dance in an attempt to attract a mate.