Paula Deen's Chickens

[GAchick]

Okay, Paula has built a coop at her Wilmington Island (Savannah Ga) home, and has apparently rescued some battery chickens. (It was mentioned somewhere that some of them 'didn't have beaks'). City of Savannah allows 4 hens. Paula is in the county, not even in city limits. Apparently there is NO clear-cut ordinance regarding chickens in the county. Another couple, whose family has been at the site their home is on for several generations owns chickens. Their neighbors complained, and now Paula's chickens are back in the news, only now being threatened with eviction (the chickens, not Paula). Keep in mind, the neighbors who complained apparently have 22 cats!


Here is a link to the article http://savannahnow.com/news/2011-07-03/paula-deen-cited-chatham-county-having-chickens

 

[BigDaddy'sGurl]

That is just stupid. (not the article, the idea of taking the chickens away) Although, what bothered me a bunch in the article, almost more than Paula maybe losing her birds, was that her publicist said basically she won't fight for the birds. Where's the southern backbone?

 

[GAchick]

Not sure she won't fight. It just came up. Don't even know if the publicist has spoken to her, or if that is just the generic publicist answer.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

There is obviously a clear zoning code, and she does not live in a(n agricultural residential) zone where chickens are allowed. Yes, there is enough support that the county commissioners are considering changing the ordinance.

There are NUMEROUS places in city codes and ordinances that must be checked to verify whether one is legal in keeping birds. First is the allowed uses for one's property in the zoning code. Second, typically, a use must be listed for it to be allowed; this is generally spelled out at the beginning of the code. Third are animal control ordinances.


The publicist gave a non-answer--"comply with whatever is necessary"-- does not say she won't fight, just that she will not keep the birds illegally--that is she decides to keep the birds, that she will fight the issue, or move or any of the other options available to her.

 

[SIMPleChick]

People are stupid....And I just don't understand why some people have such a thing against chickens! And if the neighbor really has 22 cats, what they heck do they give you, other than a smelly house!?!?!? I like Paula Deens shows, I'm gonna google this and see whats going on... hehehe

Ok...so I read a few things and I saw that a neighbor of hers has 22 chickens but I didn't see anything about who complained on her. But you can go to Paula Deen.com, see a video of her chickens and coop and leave a comment! I did and gave her the BYC website! hehehehe Lets all support her!!!

Here is a quote from one of the things I read!!! "Deen doesn't want to give up her chickens, according to her publicist Nancy Assuncao. "It would be really sad," Assuncao said. "She truly does love her birds. It is what it is and she'll do what she needs to do."

 

[KenK]

We have rented a vacation house on the river out there that I think is close to where Mrs. Deen lives. Most of the houses are on very large lots, I'd bet hers is.

 

[Toulle]

Paula Deen's chickens weren't battery chickens.
The chickens in question are retired "sentinel chickens" who formerly worked for Chatham County Mosquito control. Their job was to be posted overnight at set locations around the county. Mosquitos will feed on them, and two weeks later blood is drawn and sent off to a lab in Tifton, GA for analysis. Specifically, they are checked for Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) and up until this year were also tested for West Nile Virus (WNV)
These chickens do live in relatively small cages for the first 9-10 months of their lives, but are otherwise better cared for than most. Currently there are 51 hens at Mosquito control, 42 of which go out on rotation. That means that these 42 only go out "on duty" one night every 7 weeks. The rest of that time is spent in their cages inside an airy house with lots of food and water. It is a dull and dreary existence, but considering the service they perform there just isn't a better way. This house is also totally screened against mosquitoes. How many people can say that about their chickens' houses?
At the end of the season, usually November/December, the chickens are adopted out. We currently have still something like 12 golden comets and a similar number of Rhode Island reds that will need a good home this fall if anyone is interested. Call soon if you are in the area and want to adopt some.
As to the chicken with no beak, I don't know. We don't cut their beaks. I would say it was an injury the bird suffered while at Deen's place.
Paula Deen and her publicist kind of threw Chatham County Mosquito control under the bus. They made us look bad to make themselves look good. The least she could have done was said "adopted" rather than "rescued".

 

[RedBugPoultry]

Quote:
I did not know there was a program like this in the area. I am over across the river in S.C. and never heard of it. Of course I heard of Paula's plight with the chickens. Thank you for posting this as it is interesting and I will have to check around and see if anyone I know wants to adopt some chickens.

On another note, I do like Paula and wish her luck in keeping her "rescued" chicken!

 

[LeelooD]

Is it possible that Paula got some ex-batts in addition to the adopted sentinel chickens? Her PR person could very well be spinning it to make her sound more virtuous!