BYC in the Wall Street Journal this morning!

[Blondie]

There is a front page article in the WSJ about keeping backyard chickens and they mentioned BYC! Here's the article. Is the lady featured a member here?

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124761681413642361.html#mod=rss_whats_news_us

 

[purelypoultry]

Wisconsin Public Radio did an hour call in session on back yard chickens hosted by the Mad City Chickens. I got to call in as I was on my way to the Jefferson County fair to do some poultry judging. There were 30 pairs of broiler chickens and 27 pairs of roaster chickens!

 

[Buff Hooligans]

So cool! I love the Wall Street Journal, and this article just proves how forward-thinking it is. (IMHO)

 

[damselfish]

Ms. Frohnmayer, who lives outside Salem, often finds her own springer spaniel sizing up chickens on her neighbor's farm. It's only natural, she says, for her dog to want to eat her neighbor's birds. "Are they going to put my dog down when it eats one of their chickens?" she says

This lady sounds like she doesn't have a clue. She lives outside the city, next to a farm, and she thinks her dog should be able to kill livestock without repercussions. Earlier in the article, she's quoted as saying "Get a farm" to those who want to keep chickens in the city. I have three words for her also: Get a condo.

On the other hand, the next person they spoke of had replaced birds for a neighbor after the birds had gotten loose, wandered into their (the quoted person's) yard, and been eaten. Now that goes the other way...in this case the chicken person was in the wrong.

A very interesting article showing some of the conflicting issues...thanks for posting it.

Edited: because my "on the other hand" paragraph was totally unclear.​

 

[Uppity Peon]

I think sensible people can agree that animals that wander off their property are at risk. Sensible people can also agree that dogs can be every bit as noisy and disturbing as chickens. But Salem allows people to keep dogs.

 

[juliect]

Quote:
Sorry Uppity, but I am going to have to disagree with you. "dogs can be every bit as noisy and disturbing as chickens"...no...no...no. Dogs can be FAR FAR more noisy & disturbing than chickens. I love my 3 dogs, but they drive me nuts at times. 3am this morning I was threatening to put my dogs in the coop & bring the chickens in the house...at least chickens SLEEP at night!

 

[Poupoulles]

I dont understand how you can have pot bellied picgs but not chickens. That is where I think they will fall over. Because in the end, potbellied pigs are just fancy bacon, just as a polish hen is a fancy sunday dinner. You cant argue for one without the other...

I love the line: get a condo...

 

[AZ Heat]

One online network, BackyardChickens.com, has 35,000 members, up from about 10,000 a year ago. Members there solicit tips on how to keep illegal coops hidden from nosy neighbors...

That statement makes this website sound so devious...

 

[Rillion]

I've been trying like crazy to post a comment in response to this article, but the WSJ site won't let me. It keeps claiming I need to verify my account when I've just clicked the little "verify" link in the email they send you. Aargh!

This story didn't sound too positive about backyard chickens, to be honest....not that any of the arguments presented which oppose it are any good.

"We don't want any new pets around here!" Oh, so conformity in pets is something to be sought after? Better chase out all of the pot-bellied pigs, ferrets, hedgehogs, chinchillas, and parrots then. Let's restrict it to dogs and cats only-- pets that "normal" people own!

"Neighbors are worried that property values will drop." Okay, but is there any actual evidence that they do? If not, I guess they can stop worrying then.

"What happens if my dog kills a chicken?" Depends on where he does it. Your yard? It's the chicken's own fault. My yard? It's your dog's fault. Seems pretty cut and dry to me.

"Go live on a farm!" Oh, go live in a $5,000/mo New York apartment-- and learn some history. Dogs were domesticated for hunting and farm work too, you know. How much work has Fifi been doing lately to compensate for yapping 24 hours a day and crapping on my lawn? Heh, I guess "yap and crap" sums up the entirety of your dog's existence, doesn't it?

Whew! *wipes forehead* So many dumb objections, so little time.....

 

[Uppity Peon]

Quote:
That statement makes this website sound so devious...

Hahaha! We're just a bunch of subversives!

Quote:
True. At least chickens are generally quiet until the crack of dawn. I for one would much prefer the rooster crowing at at 5 AM to the dog barking its head off at 1 AM.