- Dec 26, 2008
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Residents seek OK to keep backyard chickens
By Pete Wicklund
Journal Times
Saturday, January 3, 2009 11:59 PM CST
CALEDONIA Chickens have a place in the backyard as well as the barnyard, promoters of a proposal to allow hen raising in the village say.
A group of residents, who operate the Web site Caledonia Chickens, have asked the village government to change rules to allow residents to keep a limited amount of chickens in an enclosure to provide a more sustainable lifestyle as they take care of our kitchen waste and provide compost for our garden and eggs for our table.
Patrick Flynn, one of the chicken advocates, said he and fellow fowl supporters want a village ordinance that would allow for keeping up to six hens and a clutch of chicks for up to eight weeks at single-family properties as long as: no roosters are kept; that no slaughtering of chickens takes place; that the hens are kept in a covered enclosure or a fenced enclosure at all times; and that the enclosure be no closer than 25 feet from a residence or adjoining property.
Current village ordinances require that a property owner have at least 5 acres before they can be allowed to raise chickens. But Flynn, who lives at 4124 Mona Park Road, said that doesnt make sense as property owners only need 2 acres to keep a horse.
Gregory Shaver Journal Times Mike and Tracy Bernhardt are seen with their chickens on Saturday at their home in Caledonia. The Bernhardts, along with other Caledonia residents, are pushing to change the villages ordinances on chickens.
The proposal is tentatively scheduled to come before the Village Boards Legislative and Licensing Committee some time this month. Kevin Wanggaard, a village trustee and the committee chairman, said he did not yet have a date yet for the meeting when the issue will be brought up for discussion.
Wanggaard said he has a lot of questions and concerns about the proposal, but said he is not dismissing the idea.
Its always been my practice that we dont rush trough things, Wanggaard said. When we take a look at something, we try to take a look at all the angles.
*
Still, Wanggaard predicted there was bound to be some opposition among residents to the proposal.
For his part, Wanggaard said he had questions about things like what happens to the chicken waste, noise and what the liability would be if a dog got loose into a yard where chickens are kept.
Mike and Tracy Bernhardt are already illegally keeping chickens at their 1-acre property at 1807 4 Mile Road. They have kept seven chickens for a little more than a year since they were chicks, and Tracy said they consider the birds their pets.
Amelia, Francesca, Daisy, Ginger, Lavender, Sara and Clara are wonderfully entertaining, Tracy Bernhardt said. Our friends and relatives all enjoy coming to see them and they dont mind the fresh eggs we offer them either.
Our girls provide eggs for our table, they eat our kitchen scraps and their litter goes into our compost pile and then onto our garden. Its the ultimate in recycling!
Bernhardt said that by keeping the hens in uncluttered conditions you can see and taste the difference in the eggs.
Flynn said that by limiting the number of hens and prohibiting roosters, noise should not be an issue. Bernhardt said that the hens lay eggs without roosters, although the eggs cannot produce chicks unless they are fertilized by a rooster.
Flynn said raccoons would be more of a threat than dogs, but said that properly constructed enclosures should protect hens from predators domestic and wild alike.
The chicken backers say other communities have adopted rules for keeping chickens, including Madison, Green Bay and even Chicago and Minneapolis.
As they await to make their case to village officials, Bernhardt said the chicken backers are collecting signatures in favor of the proposal at
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/allow-chickens-in-caledonia-wi
On the Net:
Caledonia chickens:
http://www.caledoniachickens.com
Village of Caledonia:
http://www.caledoniawi.com
By Pete Wicklund
Journal Times
Saturday, January 3, 2009 11:59 PM CST
CALEDONIA Chickens have a place in the backyard as well as the barnyard, promoters of a proposal to allow hen raising in the village say.
A group of residents, who operate the Web site Caledonia Chickens, have asked the village government to change rules to allow residents to keep a limited amount of chickens in an enclosure to provide a more sustainable lifestyle as they take care of our kitchen waste and provide compost for our garden and eggs for our table.
Patrick Flynn, one of the chicken advocates, said he and fellow fowl supporters want a village ordinance that would allow for keeping up to six hens and a clutch of chicks for up to eight weeks at single-family properties as long as: no roosters are kept; that no slaughtering of chickens takes place; that the hens are kept in a covered enclosure or a fenced enclosure at all times; and that the enclosure be no closer than 25 feet from a residence or adjoining property.
Current village ordinances require that a property owner have at least 5 acres before they can be allowed to raise chickens. But Flynn, who lives at 4124 Mona Park Road, said that doesnt make sense as property owners only need 2 acres to keep a horse.
Gregory Shaver Journal Times Mike and Tracy Bernhardt are seen with their chickens on Saturday at their home in Caledonia. The Bernhardts, along with other Caledonia residents, are pushing to change the villages ordinances on chickens.
The proposal is tentatively scheduled to come before the Village Boards Legislative and Licensing Committee some time this month. Kevin Wanggaard, a village trustee and the committee chairman, said he did not yet have a date yet for the meeting when the issue will be brought up for discussion.
Wanggaard said he has a lot of questions and concerns about the proposal, but said he is not dismissing the idea.
Its always been my practice that we dont rush trough things, Wanggaard said. When we take a look at something, we try to take a look at all the angles.
*
Still, Wanggaard predicted there was bound to be some opposition among residents to the proposal.
For his part, Wanggaard said he had questions about things like what happens to the chicken waste, noise and what the liability would be if a dog got loose into a yard where chickens are kept.
Mike and Tracy Bernhardt are already illegally keeping chickens at their 1-acre property at 1807 4 Mile Road. They have kept seven chickens for a little more than a year since they were chicks, and Tracy said they consider the birds their pets.
Amelia, Francesca, Daisy, Ginger, Lavender, Sara and Clara are wonderfully entertaining, Tracy Bernhardt said. Our friends and relatives all enjoy coming to see them and they dont mind the fresh eggs we offer them either.
Our girls provide eggs for our table, they eat our kitchen scraps and their litter goes into our compost pile and then onto our garden. Its the ultimate in recycling!
Bernhardt said that by keeping the hens in uncluttered conditions you can see and taste the difference in the eggs.
Flynn said that by limiting the number of hens and prohibiting roosters, noise should not be an issue. Bernhardt said that the hens lay eggs without roosters, although the eggs cannot produce chicks unless they are fertilized by a rooster.
Flynn said raccoons would be more of a threat than dogs, but said that properly constructed enclosures should protect hens from predators domestic and wild alike.
The chicken backers say other communities have adopted rules for keeping chickens, including Madison, Green Bay and even Chicago and Minneapolis.
As they await to make their case to village officials, Bernhardt said the chicken backers are collecting signatures in favor of the proposal at
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/allow-chickens-in-caledonia-wi
On the Net:
Caledonia chickens:
http://www.caledoniachickens.com
Village of Caledonia:
http://www.caledoniawi.com
