HELP! I need some advice on how to convice my city council!

[RoosterHenand3Chicks]

Hello chickens lovers! I live in a small town and I attened a city council meeting last night to request permission to keep a small flock of hens. Of course they said no, but they left me a loophole. They said that if I could prove that chickens are domesticated and can be kept as pets then I would be allowed to keep them. Also I would like to start a program in my community and surrounding areas for elderly and infirmed people to come to my yard and feed and hold my chickens. As a therapy of sorts. There are several people in town that have chickens and the city has not made these residents get rid of their birds.
I have 3 small children (hence my user name) and I do not want them to think that it is ok to break the law just because you want something. It wouldn't work so well as part of my attempt to teach them responsibilty!
My question to all of you is this, do you know of any good web sites that would actually say that chickens a sort of therapy? And also any web sites for pet chickens??

Thank you all so much! I/we would appreciate any help I can get. My 3 year old son is counting on and I quote "a white chicken wif silly feffers on his feets."

How can I stop fighting when I hear that everyday? haha

 

[alex]

well i can give you this site...

http://www.mypetchicken.com/whyChickens.aspx

it gives you 10 reasons why chickns are good to keep...
i hope this helps you...im really sorry if it doesn't ...god luck -alex-

 

[barg]

it is beyond me how anyone could prove that a chicken was not domesticated.
Here is the first line on dictionary.com under the word "chicken"

"a domestic fowl, Gallus domesticus, descended from various jungle fowl of southeastern Asia and developed in a number of breeds for its flesh, eggs, and feathers."

People keep parrots as pets that came strait from the wild, while chickens have been domesticated for centuries.

I have yet to figure out how to go about changing opinions that are contrary to common sense despite overwhelming evidence that suggests otherwise.

I can't site any particular source, but there is scientific proof that any pet can be therapeutic.

My best advice would be to look up as many sources as you can and just toss them down on their desk; Find the words "domesticated, and domestic in reference to chickens in as many sources as you can.

Maybe someone else on here has something more specific for you.

GL

 

[thndrdancr]

This is a forum of folks that have housechickens. They have some wonderful stories, I have spent hours reading it and still not caught up. Was heartbroken along with various owners when something would happen with their babies.

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/housechickens/

 

[SeaChick]

Hi-
We (myself and mostly my 10-year-old daughter) recently convinced our city council to change the law. The web site we used during our grassroots "Campaign", which has links to various documents we used to convince the city council, can be found at www.SoPoChickens.com. Click on chicken laws and then the archived site. (direct link http://www.sailzora.com/chickens.htm)
As the debate evolved, it came down to proving that we wanted to allow hens as pets, not in the normal sense of raising chickens. Hence our wording went from "allow backyard chickens" to "allow pet hens". In the end, we won. If you want to talk about it further, please feel free to email me. I do have links to additional news stories that aren't on the site, but dig around there first and see what you find, then put together a package for the city council and one for the press. The hardest part is making sure that the city councilors actually READ the information you give them, but certainly showing how "pet hens" have been so much in the news lately, and how communities ALL OVER AMERICA are suddenly changing laws to allow them, will be helpful.
Be prepared, it can be a long process. My daughter started this in May and the final vote wasn't until September. She attended -and presented at- seven BORING city council workshops and meetings during that time, did numerous press interviews (that doesn't hurt: call your local TV news and papers!) and walked neighborhoods with me talking to citizens and getting signatures. Of course, it was a great lesson for her in civics and in making a difference with a little effort....
Good luck-
Stacey