Interesting article, Grand Rapids enforcing BY Chickens ban.

[Arthur]

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2010/09/grand_rapids_will_begin_enforc.html

I love the line from the local egg producer.

 

[speckledhen]

LOL, of course, he'd say backyard chickens are a health hazard! It cuts into his business if folks are self sufficient and don't need his anemic commercial eggs! Yeah, it wasn't a backyard flock who caused the huge salmonella outbreak, now, was it?

 

[PineappleMama]

x2 Lame, very lame.

My question is whether it was cash, or just outright threats, that worked on this particular city.

 

[Cetawin]

hmmmm fools another city ran by fools. So, if you cannot keep them in the backyard, it is time to plant some grass in the garage and let them live there. The ordinance does not ban "indoor pets". There is no way I am giving up my birds for no politician who listens to big money twits...nope not happening.

I think that local egg producer should receive sporadic health hazard, animal cruelty and other complaints to the local health department, SPCA and investigative reporters...Just so his operation is inspected regularly.

 

[Ferrret]

Representatives of Herbruck's, a giant egg producer in Saranac, also testified, telling commissioners the backyard hens posed a health hazard to city residents.

Well of course they are a health hazard...

If you don't properly care for them, like clean up their poop, feed them right, and assure proper living conditions. If you don't care for cats, dogs, canary's, parakeets, rabbits, or other common pets, they become a health hazard too.

The ban is more than likely based on unfounded propaganda with some genuine concern from a few people.
Lets face it, we all know there are folks out there that don't know how to properly care for their dogs, let alone a five chickens. If keeping a ban up keeps chickens from becoming an abused fad animal, then so be it. There are a lot of chickens already that end up unwanted after a parent buys them on Easter to appease their children.​

 

[welsummerchicks]

I am not sure why we should get so angry about this or so accusative. What really does that do for the solution? I don't think coming here and reading these insults would make the Grand Rapids officials delighted to allow chickens there. And they are actually LIKELY to come here. This site is well known and often recommended as a resource. Would you be more likely to allow something if you were being called names? No.

Some communities are going to allow chickens and some not. I'm not sure this is always due to 'big time politicians' or 'dishonesty'. There seems to be a real bias here toward we should be allowed to keep chickens anywhere and if we can't, sneak 'em in or call the officials bad names. I'm not sure I really think that's the best way to deal with this issue. I'm also not at all sure, that chickens should be allowed everywhere, in every town.

GR is a very old fashioned town in an agricultural area of the state and currently, a very poor one.

It's STILL cheaper for people to buy eggs than to raise chickens, raising their own chickens for eggs isn't really the solution for people that are poor. How do you go to a feed store 25 mi away if you don't have a car and the bus doesn't go there? And how do you pay 13 dollars or more a bag for feed at a suburban feed store? You have to support the chickens for 4 months or more without any eggs being produced as well, and during times when they're out of lay.

Yes, the poor deserve good quality food but they can buy commercial eggs cheaper or health food store eggs for more, and still save money over having their own chickens. My family doesn't have to make a profit to get our real estate tax reduced, all we have to do is sell farm products. It suits us because of what our real estate tax is, for most people it is only a losing proposition.

And frankly, I've seen more than one study now in which commercial egg operations are cleaner than the other types. So I think those claims that backyard is better cleanliness-wise, are probably not supportable.

When you have chickens in your small yard, you have runoff of manure, no matter how tidy you are. That runoff goes into your neighbor's yard. This is how small properties are. I'm not sure the solution is keeping them in the garage all the time. These animals need space and sunshine and some grazing isn't bad for them either.