Our gals are MOVIE STARS! Local TV cable program on backyard chickens

[tandemrx]

Back in December Whitewater WI approved an ordinance amendment to allow backyard chickens - a project I worked on for some 5 months working with the city.

This past month our local city cable TV station (Charter station 990 locally) produced a really good program featuring an interview with our neighborhood services director and me and also featuring a tour of our backyard chicken set up. It is playing daily at 7a.m. and 6 p.m. at least till the end of the month if you get the local whitewater cable TV station. (and of course I plugged BYC!).

The City archives these programs on their multimedia section of the city web site, so if you aren't local you can watch the program online at your convenience.

It could be a valuable program for those who are going through the same process - I think the program turned out really well considering it was produced rather on the fly and we didn't really get through all the planned interview questions on the topic. Something people might want to provide to their city decision makers. (of course I provided MadCity Chickens documentary to our city and a couple of the decision makers watched it and I think it had a good impact).

So, if you have 45 minutes to kill and want to see a pretty good chicken program . . . .

www.whitewater-wi.gov/multimedia/seniors-park-bench/2451-seniors-in-the-park-park-bench-june-2013

 

[PinkE]

That was a very nice program, and your backyard set up is great, cute gals and a sweet coop, Thanks for sharing...

 

[tandemrx]

Thanks,
I do think the program speaks to the notion of working with the City rather than trying to find loopholes or trying to push it through - the city was mostly thankful for me doing a lot of research on the topic and being able to respond to all the questions and concerns. But it wasn't a slam dunk by any means and we had detractors.

Still most thankful to Jamie Bouvier on her article on backyard chicken ordinances that really educated me on the minutia of the issue and thankful that our University Cooperative Extension (Wisconsin) had such great poultry resources and staff to help out with info.

I think you have to be willing to go along with some of the concerns being valid, but that with proper education on the issues and making a good ordinance that it will obviate neighbor or city concerns.

While I did seek my neighbors permission prior to getting chickens, and I think it is a great way to build good neighbor relations, I did successfully lobby to not have neighbor permission required in the ordinance (so as not to have one curmudgeon be the decider). Plus, I always stated that if we had a good ordinance that gave the city mechanisms to fix problems if they arise due to poor chicken husbandry, then it was a mute point to require neighbor permission.

(
www.whitewater-wi.gov/multimedia/seniors-park-bench/2451-seniors-in-the-park-park-bench-june-2013)