Urban Chicken Law Passed... Opinions?

[Theofire88]

I agree that the law will make it possible for more people to have chickens who shouldn't.  There are chickens owners in the country who should not be chicken owners as well as the city.  It really comes down to the person, whether in the city or country, to be a responsible owner and do research beforehand on what it takes to have chickens.  Chickens take much more care than most realize, and it's not a hobby for entertainment or to give the kids a responsibility.  It is then that the chicks or chickens suffer horribly, because of bad planning and wrong reason for getting them.  

Chickens themselves are not smelly, and don't like to get poop on their feathers.  Every living creature has to get rid of waste, and unless there is a system to keep things cleaned up there will be smell.  (People clean up their dog's poop, hampsters get their cages cleaned out, sewer systems to get rid of people waste,  etc.).  It is the owner's responsibility again to keep the number of chickens within reason to space and time for care.    

Most chickens are very smart, you have to be around them enough to realize it.   

Agreed, but with the convos I had with my friends, I am pretty sure the smell would be aweful... I am all for removing this law as, even though there are people who would properly care for their chickens, there are always those who just want them and do nothing to learn about them, and for the chicken's sake, for those poor few who would have bad lives due to one city law, I would revoke it.

It really depends on the breed of chicken (for intelligence) I see an extreme difference in my chickens intelligence levels, most likely due to breeding for certain purposes. Sometimes they are very smart and sometimes you can't actually belive how stupid they are ;p once our coop roof was leaking (we fixed in, no worries) and there was a dry spot where they would all easily fit, but they just say, in obvious distress, under the water...

Also, smell really does depend on the amount of cleaning the coop gets, we clean ours about once a week, but it still smells like something died D: housing type also effects it, we do not have free range chickens, we have them cooped at night and in a run or moveable cage by day. Chances are that people in the city will not be able to allow their chickens what REALLY qualifies as free range, and the smell will intensify, people have jobs and will not have as much time for chickens as those who work on their farm or spend lots of time there, lots of people who live in the city have all day jobs.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

If your coop smells like something died you may want to review coop maintenance, as normally a properly cared for coop has little smell, and should not be foul.

No matter what you wish to cite, be it animals, gardens,or motorcycles, there will be those who do not do everything they could to care for their possessions properly. Those people should certainly be corrected. Even without specific regulations for chickens, animal control agencies are responsible for the welfare of all animals, and can act if neglect is suspected. Barring everyone from having chickens because you don't think some will do it right seems quite draconian, and smacks of government intrusion.

X 2 - I found that assertion particularly amusing coming from someone who is questioning the abilities of others to properly care for and maintain chickens.

OP, can you please explain to us your idea of "rules" for determining who should or should not be allowed to keep chickens?

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

You do realize, don't you OP, that there are multiple members here on this very forum who have fought hard to prevent the prohibition of chickens in their locality and/or to have the ordinances changed to allow for them? These would be people who live within city limits. Perhaps you would like to discuss with them your concerns about their inability to properly care for their animals? Maybe they can even enlighten you a bit about your specific concerns and how they have been able to overcome them.

 

[seminolewind]

Thankyou for your participation

Staff