City Council to Meet This Week!

The city council is meeting this week.  One of the items to be disucssed will be the chicken ordinance.  They are meeting Thursday the 17th at 7pm.  Please come to support this effort!  The planning commission passed it with 3-2 votes, I have heard there is opposition from the city police department. 

Here is a link to the agenda for Thursday's meeting:  Agenda

"Where ever chickens are outlawed only outlaws will have chickens!"


Update 3/24/2011


Brigham City has not yet posted minutes from the city council meeting on the 17th.  I have not heard if a decision has been made and when it will go into effect.  If anyone has an update, please post below!

Eggs!

In celebrating the fact that my 6 lovely hens gave us 5 lovely eggs today I thought I would write a bit about one of the biggest advantages of having hens...EGGS!

A 5 egg day is a good thing

I have a mix of breeds, which gives me a mix of colors and size of eggs.  I get big white eggs from a leghorn (her name is Henrietta, we call her Hen).  Leghorns were specifically bread for egg production.  She's consistent and the eggs are large...I mean larger than the store's jumbo size eggs.  I get brown eggs from Rosie and Red (both Rhode Island Reds).  I get brown eggs from Wheezy, who is a Black Orpington.  I get skinny white eggs from Olga, our Polish hen...she doesn't lay often.  Her breed isn't a laying breed, and she's old...so we're just happy when she lays for us.  Last of all, I get green eggs from Sam (aka Sam-I-Am).  She is an Ameraucana or some call them easter eggers.  She has a beard and is quite pretty despite the fact that breeders consider them mutts as they are often a wide mix of different breeds.

I want to share a great resource I used when I was researching various breeds trying decide which kinds of chickens to get.  Different breeds come in different sizes, have different personality traits, cold hardiness characteristics, and egg production qualities.  Click on the following link for "Henderson's Handy-Dandy Chicken Chart".  You will be amazed to learn the differences.  Some people say not to mix breeds as they may not get along.  Maybe I'm lucky.  Mine get along...  Having said that, just like people, I recognize I have hens with very different personalities, some are bossy, some stick to themselves, some are sweeter and some are more flighty (scared).

Rosie checking out a load of dirt

Raising your own hens can give you an ongoing supply of eggs.  Just like much in life, the more you put into something the better the outcome.  If you feed your hens right, keep them with fresh water and keep them happy (including enough room to play) you will be very happy with their egg production AND the quality of the eggs (see link above-don't expect an egg a day from a breed that can't deliver).  Think of it this way, if you average 3 eggs a day, that is 21 eggs per week!  That is almost 2 dozen per week!  Not shabby.  One other factor that weighs heavy in egg production is the amount of light a hen receives.  Commercial producers have lights on their hens day and night.  I have read a bit about this and the excessive light tends to burn the hen out and shorten her life.  As the seasons change, egg production decreases during the winter months with shorter daylight hours.  Hens moult (they stop laying and loose feathers), this is a time of rejuvination for them...its like their system does a reboot...yes, I work in IT.  But they come out of this ugly time productive and healthier.  Spring and summer come, days are longer and hens will produce more eggs.

BackYardChickens.com

Since I've moved on to eggs and breakfast, you should know that the USDA just released a report earlier this year that states eggs are 14% lower in cholesterol and more vitamin D than previously thought.  So enjoy!

Please support the cause- Public Hearing tonight (Tuesday 3/1/11)

Tonight's the night for the 2nd and probably final public hearing with the city Planning Commission.  My guess is final touches will be put on the draft code (see previous blog post), public input will be allowed (pro and con) and then it will go to a vote by the planning commission.  Unfortunately, my personal life calendar and my work calendar did not interface in my mind and I will be unable to attend the meeting because I will be doing a phone system upgrade at work.  I have heard rumors that the police will be at the meeting to speak against having a code.  They probably perceive them as nuisance animals.  Unfortunately that is a misconception.  Dogs are noisier and smellier, cats can seldom be kept only in an owners yard.  I just think that chickens are not a big threat. 

The ordinance should be welcomed by city personnel because it gives them the capacity to control the households with chickens based on rules of the ordinance.  Without it they are stuck with a vaguely written code (see portion of city code below) which I easily interpreted as allowing home owners to possess them.

TITLE 4. ANIMALS AND FOWL

1

Chapter 4.01. Definition of Terms.

Terms set out in this chapter have the meaning designated when used in this title unless otherwise

indicated by the context.

1. Animal. Any and all types of livestock, dogs and cats, and all other subhuman creatures, both

domesticated and wild, male and female, singular and plural.

2. Animal Boarding Establishment. Any establishment that takes in animals and boards them for

profit.

3. Animal Grooming Parlor. Any establishment maintained for the purpose of offering cosmetology

services for animals at a profit.

4. Animal Shelter. Any facility owned and operated by a governmental entity or any animal welfare

organization which is incorporated within the State of Utah for the purpose of preventing cruelty to animals

and used for the care and custody of seized, stray, homeless, quarantined, abandoned, or unwanted dogs,

cats, or other domestic animals.

5. Animals at Large. An animal shall be considered to be “at large” when it is off the owner’s

property and not under immediate control, by means of a durable restraint device capable of keeping the

animal restrained; OR an animal that is on the property of the owner and not securely confined by a leash,

building, fenced area, or appropriate transport device.

6. Bite. Any actual puncture, tear, or abrasion of the skin inflicted by the teeth of an animal.

7. Cat. Any age feline, of the domestic type.

8. Cattery. Land or building used in the keeping of three (3) or more cats, six (6) months or older.

9. Dog. Any Canis Familiaris over six (6) months of age. Any Canis Familiaris under the age of six

(6) months is a puppy.

10. Domesticated Animals. Animals accustomed to living in or about the habitation of man, including

but not limited to cats, dogs, rabbits, fowls, horses, swine, goats, sheep, mules, donkeys, lamas, and cattle.

11. Government Working Dog. A dog trained to assist officials of government agencies in law

enforcement exercises.

12. Guide Dog. A dog trained and certified by a nationally recognized training establishment to assist

persons that are “visually-impaired,” “hearing-impaired,” or ”mobility-limited.”

13. Kennel. Land or buildings used in the keeping of three (3) or more dogs older than four (4)

months.

14. Livestock. Any normally domesticated animal that is ordinarily kept on a farm, such as cattle,

swine, sheep, goats, mules, burros, horses, geese, ducks, turkeys, llamas, etc.

15. Owner. Any person or persons, firm association or corporation or other entity owning, keeping

or harboring the animal in question, or any person having charge, care, custody or control of such animal.

16. Pet. Any animals ordinarily permitted in Brigham City residences and kept for the company or

pleasure of Brigham City residents, such as domesticated dogs, domesticated cats, and domesticated birds.

Pets also include tropical fish, amphibians, reptiles, or invertebrates of a number that do not constitute a health

hazard or nuisance, and can be safely and humanely kept in aquariums, cages, or enclosures, the cumulative

size of which shall not exceed fifty (50) cubic feet per household. Pets shall not include exotic, pygmy, or

dwarf variations of animals defined as either “wild animals” or “livestock,” including but not limited to, miniature

horses, pygmy goats, and Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs, notwithstanding that such animals may be kept as

household pets by residents of other communities.2

Public Input at Next Planning Commission Meeting

The Brigham City Planning Commission is meeting Tuesday,  March 1st at 6:30pm.  This meeting is open to the public and will be held in the city council chambers (up stairs) at city hall.  I believe in this meeting they will be putting the final touches on the code.  If you would like a peak at the DRAFT of the code please click here: Brigham City Chicken Ordinance DRAFT.  This is a PDF document so you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view it.

Since there is discussion in this ordinance about the number of chickens limited to the lot size, I thought I'd give you some resources on chicken tractors.  I know that is an odd sounding term, but it is infact the name of chicken housing that is portable.  These can be used in large enterprises and drug around a farm by a ...yes, tractor.  Or they can be small enough and built on wheels that people can keep a few hens in their back yard and give the chickens fresh grass to eat without destroying their lawn.  Just roll the tractor a few feet away each day or two to a new spot of ground and you are good to go.

Two resources (besides googling for images of 'chicken tractors') that I have found for getting an idea of what these devices are like are the following links:

• http://www.backyardchickens.com/chicken-coop-tractor.html
• http://home.centurytel.net/thecitychicken/tractors.html

Ordinances in Cities Nearby

I post the following link because you may have seen it in the news. 
Riverdale rejects chicken ordinance - ksl.com

One thing to keep in mind, when a city rejects an ordinance defining chickens as being allowed in residential areas some people will still have them...either out of ignorance, or because the existing code does not specifically prohibit them or they go underground and if there are no complaints from neighbors and the city does nothing about it.  I don't advocate doing what is prohibited by your city.  In Brigham City, the current code specified "Domesticated Fowl" under the definition of a pet.  When I first got my chickens I looked at the code and made my decisions so as to be in alignment with how our ordinances were written.

Here is a matrix of Utah communities ordinances to show how cities are stacking up in regard to urban chickens:

Utah Communities Backyard Chicken Ordinances
City	Allowed	Qty	Roosters?	Notes
Layton	Yes	6	No	Quantity depends on lot size
Moab	Yes	12	No
Ogden	No
Provo	Yes	6	No	Quantity depends on lot size
Riverdale	No
Roy	No
Salt Lake City	Yes	15	No	No lot size restriction
Salt Lake County	Yes	8-10	No	Depends on residential zoning area.  50 allowed in A-1 agricultural areas
Tremonton	Yes			Tremonton was rewriting code last year to allow chickens in all residential neighborhoods.  I have not seen the written code yet.
Woods Cross	Yes	8	No	Quantity depends on lot size

Just added:
Spanish Fork    Yes           6           No                Quantity depends on lot size


If you would like to download the specific codes that I have please click here.  You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the downloaded document.

If you have specific codes for other utah communities, I would love to have a copy.  Please contact me and I will add them to the list.

Photo Credit: Tracy Halladay

Housing Your Chickens

I thought I'd write a little about how to house your chickens.  Chickens don't require much and can take up very little space.  Plus, their house and run can be made to compliment your yard.  There are a few things that your chickens need to be happy and healthy.  Below are guidelines, you can find more specifics online.  check out the resources on the right side of this page.

1. Hen house- an enclosed area with roosts where your chickens sleep. - Minimum 2 square feet per bird.  Most of the chicken droppings happen at night so be careful not to put roosts above and below each other.
2. Nest boxes- Usually inside the hen house or built on the adjacent to the hen house with access from the outside. - about 18 square inches per bird, one box for every 3 birds (They'll share)
3. Run- this is the play area where the chickens spend time while they are awake. - at least 5 square feet per bird

These structures should be made to fit where you live.  In Utah, we get quite a bit of snow in winter and some wind.  We want to protect the hens from that.  Some areas have preditors that dig and can get into the chickens by digging under the sides of the structure.

I'll be the first to admit that I am not very skilled at building things.  The first structure I built was a mobile "Chicken Tractor".  A Chicken Tractor is a coop/run combo that can be moved around the yard or garden. This 'A' frame coop had a house and nest boxes in one end and the run in the other.  It was 8 feet long by 4 feet wide.  The hen house was 3 feet long and the run 5 feet.  The chickens were happy and comfortable.  If you feel uneasy building something yourself you can find sources online for similar structures.  One site that was recently recommended to me is http://www.thelittlechickenfactory.com/.  Their tractors look lightweight, easy to move and well built.

I made my tractor out of scrap wood and it lasted about 3 years until I decided I wanted something a little better looking in my yard.  Again, I have virtually no skills in carpentry so I wanted something easy and inexpensive.  I saw many hen houses online that looked like a childs play house.  I thought that looked nice in the yard.  One spring I ran into a play house kit at Lowes.  I showed my wife and she agreed it was attractive.  The price was more than I was ready to spend so I kept looking.  Later that fall we stumbled on it again at Lowes and it was on closeout for $75.  I couldn't buy the materials for that price!  We took the kit home and I built it and painted it.  On the left and right sides the walls have windows...I turned one wall upside down when building it and that window became a door for the chickens to enter their run.

I converted the 'A' frame tractor I built into a run and butted it up against the side of the newly built hen house and now my hens had more space and I had a hen house which was easier to clean AND it was better looking in my back yard.  The chickens don't need much headroom so they were plenty happy.  Now to clean the run, all I did was tip it up on its end away from the hen house and shovel out whatever there was and dump it in my compost. 

The aging 'A' frame was not holding up after 3 years of use and I decided I really wante a run large enough for me to stand in.  This would make run cleaning easier and would improve the yard look another notch.  So I began scouring the internet looking for ideas.  I took my family and we attended Salt Lake City's Tour De Coops in the spring.  This is a self guided tour that you take and visit yards of fellow chicken owners in Salt lake City.  Yes, Salt lake City allows chickens.  Their ordinance is quite liberal as well!  We saw many beautiful chicken houses and had a great day.  Now, at this point I decided to solicit the help of my best friend who spent many years as a carpenter and home builder.  I drew out on paper roughly what I wanted to build and we took a shopping trip to Home Depot.  We built it in about one afternoon.  It ran about $200 for the materials.

The options are endless and you can do something that fits your yard and what you want to accomplish.

Here is a list of housing resources that may be of interest to you:

USU Extension Pamphlet on Backyard Chicken Housing

http://www.thelittlechickenfactory.com/

http://www.omlet.co.uk/ (Great Britain)

Google image search for chicken coops

http://www.backyardchickens.com/coopdesigns.html

http://www.ezcleancoops.com/

http://www.henspa.com/

Planning Commission Meeting

The Brigham City Planning Commission met last night (2/1/2011) and had its first public comment discussion on a city ordinance to specifically allow chickens within residential zoning.  My son and I were the only public who attended.

The commission had reviewed many city ordinances from cities along the Wasatch front who allow chickens and are taking the codes to build their own ordinance.  They spent most of the time going through each section coming up with wording that was agreeable to all.  They will hold an additional public comment meeting on March 1st.

Commissioner Larry Jensen was the only one to say he was opposed to an ordinance.  He said he feels they are farm animals and should not be allowed in the city. 

Items in the ordinance will be:

• Quantity of chickens (hens only) dependant on lot size
• size of coop
• set back from property line
• upkeep
• registration (per household not per hen...once every 2 years)

This is a step in the right direction to protect the city and those who have chickens. 

I would like to see other chicken owners get involved in the public discussion to provide constructive input.  Some things that people may not understand are:

• Chickens are quieter than dogs
• they don't roam the neighborhood like cats
• they require very little room for habitation
• they are inexpensive to feed and care for.
• they are domesticated animals (Gallus domesticus)
• they have been domesticated for about 8000 years (see Barbara West, Ben-Xiong Zhou, Did chickens go North? New evidence for domestication, Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 15, Issue 5, September 1988, Pages 515-533, ISSN 0305-4403, DOI: 10.1016/0305-4403(88)90080-5.
  (http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=624516)
• receiving eggs or meat from chickens is a good lesson for families to understand where their food comes from and what is required to provide it.
• historically families had chickens (often known as yardbirds) to provide for needs of the family.