The Angry chicken eats healthy

The Angry Chicken likes these numbers when it comes to eating healthy by using non-factory produced eggs.

1/3 less cholesterol
1/4 less saturated fat
3/2 more vitamin A
Twice the omega-3 fatty acids
Three times more vitamin E
Seven times more beta carotene
Four to six times more vitamin D.

The positive side of having healthy and clean backyard chickens is now enumerated.
The article does say that many other towns in Utah have joined the backyard chicken movement.

Over the past few years, Utah has participated in a growing nationwide trend of poultry urbanization. Salt Lake, Provo, West Valley City, Spanish Fork and Orem are just some of the Utah communities that recently approved or considered ordinances allowing residents to keep backyard chickens.

The Angry chicken wants to eat healthier...but it is hard to do when illegal.

Angry Chicken wants a bike

A local Backyard chicken group has organized its THIRD Coop Tour to show people backyard chickens. This community outreach seems a good wayt o show people how they can go about starting their own chicken program. Sadly it pretty much has to already be legal to do something like this.

Walk it. Drive it. Or bike it. Alameda Backyard Chickens has teamed up once again with Bike Alameda to sponsor the Coop Tour 2011.

It's the third running of the event showcasing eight homes -- along a nearly four-mile trek -- that have a variety of chickens and chicken coops proudly displayed in their yards. Its purpose: to educate Island residents about raising and keeping backyard chickens.

"It's not as straight forward as it sounds. You have to have a safe, clean place for them to sleep. The coop has to be safe from predators like raccoons, aggressive neighborhood cats or chicken hawks," said Jacqueline Cooper, 48, a two-year member of Alameda Backyard Chickens and co-organizer of the tour. "I have an aviary coop, one woman has a tiki themed coop, another has a much more developed urban farmstead with meat rabbits and vegetable plots. So, it's to show people a variety of coops, chickens and answer any questions they may have about raising their own."

Angry Chicken finds his short legs make biking hard....so very angry.

Support your local angry chicken

The sad story of two chickens being hunted by the system. Angry chicken is angry.

On a quiet San Diego cul-de-sac, behind a house perched at the edge of a canyon and concealed by a thick canopy of trees, Oscar and Owl, fugitive hens, are in hiding.

They've been lying low since January, in a makeshift coop, a ramshackle pen nothing like the palatial wood frame setup they once called home in North Park. But it'll have to do for now. Oscar and Owl can't go back.

They've been banished.

I still cannot comprehend how the Smyrna town council would not look into this subject more then it did a few years ago...but we have pretty parks so all is well.

Return of the angry chicken

You have got to be plucking crazy to think backyard chickens are bad...or council members.



The angry chicken is not happy...be warned.

Don't tell the town council

It looks like Knoxville has followed Nashville and now allows backyard chickens.

Maybe it is about time?

Knoxville City Council members gave preliminary approval Tuesday night to urban chickens, goats to eat kudzu, and a new Kroger store in West Knoxville.
....
Finally, they voted to change a city ordinance to allow residents to keep chickens within the city limits. But council members cut the number of hens that would be allowed from 12 to 6.

They also allowed goats....dare I dream or is the council able to look outside of the box?

Chicken Wednesdays - ChickenCribs

One of the issues with chickens is the coop. I am in favor of nice mobile coops but am totally hammer/saw unskilled. Luckily this one company has fixed that for the most part.

As urban agriculture takes off, the number of city-dwellers raising their own chickens is also on the upswing. Building and maintaining the coop often presents a significant obstacle to chicken rearing, but ChickenCribs solve this by handily gathering all the necessary materials for a small, space-efficient chicken living space in an easy-to-assemble kit.

Think Ikea for chickens. Is that cool or what?

The article said "As urban agriculture takes off"...except in Smyrna that is.

Chicken Wednesdays in other towns

The fight for chickens goes forth in other towns

Chances are good if you attend any organized event in Bremerton in the coming weeks, you’ll see someone asking, “What the cluck?” or another chicken-related pun.

That is one the strategies being employed in the bid to get a chicken decriminalization initiative on the November general election ballot.

Supporters of the movement to allow up to four hens in Bremerton backyards were in view at the Armed Forces Parade on Saturday and planned to hit up commuters and outbound Mariner fans at the Bremerton ferry terminal on Wednesday.

Maybe soon in Smyrna.

Photo Gallery of their activities.

Chicken coop in backyard

Chicken coop in backyard of house in Los Angeles
Originally uploaded by peterbphoto1390

A Den of Iniquity if placed in Smyrna...think about it.

Fresh eggs

Fresh eggs
Originally uploaded by zbartrout

This could be the ill-gotten gains of criminal activity in Smyrna...think about it.

chicken coop cleaning

chicken coop cleaning
Originally uploaded by Andrew Ciscel

This is a crimal activity in most of Smyrna...think about it.

Chicken Wednesday - Sort of

A few articles from the last couple of days to attempt to show that backyard chickens are a viable and growing movement in America...just not here in Smyrna.

In Georgia the state is attempting to bypass resistant and stuck in the mud local governments and allowing sensible backyard agriculture.

The bill would allow homeowners to have chickens, milk goats and rabbits -- as well as sizable fruit and vegetable gardens -- so long as the goal would be to feed their families.

Local governments wouldn’t have much room to object, unless they have complaints about things like noise or odor that they're willing to take to court. Subdivision covenants would still apply, said Rep. Bobby Franklin (R-Marietta), sponsor of the “Georgia Right to Grow” bill.

Of course the locals are upset...local governments that is.

Officials representing cities and counties -- including Atlanta -- told members of the House Agriculture Committee that the bill would usurp local control.

“These decisions are best made locally,” said Tom Gehl, deputy director of governmental relations for the Georgia Municipal Association.

'best made locally' means local governments can look at the issue and quickly dismiss it like Smyrna did.

In North Carolina they are using the backyard chicken coops as an educational tool.

Chicken owners in Raleigh will open their coops on Saturday, May 15, for the fifth annual Hen-side the Beltline Tour d'Coop event to benefit Urban Ministries.

Participants will allow people into their backyards to view how they keep chickens in an urban environment.

In previous years, chicken owners have said they raise the animals to teach children where food comes from. Others have said they keep chickens because “chicken manure makes great compost” or because they want "to live a more sustainable life," according to the event’s Web site.

Our education is "this is how a government says 'no'".

In South Carolina they are struggling through the process of writing the laws.

A proposal to allow chicken keeping in Columbia is moving forward, but not without obstacles.

At a March 3 meeting, Columbia City Council gave initial approval to an ordinance that would allow up to four hens per household. However, some council members still want more detail in the law about how coops are built, fearing people won’t build safe, tidy enclosures for their birds — or, as the official March 3 motion puts it, “to ensure proper security and aesthetics.”

Council will also consider mandatory training for those who want to keep chickens.

I have to laugh. You need no training to bring a kid into this world, but a few chickens and they demand regulations and training...I'm in awe at the government mind set.

In Oregon the politicians have asked the people their views.

The debate has been hashed over in several Willamette Valley municipalities of late: Do we allow or not allow chickens?

Independence is bringing it to residents — or at least bringing the decision whether to debate the ordinance.

Residents have been asked to weigh in with their thoughts via utility bills or through an e-mail response.

"The city has sent out a ballot to the residents asking if the city council should consider changing the current development code to allow chickens in the city," said City of Independence Deputy City Recorder / Management Assistant Amanda Rice.

Of course the wording could say everything. The petition I will submit to the council was signed by most who when faced by the simple line "my neighbor can have three big hulking dogs that bark...why can I not have 5-6 chickens?" and as they looked at the chickens right in front of them being very quiet and happy the reality is that there was no real problem.

Pardon my high level of snark and sarcasm, but some days I should not address issues that deal with bureaucracies.

Chicken Wednesday

Hello and welcome to this weeks edition of Chicken Wednesday where a few articles will point out and hopefully dispel a few bad ideas about backyard chickens.

In Madison Wisconsin backyard chickens are good neighbors.

Janesville council members are considering changing Janesville’s ordinances to allow residents to keep a similar number of backyard chickens. Ordinances now allow chickens only in outlying areas.

People who have spoken out against the idea say chickens are noisy and smelly.

The Rettammells countered those arguments, as did two of their neighbors. The Rettammells’ chickens are more quiet than surrounding dogs, they said. Chickens don’t smell if their waste is taken care of, just like any other animal.

Even though the backyards in the Rettammells’ southwest Madison neighborhood are close together, some neighbors didn’t know chickens had moved in until the Rettammells told them.

I liked how some did not even know they were there until told....unlike howling dogs. That's being a good neighbor.

Other towns have joined the backyard chicken movement.

The Columbia, Missouri, City Council approved an ordinance that allows residents to raise chickens within city limits. In passing its urban-chicken ordinance, Columbia joins Springfield, Independence, St. Louis, Kirksville and Kansas City, Missouri.

While some are still fighting to get the ordinances changed.

Vickie Morgan thinks she won’t ruffle too many feathers with her crusade to bring backyard chickens to Burton.

The retired Grand Blanc school bus driver has asked the City Council to change an ordinance so she can raise hens on her half-acre that will allow hens to cluck around on Morgan’s half-acre yard on Springfield Street.

“I’ve just always wanted chickens,” said Morgan, who has lived in a suburb or city her whole life. “I’ve been told they’re like pets and just to have your own eggs — that’s what gets me, I guess.”

Morgan isn’t alone. People in other communities also are flocking to the idea of backyard chickens.

I'm one of the people "in other communities" who are flocking to the idea....but finding that bad ideas and rumors of the effect of backyard chickens are the greatest enemy to this growing movement.

Here is a video of some backyard chickens in an urban setting suffering the horrors of snow.

The first Chicken Wednesday of the year

From the folder "another town simply doesn't get it" we have four felonious chickens.

Margo Powers doesn't want to be "the chicken lady." The 34-year-old mother of three is frankly surprised that the four laying hens in her backyard are creating a squawk in her neighborhood.
....
Keeping urban chickens is a growing trend in a society increasingly interested in where its food comes from. The city of Sacramento is considering legalizing egg-laying chickens, drafting policies that are expected to go before the legislation committee in March.

Wait! The city is considering legalizing egg laying chickens... Hell. That's more I received from ours.

I wish her luck and all the other backyard chicken hooligans.

Depot Days meets Chicken Wednesday

Gerry Houser, his daughter, myself and my wife went to Depot Days with three of his chickens to stand as representatives of an idea for urban food production. With Pamphlets saying we were "Sustainable Smyrna Initiative" we had our chickens, we had our pamphlets, and we had fun.


The kids loved the chickens, and a few even asked to pet them and for the most part our reception when we showed people the petition was good. Our petition is not official as we are not trying to get it on the next ballot, but it is to show the council that Smyrna is not against the idea as must as they feel.

Dear Mayor Dover

In recent years many cities have adopted ordinances that allow residents to keep Backyard chickens. We, the people of Smyrna, would like the same opportunity..

Currently, Section 10-102 of the Town of Smyrna Municipal Code states that “No person shall keep or allow any animal or fowl enumerated in the preceding section to come within one thousand (1,000) feet of any residence, place of business, or public street.” We think it is unreasonable that residents may own dogs and cats without distance restrictions, but not a 4-pound bird that produces eggs for the family. Residents have brought up the issue of chicken keeping in the past. Given the growing popularity of urban hen keeping and our current economic situation, this request is likely to come up again and again until the Town of Smyrna finds a way to accommodate its citizens’ request.

We propose that the Town of Smyrna adopt codes allowing the raising of chickens within the town limits. Further we would suggest the following limitations on keeping chickens.

1. No roosters are to be kept.
2. No more than 6 hens are to be kept per household.
3. No chickens are to be kept closer than 25 feet to any adjacent building.
4. That chickens be kept to Smyrna’s existing noise, noxious fumes, and sanitary animal pens.

The weather was very overcast and there was a bit of wind so turnout was lower than I had hoped we would have. I felt real bad for the lady selling scarves across the lane. She shivered in her jacket the entire day and looked simply miserable and was one of the first to call it a day and leave.

In all Gerry and I talked to about 200-220 people and out of that 145 signed the petition. Some did not sign due to bad experiences with bad neighbors, and some simply were not sure on the whole subject. In all the response from those who signed from the young to the old was "the government should just stay out of our lives" (paraphrased).

We had old people sign it who mentioned their own fond memories of their youth and raising chickens and the younger people quickly saw the sensibility of the positives of having chickens compared to the foolishness of a neighbor that can have dogs, but not chickens. Several people returned dragging other family members to sign the petition because they thought it was such a good idea.

In all I was overjoyed at the positive feedback I received from the people. It makes me feel that Nashville allowing chickens and our petition we might have a chance. The last time I went in front of the council on this issue one of the reasons they did not look at it was that no local municipality allowed chickens. I'm happy to say that is no longer true.

We have local governments allowing it, and good community feedback saying that the idea has merit. I think this is an idea whose time has come people.

a loss for the chickens.

Article link

The freshest eggs

This is a step above backyard chickens. Your local restaurants having their own layers. That's so cool!

Reporting from Oakland - When the chickens arrived, clucking and pecking, in the rush of Saturday dinner hour -- Witch, Bootsy and five layers to be named later -- they transformed Pizzaiolo restaurant into the latest outpost on food's frontier.

Many urban eateries boast their own kitchen gardens, with mizuna and Mr. Stripey heirloom tomatoes sprouting on rooftops and busy street medians. Some farms even host top-flight dining rooms, where next season's prosciutto snuffles placidly nearby.

Of course banned here, but we are working on it.

Hopefully the cooling trend will continue and Depot Day will not be a scorcher like the last one I attended. I could use a nice cool one.

Chickens in the neighborhood.

Hi all
Remember when Gunner went before our town council over a year ago with a proposal to develop codes to allow chickens within town limits? At that time the council responded (besides a few wise cracks) that because no other communities around Smyrna had codes permitting chickens, Smyrna did not need codes allowing chickens.
Looks like the council is about to lose that argument, check out this article in today’s Tennessean. Nashville is well on its way to allow keeping fowl within city limits.

Co-ops Home to Urban Coops

Co-ops Home to Urban Coops is a good video to watch and enjoy.

Drudge supports us....sort of.

Front page of Drudge Report

Here is the link. Seems people are doing it against the wishes of bullheaded governments in Indiana. I find humor in this article as I came across it just as I am about to leave and meet up with some people to organize our efforts to allow chickens in Smyrna.

Viva la resistance.

Banner of Freedom