I invited this fortune teller to my picnic and....

Other Muncie Municipal codes worth revisiting:
Sec. 95.07. Picnics.
No public picnic shall be held in any park without a written permit of the superintendent, in which shall be designated the place where the picnic is to be held. Picnics permitted for Sunday and secular schools must always be attended by teachers and masters of the schools, who will be held personally responsible for all infringements of the rules set out in this chapter by the participants. No person shall intrude upon a picnic without the consent of those in charge of it, nor disturb any picnic within a park. Parties holding picnics in parks must clean up the ground that has been occupied by them and remove all paper and litter.
(Code 1968, § 95.07)
Cross reference—Penalty, § 10.99.

Sec. 95.08. Sleeping on benches; gambling.
No person shall be allowed to sleep on the benches of any park, or to beg, tell fortunes, or play at any game of chance or with any instrument of gaming in the park. Gambling and playing cards in any form are prohibited in any park.
(Code, § 95.08)
Cross reference—Penalty, § 10.99.

Muncie Urban Chickens = Front Page News

The July 3 edition of The Star Press published this story about our backyard chickens on its front page. The switchboards here at Urban Bird headquarters have really lit up! We are happy to report that we have received an overwhelmingly positive response about all this. Michelle Kinsey did a wonderful job with the research and interview. Thanks again Michelle!

It is interesting to consider that of the 70+ comments left on the online version of the story, only a handful of them were negative. Typically, the comments on this site quickly degrade into personal and petty tirades, but any negativity here was rather vague and toothless.

So what is the next step? To get the ordinance changed, the Muncie City Council must introduce and pass a new ordinance that replaces the old one. Then the Mayor has to sign it. Urban Bird Muncie has already proposed and distributed what we think is a sensible replacement ordinance. Read it here. Please let us know what you think.

Backyard chickens book roundup

Below are a couple books on the topic at hand. Links lead you to the Muncie Public Library catalog.

Keeping Chickens with Ashley English: All You Need to Know to Care for a Happy, Healthy Flock
Published this year.




Barnyard in Your Backyard







City Chicken
Not very informative. (Not meant to be.)






This book is not available at Muncie Public Library, but some of it is available online.
Chickens in Your Backyard





What other good urban chicken-keeping books are out there?

Chickens in Bloomington

The Bloomington, Indiana city council passed legislation 3 1/2 years ago that allows limited chicken keeping in the city. They allow up to five chickens per household, permitted only after city inspection and consent of adjacent neighbors. This video suggests that there are very few troubles with this arrangement.

Cleveland's chickens and bees

Read this good article on how the urban farming situation in Cleveland is developing as a result of last year's famed legislation.

Brown says that in the first year of the “chicken and bee” ordinance in 2009, there were 14 applications for permits or licenses, mainly for backyard chicken coops, and only two complaints ...– both regarding the keeping of pigs, and none about chickens or bees.

Also keep in mind the similarities (writ small) that Muncie has with the "rust belt" cities of Cleveland, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, each of which are advancing strong urban gardening/farming programs that make use of increasing available space.

Like other cities, notably Detroit, confronted with rampant home foreclosures and vacant parcels, hundreds of acres of urban land are lying fallow. In the 77-square-mile area within city limits, there are currently 18,000 vacant lots totaling 3,500 acres. While the primary goal is neighborhood redevelopment – including an emphasis on arts and entertainment and building on anchor institutions such as the Cleveland Clinic and universities—the city has also launched several initiatives to try to encourage activity despite dwindling population and stalled private-sector activity.

Among them: stabilizing vacant lots with urban gardens and native plantings, demolition of structures while maintaining foundations to allow the construction of greenhouses, allowing sideyard expansion, and using vacant lots for geo-thermal wells to heat neighboring structures. But perhaps the most interesting effort is re-writing zoning to allow urban farming—dramatically reducing setback requirements for chicken coops and beehives on empty parcels, and clarifying the process for allowing such uses.

Sectors of Muncie are already thinking along these lines, including community groups like North Street Urban Garden, Urban Light Community Church, Muncie Delaware Clean and Beautiful, Department of Stormwater Management, and others, but we still have a long way to go.

Welcoming Chickens Back to Town

(Read/download/print the full version of this report here. )

Let’s Allow Responsible Chicken Keeping in Muncie

“A chicken ain't nothin' but a bird.” --Emmett “Babe” Wallace

Why Chickens?

As it stands, Muncie city ordinance expressly forbids keeping chickens within city limits (see Sec. 90.19).

But Muncie is changing. The economic crisis has put considerable strain on local residents' food budgets. Perhaps not coincidentally, the health of Delaware County citizens ranks 81 (out of the 92 Indiana counties). Just under a third of adults in the county are obese. However, more and more Muncie residents are taking matters into their own hands by growing food on their own property or in community gardens. Keeping chickens goes right along with this trend, a small step toward a healthier and more economically resilient Muncie.

We hope that the city will replace the ban on chickens with a reasonable set of rules that allows and limits chicken keeping within city limits. Here’s why:

•Keeping chickens is an affordable way to maintain a stable source of healthy food,

•Fresh eggs are a healthy protein supplement to garden vegetables,
•Chickens are significantly quieter, cleaner, and less potentially dangerous than other pets like dogs and cats,
•Keeping chickens is a great way for kids to learn where their food comes from,
•Excrement from a small chicken flock can be an asset for home gardening/composting,

•Chicken keeping in Muncie would connect the city to the national urban chicken trend,

• Keeping chickens is a productive and positive way to put our ample unused urban space to use.

Chicken Keeping is a National Trend

More and more people are asking where their food comes from. The local food movement started years before Michelle Obama started her healthy gardening initiative, but her work has prioritized these issues. Cities, including Muncie, are redesigning their infrastructure, their laws, their governments, and their neighborhoods in more cost-effective and energy-conscious ways. These trends suggest that it is an opportune time for Muncie to relax the restrictions against keeping chickens. If we do, we will join the company of these 140 cities, all of which have passed ordinances that specifically allow keeping chickens within city limits. That list does not include cities like Chicago and Indianapolis which have no ordinances that mention chicken keeping.

Arguments against chickens

“Chickens are smelly.”

Dogs and cats produce a significantly greater quantity and more offensive waste than a small flock of chickens. Just as it is any pet owner’s responsibility to clean up after their pets in their yard, the same would apply if their pets were chickens.

“Chickens are noisy.”

Roosters are quite noisy and will almost certainly disturb close neighbors. Many cities that allow chickens have a “no roosters” measure written into the code. This is a sensible and enforceable rule. A small group of hens make significantly less noise than a small dog.

“No one wants chickens running around their neighborhood.”

Agreed. However, this is hardly a concern. Sec. 90.21 of the current Muncie municipal code already forbids chickens and other fowl from “running at large” in the city. This reasonable measure would not need to change. No chicken keeper would want any chickens to escape. The possibility of a feral chicken population would be impossible, as no roosters would be permitted (see “Chicken are noisy”).

“If you want chickens, go buy a farm.”

If chickens shouldn’t belong in a city because they are “farm animals,” nor should edible gardens belong in a city because they are “farm plants.” Keeping a small number of chickens can provide a family with plenty of fresh eggs in the same way that a small garden can provide a family with fresh fruits and vegetables.

“There is not enough space for chicken keeping in a city.”

Cities with significantly higher population densities than Muncie support and maintain a significant number of chicken keepers. New York City, with one of the highest population densities in the world, allows responsible chicken keeping within city limits. Closer to home, major population centers like Indianapolis, Cleveland, Chicago, Toledo, and St. Louis also allow chicken keeping.

“What about the danger of diseases like bird flu and salmonella?”

This is a valid question, but the evidence points toward small flocks as the solution to the question of chickens as disease vectors. Here is the longer answer from the Chicago Chicken Enthusiasts:

• Avian influenza of the type contagious to humans has not been found in North America.
• Should avian influenza (bird flu) ever reach North America, it would more likely spread where chickens have contact with the droppings of wild and migratory fowl, such as ponds frequented by Canada geese. These are conditions not likely in a small city backyard where only a few chickens reside. [http://www.pandemicflu.gov]

• Chickens are no more likely to carry salmonella than parakeets and pet reptiles. Good hand-washing practices are always important after handling animals and their waste. [Center for Disease Control: http://www.cdc.gov]

Suggested Ordinance

We think the following draft of a chicken keeping ordinance addresses the key concerns of chicken keepers, their neighbors, and all city residents.

ON THE KEEPING OF CHICKENS IN RESIDENTIAL AREAS

Keeping or harboring of chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus) permitted pursuant to the following:

(a) No more than 8 (eight) chickens per residential lot permitted,

(b) No roosters shall be permitted,

(c) No chicken may be maintained, enclosed or fenced in the front yard of a dwelling or within a dwelling,

(d) No chickens may run at large in the city (see Sec. 90.21 Fowl running at large),

(e) Cages, hutches, coops or other confinement shall be at least 20 feet away from any neighboring dwelling,

(f) Chickens must be maintained to prevent noise or odor that causes detriment to the health, safety and welfare of neighboring persons and properties.

Sections of existing code that pertain to chickens:

•Sec. 90.19. Keeping or harboring of live stock prohibited in certain residential areas.

•Sec. 90.22. Impounding of animals and fowl; sale of same.

Resources

Backyard Chickens:

backyardchickens.com

Centers for Disease Control:

cdc.gov

Chicago Chicken Enthusiasts Googlegroup:

groups.google.com/group/chicago-chicken-enthusiasts

The City Chicken:

thecitychicken.com

The City Chicken has the most comprehensive list of cities with chicken keeping ordinances:

home.centurytel.net/thecitychicken/chickenlaws.html

Delaware County health rankings:

countyhealthrankings.org

LaBadie, KT. “Residential Urban Chicken Keeping: An Examination of 25 Cities,” University of New Mexico: Spring 2008.

This research paper is available at: urbanchickens.org/files/Ordinance research paper.pdf

Luttmann, Rick and Gail. Chickens in Your Backyard: A Beginner’s Guide. Rodale Books: 1976.

Muncie, Indiana, Municipal Code:

cityofmuncie.com/index/office/cityclerk.asp

Urban Bird Muncie:

urbanbirdmuncie.blogspot.com

Urban chicken keeping manual:

wikihow.com/Keep-Chickens-in-a-City

Urban Chickens Network:

urbanchickens.net

Urban Chickens Network posting on bird flu:

urbanchickens.net/2009/04/urban-chickens-solving-spread-of-bird.html

Urban Farming Bill in Georgia

Here's something to put near the top of your List of State Legislation to Watch! The Georgia House of Representatives is considering a statewide urban farm bill which would bar municipalities from making ordinances to prohibit urban farming and small animal husbandry. That includes chickens. How about that?

Read an Athens Banner-Herald article about it.

The bill, HB 842, is short and sweet, so it is worth reproducing the meat of it below. Notice the inclusion of goats!

Georgia HB 842:

(b) No county, municipality, consolidated government, or local government authority shall prohibit or require any permit for the growing or raising of food crops or chickens, rabbits, or milk goats in:

(1) Home gardens, coops, or pens on private residential property so long as such food crops or animals or the products thereof are used for human consumption by the occupant of such property and members of his or her household and not for commercial purposes; and

(2) Community or cooperative gardens, coops, or pens on any portion of any private lot made available for such purposes by the occupant thereof so long as the total lot size is not more than 2.75 acres and the food crops or animals or the products thereof are used for human consumption by the growers and raisers and members of their households and not for commercial purposes; provided, however, that the slaughter of goats kept pursuant to this Code section shall be prohibited.