Welcoming Chickens Back to Town

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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