I have spent most of my life on or around the farm. I usually raised an average of 50 hens per year for butchering and another ten for eggs. The excess eggs were usually given to relatives in town. Never was there an odor from the chickes as they were free ranging around the barnyard and nature has a way of dealing with such things. in a urban setting I wouldn't expect any less if the numbers were kept to say under six (6) for a family of 4 or five if they are egg lovers. Eggs are healthy, required in cooking many dishes even cakes and pasteries. chickens are great for keeping insects to a minimum especially the ones humans don't like. They have a calming affect as long as there are not roosters to keep the stress level high. God really knew what he was doing when He created the chicken. The "pros" list could go on and on. Lets remember also... times are changing and we may have to learn to adapt to some of the "old ways." Chickens are a sort of survival kit. Rabbits are also easy and very quiet and great meat producers. Animals like these are fantastic stress relievers for the tightly wound. :)

Duke Harris

Janesville Chickens:
on Twitter: COJchickens
on Facebook: City Of Janesville Chickens?
on e-mail: CityOfJanesvilleChickens@Gmail.com
on WordPress: http://cojchickens.wordpress.com/
(Wordpress includes the link to my Google Documents)

Who is a "self-esteem lacking blogger?"

Gallus gallus domesticus

Which came first - the chicken or the self-esteem lacking blogger?

I always appreciate DiGriz's comments in the chicken discussions. ; )

Again, for all of your Janesville Chicken Discussion needs, you could also visit cojchickens.wordpress.com and check out the links.

yada is INTRIGUED that the so many took the bait...lol

Having four chickens is not going to create a smell if the coop is cleaned on a regular basis. I grew up on a farm and we raised chickens. The coop was right in our backyard. We had about a hundred chickens and I never noticed a bad smell (or maybe I got used to it). besides I'd rather put up with the smell of a chicken coop than my neighbor's cigarette smoke, or the chemicals he uses to work on his vehicle.

Why does everyone think these will be impossible to raise? People have been raising checkens for well over 2,000 years. There are hundreds of books on how to keep them in the city without imposing on your neighbor. It is easier to care for a chicken than a dog.
99% of the chicken raisers will cause no problems, and their neighbors will probably not notice unless they see the coop, or better yet when the chicken "tender" (ha ha) comes over and says, "want some fresh eggs we have extra".

Yada: since when would slaughtering a chicken have to traumatize someone (other than the chicken)? Chicken slaughter was (and for some folks I know today) is a family event where everyone has a job. I think our obese, junk food eating children have more problems because they have no idea what a chicken tender is or where it comes from. I tend to think that if you aren't willing to kill it in order to eat it, you shouldn't eat it. Sanitized, plastic wrapped, boneless, skinless cuts of meat just removes people from the reality of what it is that they are eating.

Cock-a-doodle-dooo FRESH EGGS!! How "green" can ya' get? Plus plenty of fertilizer for the garden.

Gosh, Napalm, I actually agree with you! That is miraculous! It doesn't mean you are more sophisticated because you have money! Where does housewife come off saying that? I know of a lot of wealthy people that are bad housekeepers, stink and don't know how to manage their money. Just because you have money doesn't mean anything, most of the time it just means you are a SNOB! JMO

Napalm has to be putting us on

Chickens might be well and good for some people but you must remember that these are farm animals and must be taken care of every day,remember that they have to be fed and watered and during the dead of winter when the water freezes over and in the dead of hot summers they need to be kept cool. These animals need to have attention and when the novelty wears off what happens to the chickens? Thats why there are ordinances against this and there are farms in the country.

Napalm... you called them hillbillies. "Hillbilly" is a term used to denote a white citizen of rural, mountainous area, usually also used to denote unsophisticated folk. Their home and dress looks more New Yorkish than Appalachian to me. Higher income is also usually associated with a higher level of sophistication, and thus where property values are higher, you are less likely to run into hillbillies, no?
The COOPS, not coupes, of Madison are insanely outfitted. I have seen coops with cameras, automatically dimming lights, and heaters.
On the other hand, every other driveway in certain Janesville neighborhoods seem to have huge, stinky, loud, and dangerous jacked up trucks. Call me elitist, but I'd rather live next to a few yuppies with hens than a drunk in a monster truck that revs day and night.
But Napalm... hey, be my guest. Different strokes, hey?

Comments like Yada's considering chickens to be mammals is one of the important reasons to allow some city folks to have chickens. I.e, adults and children are so far removed from their food sources they don't understand the difference between factory food and more healthy choices, that the average meal travels 1,500 miles to your table, that animals that provide us food should be well cared for locally rather than mistreated in huge factory farms.

Yada... do you see any issue with bringing your statement "USDA requires mammals be stunned prior to slaughter" into this discussion? (hint: not only do backyard chicken owners not slaughter their birds in the city limits.. but um, BIRDS ARE NOT MAMMALS....)

I have a REAL issue with PEOPLE THAT THINK BIRDS ARE MAMMALS being the ones calling the shots on whether people can own chickens. This is precisely why I live far, far away from eedjits who can tell me what to do with my property.

Oh GOD Yada. Read the ordinance for freaks sake. NO ONE is allowed to SLAUGHTER a chicken in the city limits. You can't even own a rooster. People in urban settings have no problem giving away aged chickens.

That's like saying owning dogs means people will be putting their dogs to sleep all over in backyards. No one slaughters chickens in Madison, and there have been no complaints regarding such.

LOL at your comment Yda about the Captive Bolt Method. The fact that would you bring this into a discussion about chickens is ridiculous.

cojchickens.wordpress.com

Yada: Typically, "stunning" a chicken involves breaking the neck (when dealing with small, non-factory farm numbers.) Most factory farms gas them and send the birds to the landfill when the hens are a year or two old. It has been recommended to council that slaughtering not be allowed in city limits at all, in the new ordinance. "Twin Cities Pack" comes to my mind, if needed; their prices are very reasonable.

OT: Madison has made a nice little industry of chicken feed selling and coop building since the ordinance was passed. I can't recall if there has been ANY complaints about chickens, but there sure has been a lot of press about happy people and happy chickens. The backyard chicken movement is a fun one and growing everyday.
THe chicken as pets debate is settled IMO, because I know firsthand what living with them is like, and they are less smelly and annoying then most dogs.
I don't think that Janesville will move beyond the "only hillbillies raise chickens, yuk, yuk" and "those illegals will be holdin' voodoo rituals!" mindset, sadly enough. Janesville is pretty hick in its mindset.

Uh Napalm? Their house costs three times what a Janesville house would cost. Just because they decided to put lights on thier coop doesn't qualify them as hillbillies. I mean, did you LOOK at the picture of them? Their kitchen is pretty big n' fancy for being rednecks. I wouldn't call them hillbillies. In fact, most of the people in Mad City chickens are what an uneducated, smalltown minded person such as yourself would call " fancy pants wearin' hippy progressives."

It should be a real educational experience for the neighborhood kids as they watch the next door neighbor slaughter the chickens for food. Which method will they use? Federal law does say that mammals be stunned prior to slaughter. Which method will they use? I won't get into the details of Captive Bolt Stunning or Electrical Stunning. Keep in mind some will not just want eggs and this could become a nasty neighborhood scene. I don't want the nasty mess and problems from having chickens around.

I was thrilled to see the article!
We are making progress.
We will get our chickens. :)

Headline - "Madison couple happy with chickens". Yeah sure THEY are happy with the chickens, but are the CHICKENS happy with them???? (If you saw the Super Bowl ads, you know what I'm talkin' 'bout)!

I calculate that you could raise 14,374 chickens if you turn the old GM plant into a chicken coupe. It would create local jobs too.

If anyone would like more information on this topic, please visit: cojchickens.wordpress.com particularly, the "citizen report" link on that page. Or, contact me directly through this comment or CityOfJanesvilleChickens@gmail.com
FYI
Roosters would not be allowed.
Hen enclosure must be 25 feet or more from neighbor's buildings.
Some people would name them and keep them as pets, while others would be focusing on the pets with perks benefit of automatic food production. What has your cat or hamster done to feed YOU lately? ; )

SarahB1 - I just saw the other funny part. Geez, I'm slow today.

Roosters would be outlawed, right?

I normally shower everyday, so probably not. However, if I do, nobody has told me. :)

Napalm, what is your problem? You seem to only see the negative in every story that is printed!!! I would not like to be you, life is too short! Lighten up! It is much healthier and you'll live longer. JMO

"Chickens don’t smell if their waste is taken care of, just like any other animal".
.
"IF...." Hm, this is what would worry me a little.

justsaynotomath, within reason. I had a neighbor that for 2 years junked cars in their driveway and front yard. They went through 2-3 cars/day. I know that doesn't compare to the small impact chickens would have, I just wanted to make a point that there are certain zoning regulations that must be in place to protect the peace and value of residential properties.

So are these chickens pets or livestock that will be used to produce food?

I don't think they would be any stinkier than a neighbor that never takes the trash to the curb and keeps it on their porch with who know what else.

I think it would be fun too.

Hens need at least fourteen hours of light in order to lay. From the way the Christmas light are in the picture I would guess they are using them instead of a plain white bulb.

That would be nice to have chickens, it could teach youngsters responsibility and show them that animals can be productive. If approved I'll get the limit. I grew up around farming and miss that country air. Just because they have a few chickens it don't make them hillbillies. Instead of always the negative about things,try something new JUST maybe you might find it fun and enjoy it.

I'm with you! If they need a proof reader, I need a job!

YAY!!!!

"The hens started laying eggs Jan. 5, and Amy and Bob now nine brown eggs a week."?