Chicken Coops?!

[Whoaccio]

I must say, this is one of the weirder stories I've heard about. Should Toronto follow suit? Please try to ignore puns.

JANE ARMSTRONG

From Wednesday's Globe and Mail

March 10, 2009 at 9:42 PM EDT

VANCOUVER — They cluck and bob around backyards from New York to Victoria, providing endless hours of delight to their owners, along with a few freshly laid eggs every other day.

Backyard chickens have become the new “it” animal for urbanites striving for simple, sustainable living habits. Now, Vancouver is poised to join the North American wave of affection for all things chicken after city council approved a plan to allow city dwellers to keep the birds in their own backyards.

The plan has thrilled urban hen keepers who say the move will improve the quality of life for people and chickens alike.

“They are so pretty and so cute and they talk to you and follow you around,” gushed Heather Havens about her hens Zilla and Cheeks. Ms. Havens's four-year-old birds live in a coop in her backyard in the Vancouver suburb of Surrey, which outlaws chickens in small yards like Ms. Haven's.

Ms. Havens has begun lobbying Surrey to make her birds legal.

Urbanites are increasingly drawn to chickens, she said, because they provide a link to simpler times when people knew – and could see – where their food came from. Retrieving an egg from a hen's roost appears to be just the tonic for people craving a closer connection to their natural environment.

While Vancouver is often on the vanguard of urban trends, this time it is following in the footsteps of a score of large U.S. cities that have embraced urban gardens and small livestock.

Portland, Ore., and Seattle have permitted backyard chickens for years. In Portland, there are “coop tours” similar to garden tours, where people can survey the neighbourhood hens and check out the newest chicken gear, including designer coops and hen houses. And Seattle has recently permitted residents to own miniature goats. Small cows might not be far behind.

But even long-time chicken aficionados say there's no precedent to the current chicken craze.

Seattle cancer researcher Paul Farley, who has kept chickens since he was a youngster growing up in the San Francisco area, teaches adult classes on how to care for urban chickens.

“If you had told me 20 years ago that I'd be teaching Poultry 101 to classrooms of 50 people, I wouldn't have believed it,” Mr. Farley said. “I was the weirdo for so many years. Now, everyone wants to hear what I have to say about chickens.”

Not everyone is enamoured of bringing chickens to city yards. Last year, Halifax banned the birds and they're outlawed in Toronto, too.

The B.C. Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which argued against the bylaw change at Vancouver city council last week, is worried that people will rush out and buy hens without knowing what to feed them, how to care for them if they get sick, and how to build secure chicken coops to protect them from raccoons and coyotes.

Spokesman Geoff Urton said the SPCA has a certification program for farmers who raise chickens according to a set of animal-welfare guidelines. People concerned about where their eggs come from can always purchase these products in stores, a far cheaper alternative to keeping backyard chickens, he said.

The British Columbia Poultry Association has also weighed in, urging Vancouver to reject backyard chickens. Association president Ray Nickel said city chickens could increase the threat of disease such as avian flu.

“There are distinct differences between planting an herb garden in your backyard, as opposed to keeping animals,” Mr. Nickel said.

“I don't see it as a very rational decision. [The city] is not consulting with agricultural organizations. They seem to consult with small interest groups.”

Indeed, West Coast politicians have been more sympathetic to chicken ownership. They are legal in Victoria and several Lower Mainland jurisdictions.

City Councillor Andrea Reimer, who proposed the chicken bylaw change, said the city's food policy council examined the pros and cons of keeping chickens. Anyone who has owned a dog or cat can learn how to care for a chicken, Ms. Reimer said.

Ms. Havens, meanwhile, said keeping chicken isn't about saving money.

“You find yourself making excuses to go out and be with them,” she said. “You bring them a treat, or check for eggs, but really, they are just nice to be around.”

 

[junctionist]

I must say, this is one of the weirder stories I've heard about. Should Toronto follow suit? Please try to ignore puns.

The arguments against this presented in the article seemed really weak. For instance, the B.C. Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals worries that people will not know how to take care of the chickens. Then launch a website. We've had domesticated chickens for thousands of years. We don't need a university education to keep chickens in our yards. And that the poultry association doesn't want you to keep chickens...surprise, surprise!

My grandfather has kept chickens in chicken coop in his backyard a five minute walk away from the downtown of a Polish city for decades, and those are some fine eggs. He sells what he doesn't eat to his neighbours. That is an environmentally friendly way of obtaining and supplying food.

 

[Hydrogen]

Isn't this how bird flu gets around in other countries?


I was thinking of a cow or an ox, but my balcony is too small. The slaughtering prospects are rather limited.

 

[AKS]

chickens are cool. my parents used to have a chicken coop beside our house when I was young. Only problem is they stink. Also like mentioned about the worry of chicken flu.

Also, if there's cats next door they might be inclined to find a way in and cause havoc. After moving to another place and growing up there, the neighbour's cat would sometimes cause problems. I hear meowing outside at night. Once it ripped the squirrel apart and left carcasses everywhere in our backyard. The squirrels that used to hang around our backyard (we fed it) slowly seem to move away. One of them got one of it's leg broken/hurt. Not sure if it was the cat's doing or not. Our recent resident for the past few years seem to be the raccoon that we can't get rid of. My point is that, there are many other animals around. Unless you have chicken coops inside your house. There's worry about protecting them.

Hydrogen, I know you're joking But there's laws for putting certain things on your balcony. Apparently, the space doesn't really belong to you. I don't know if it's a rule for all apartments but seems you can only put chairs and a table and some plants. Management doesn't seem to allow bicycles, satellites and such on the balcony.

 

[cacruden]

Isn't this how bird flu gets around in other countries?


I was thinking of a cow or an ox, but my balcony is too small. The slaughtering prospects are rather limited.

Hmmm, actually any agrarian society is how diseases spread since you are in close proximity to animals on a daily basis - which provides a greater opportunity for deadly diseases to jump species. This is one of the reasons why just our presence was deadly to early native north americans which was more of a hunter/gatherer society (i.e. other than the horse - they only were near animals when they hunted - not farming daily - pig/bird flues).

But I like the food that we get in an agrarian society - so I am willing to take the risk

 

[cacruden]

One of the things that I like, but sometimes is hard to get in Toronto is fresh produce that is grown locally (i.e. not shipped long distances) - but is not native to this area and therefore artificial environments must be created to grow them (at considerable expense). I have seen a few things that got me thinking that there might be a solution soon.

1. Sunlight collection using mirrored reflectors that concentrate the light into a focal point which is then transfered to fiber optic cables for transmission into the building (replacing the bulk of the light generated by bulbs in offices during daytime). Some problems that are being overcome is the type of fiber optics that are required - only glass right now handles the higher temperatures - which is fragile and more expensive - but some research has indicated that the non-glass fiber optics can be created to handle this (technology is fairly close).

2. I was reading about one person that was renting basement space in downtown Montreal to grow herbs such as basil for restaurants in Toronto - and making a go of the business (100% grow lighting using HID lighting).

3. My nephew was wondering if all the rooftops could be used for greenhouses - I mentioned that the heating would be very costly (my father had a large greenhouse connected to the house - so this one is personal experience).

4. The farther you go underground, the more warmer it becomes.

Taking all of that together, I am wondering if it could be economically feasible to build farther underground in large cities and using this space that is not very easy to rent - as tropical farm land in large cities. You could lower the cost of lighting in the building, and produce fresh produce locally which would eliminate the need to transport produce via air from far away destinations..... Of course it is all just ideas - don't know if it can be done - but the freshness of the produce would make me happy

 

[junction_parents]

My grandfather has kept chickens in chicken coop in his backyard a five minute walk away from the downtown of a Polish city for decades, and those are some fine eggs. He sells what he doesn't eat to his neighbours. That is an environmentally friendly way of obtaining and supplying food.

We did the same, the eggs are fabulous, even the packaged "free range/organic" eggs are nothing like it. Chicken coups do not require a lot of maintenance or space, as long as you take your time to clean them regularly. The only thing is the occasional noise, but it's nothing compared to my neighbour's stupid dogs.

 

[digi]

1. Sunlight collection using mirrored reflectors that concentrate the light into a focal point which is then transfered to fiber optic cables for transmission into the building (replacing the bulk of the light generated by bulbs in offices during daytime). Some problems that are being overcome is the type of fiber optics that are required - only glass right now handles the higher temperatures - which is fragile and more expensive - but some research has indicated that the non-glass fiber optics can be created to handle this (technology is fairly close).

There's a tall building in Hong Kong, built in the early 80's, that uses acrylic light guides to light the interior of the building, with sunlight collected on the roof.

3. My nephew was wondering if all the rooftops could be used for greenhouses - I mentioned that the heating would be very costly (my father had a large greenhouse connected to the house - so this one is personal experience).

White wash them and collect rainwater...like Bermuda's been doing for 400 years.

 

[TrickyRicky]

Chicken are OK but roasters are incredibly annoying. Incidentally some people do and did keep chickens in the city. Not telling where.

 

[Hydrogen]

Some people can barely take care of their dogs and cats. Now others want farm animals in the city.

You can just see the regulatory wave welling up in the distance...

 

[Junction]

Some people can barely take care of their dogs and cats. Now others want farm animals in the city.

You can just see the regulatory wave welling up in the distance...

My next door neighbour has a bee hive, apparently this is legal, his bees are all over my backyard as soon as the flowers open...

 

[AKS]

Some people can barely take care of their dogs and cats. Now others want farm animals in the city.

You can just see the regulatory wave welling up in the distance...

At least chickens aren't let loose to pee and poo on other people's lawns and they're good for providing fresh eggs

 

[cacruden]

At least chickens aren't let loose to pee and poo on other people's lawns and they're good for providing fresh eggs

Not to mention - if they do get loose and come to your lawn - you don't have to worry about feeding them - just eat them

 

[Hydrogen]

Not to mention - if they do get loose and come to your lawn - you don't have to worry about feeding them - just eat them

In theory, this could be done with dogs and cats, too. However, it wouldn't go over well with the people who purchase dog strollers. As for myself, I quite selective about what meat I eat. Fido and Fluffy in no way appeal to me.

I'm not thrilled with the idea of city chicken farming. In no way is it the same as vegetable gardens. Owners of chickens probably find it all so quaint and rustic; those opposed would have to put up with the smell, mess and noise.

Reintroducing animals into the city would once again remind us why they were removed years ago. Living in a part of town where mounted police roam the street, there is always the unlovely dumping of horse dung and the associated stench or horsey urine. It's one of the few things that overpowers the human excretions to be found in the entertainment district on the weekends.

I guess I'm getting close to being on the humane society hit list now.

 

[cacruden]

In theory, this could be done with dogs and cats, too. However, it wouldn't go over well with the people who purchase dog strollers. As for myself, I quite selective about what meat I eat. Fido and Fluffy in no way appeal to me.

I am less selective about what meat I eat, but I would still not eat Fido and Fluffy - I guess my selectiveness is that I tend only to eat vegetarians - not carnivores. Over the last two weeks I have bashimi (raw horse) - japanese and korean style (mixed with egg and stuff), raw chicken (don't remember the name), fresh sashimi - one of which - the shrimps - were real fresh (i.e. the disconnected head was still very lively (until I sent him back to be deep fried - just the head - I ate his body). BTW, raw horse is particularly tasty, raw chicken where you are not worrying about being poisoned is also very good.

I just think that if people raise chickens in the city that they just have to have higher standards - i.e. the chicken coop is sound-proofed and clean - and not too many at one time.