INC NEWS - Chickens in Durham!

[bragin at nc.rr.com]

This has been a hot topic of discussion on the Duke Park list this past week. I'm going to repeat my comments fromt hat discussion here.

There are two points made in the email to consider.

First: "The noise level is no more than a dog."

For a great many people in Durham, the noise level of dogs is already a serious concern, and the current means of enforcing the noise ordinance in the city and county when it comes to barking dogs is broken. Adding to this problem is not a good idea, in my mind.

Second: "A chicken coop that is properly designed and maintained poses no threat to sanitation."

the number of dogs in Durham county that are kept in unhealthy and unsanitary conditions, tied at the end of too short chains without shelter, and often without food and water, is staggering. It's naive to think that every fowl owner is going to provide a coop that is "properly designed and maintained."

For those people who are already keeping chickens in urban environments, and are doing so without bothering the neighbors, my attitude is, what's the problem? If you're not bothering anyone, then you've got nothing to worry about.

But opening this up without providing any means for dealing with what will inevitably become a problem among neighbors is a bad decision at this time.

Barry Ragin
1706 Shawnee St.
---- Emily Weinstein <weinsteinart at verizon.net> wrote: 

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Subject: Chickens in Durham!


Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Currently, chickens are only allowed in Durham Residential Suburban  
Zone 20.   There is no reason they should not be allowed in any urban  
backyard.   A hen raised around people can be an affectionate pet  
that also provides fresh eggs, reduces waste by eating yard waste and  
kitchen scraps, provides rich fertilizer for the garden, controls  
pests, and brings us closer to our food source. The noise level is no  
more than a dog. A chicken coop that is properly designed and  
maintained poses no threat to sanitation. Please click on the  
following link to sign a petition asking the City Council to  
reconsider allowing chickens within the city limits:

http://www.PetitionOnline.com/ backyard/petition. html

Please forward widely within Durham .

For more information regarding chicken coop construction and other  
chicken resources, please contact Kavanah Ramsier at SEEDS Community  
Garden , 683-1197; kavanah at seedsnc.org