[Durham INC] more chicken thoughts

[RW Pickle]

I had the opportunity to talk to an "old chicken farmer" today about this
upcoming issue for our City. I first ask him what he thought about
chickens in town (he lives in Durham City now). He said he didn't care as
long as it wasn't next door to him. When he said that, my next question
was, why? What he said next is something that I doubt anyone will ever
know until they have chickens; he said rats. Yep, rats. He said that rats
liked the same food chickens like and would show up shortly after the
chickens arrived. So not only will those feathery foul be an addition to a
yard, they will attract their 4-legged furry buddies, the rats. He said
anyone who would wanted chickens because eggs were too expensive had
bigger financial problems...

Then he started in on predators that like chickens for dinner. Foxes (we
have a couple over here so I assume they are across our City), hawks (I
see them regularly over here) and raccoons (and we have a bunch of them
over here) were mentioned. He told me of the time when a raccoon grabbed
one of his chickens through the wire fence of the coop, tried to pull the
chicken through the fence (it was much too large for that) and eventually
settled for just eating the chickens legs off. Needless to say that
chicken was dinner... So, in addition to the eggs, it looks like neighbors
will get to see first hand the food chain in action.

When we got this far in the conversation, it turned to milk because he
thought milk was much more expensive and consumed more than eggs. He's
right, milk does cost more and they always seem to have a bunch of it at
the grocery store when I go. So maybe we do use more milk than eggs. At
least that's the case at my house. So does that mean cows will be allowed
at some point as well? Some of my neighbors have 3-5 acres over here, so
there's plenty of room for grazing...

And what about those pot-bellied pigs the City said we couldn't have (a
few years back). Does that mean we can have them as long as they'll be BBQ
and bacon? Most of these were pets I guess, but I'm sure these chickens
will have names if folks are allowed to keep them. I'm sure some will even
consider them pets.

The Herald Sun came out yesterday with an editorial supporting chickens.
Their case for chickens was weak at best. But one thing they said struck a
chord with me that really didn't sound like a positive thing when you
consider the consequences. Fertilizer, that was a positive thing to them.
Well, if they had a clue that water runs down hill and ultimately ends up
in the drinking water supplies we are trying to clean up, then adding
fertilizer to the mix is exactly opposite of the direction we need to be
going. The major problems with our drinking water supplies is nitrogen
loading (as in fertilizer...). So adding more fertilizer to the mix via
chickens can't be a good thing as they suggest.

Or maybe you read the article in the Durham edition of the N&O this
weekend. It's the free paper they throw out every weekend over here. It
had an article written by one of my neighbors who wants chickens. He went
on about how excited his neighbors were about the idea. I can tell you,
the feeling is not embraced by very many over here. He went on talking
about the beautiful colors of the various types of chicken eggs laid by
various kinds of chickens. What has that to do with anything? I thought
the purpose was to eat the eggs. And every egg, no mater what color the
shell seemed to be, when I cracked it open and dumped it in a bowl,
whipped it with a fork and then poured it in the frying pan, turned out to
be a shade of yellow. Those green eggs of Dr. Seuss... I've never seen
them.

You keep hearing that Charlotte, Asheville and other NC cities have
chickens. Those same cities have those new flashing billboards as well. I
have to think that what may good for some places in NC, just may not be
good for the Bull City...

RWP
27 Beverly