Urban Chickens

[Marmish]

http://gapersblock.com/detour/thats_chicken_sh/

At a Chicago City Council hearing on December 12th, 2007, 18th Ward Alderman Lona Lane's proposed ban on chickens will be voted on for approval. According to Chicago's Municipal Code, keeping roosters or chickens for slaughter is illegal. However, there are currently no ordinances that would prevent a Chicagoan from having chickens as pets or maintaining a chicken coop to produce eggs.

Alderman Lane is concerned with chickens because of an increased potential for spread of the avian flu virus, chicken waste attracting rats, and the illegal slaughter of chickens on residential property. While her concerns have merit, they do not logically imply the need for a city-wide ban. Avian influenza should be a more serious concern for large industrial farms, and the proliferation of rats in Chicago, unfortunately, cannot be pinned to chickens but is a much broader problem relating to the improper disposal of waste.

Apparently our aldermen, now that they've raised our taxes and banned foie gras, need something else to target, and it's urban chickens. Are you a city dweller with chickens? Do your neighbors have chickens? Would you if you could?

[mlarue]

It gives me pause to wonder: Is it possible for a suburb to secede from its urb? That is, could Highland Park become a suburb of Milwaukee rather than a suburb of Chicago? It would be less embarrasing...

[nr706]

Would this mean that places like John's Live Poultry and Chicago Live Poultry will have to restrict themselves to ducks, quail, rabbits and the like, but no chickens?

[nsxtasy]

Urban Chickens

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The media got the story wrong. It was supposed to be about the urbane chickens in Chicago. Our avian residents are impeccably (or impeckably) polite and sophisticated, often telling stories and witty jokes. They are also extremely well-educated, thanks to their family members who reside at the main campus of the University of Illinois, and are called...

[Marmish]

Would this mean that places like John's Live Poultry and Chicago Live Poultry will have to restrict themselves to ducks, quail, rabbits and  the like, but no chickens?

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I don't think so. It's targeted at people keeping laying hens at home, not businesses.

[moreace01]

I gotta say, do you have any idea how weird it is to be standing on the El platform, waiting for your train, listening to a rooster crow? (yes, i know it isn't a chicken - perhaps rooster banning will be next) I had no idea this was such a problem in the city, but then, there are probably lots of things that go on that I don't know a thing about (and really don't want to).

[MattJohnson]

Urban Chickens

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The media got the story wrong. It was supposed to be about the urbane chickens in Chicago. Our avian residents are impeccably (or impeckably) polite and sophisticated, often telling stories and witty jokes. They are also extremely well-educated, thanks to their family members who reside at the main campus of the University of Illinois, and are called...

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Hilarious!

I wouldn't mind if a neighbor had chickens...as long as I got some eggs. I could understand some limit though. It could be bad if someone tried to pack too many chickens into too small a place.

[SundaySous]

Chicago roosters lay eggs?

When I lived around Damen and Erie a neighbor had a rooster. Really ticked people off as it crowed before the sun came up. Didn't really bother me as I had to be up anyway.

Found out later they were raising gaming cocks.