Backyard Chickens DO Rock!
This site is to help support the keeping of backyard chickens in Salem, VA.
NEW FOR 2012: We've had to begin yet another petition as the "old" one got a lot of signatures from people who don't live in Salem, VA. Here is a link to the "new" petition: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/whattheclucksalemva/ We're also on Facebook now, because who isn't?? Come check us out at: http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/whattheclucksalem/ On there you will find a copy of the newly proposed ordinance that will go before City Council on June 11, 2012 at 7:30pm. This IS a PUBLIC HEARING!!! So make sure you attend to show your support. To sign the online petition, please click here: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/salemchickens/index.html We appreciate your patience while we continue to develop this site! |
Facts Vs. Fiction
1) "Don't you need a rooster to get eggs?" - This is the one we've heard most frequently. The answer is "NO!" Hens will lay eggs regardless of a rooster's presence, or lack thereof, it is part of their reproductive cycle. Just like a woman won't cease having a reproductive cycle if she lives alone, a female chicken will still lay eggs. Having a rooster present allows for fertilized eggs that COULD be hatched. Without a rooster you get eggs that aren't fertilized and WON'T hatch. (So quit sitting on them, please)
2) What about the smell? - Read below for more poop info, but here is a basic thing. If it smells, you're not keeping it clean. Chickens that are left to safely free-range in a yard are going to poop just like a dog or cat left to free roam in the yard - wherever they please. Except full-grown chickens usually weigh in under 8lbs. That's a lot less poop than most dogs and cats. When it is dry, there is no smell. If you move your chickens around the yard, their mess will fertilize your yard, not destroy it (unlike dogs'!). If you keep them in a stationary run, the run simply must be cleaned on a regular basis, just like any other pet kept in a confined area. The used straw can be put into a compost pile for fantastic garden compost!
This is taken from www.urbanchicken.net and helps dispel some common "Chicken Myths" that tend to come up when trying to raise chickens in an urban environment. Here's what he has to say:
"After watching two years' worth of battles to legalize urban chickens, I've identified the four most common myths introduced as fact in the argument against chickens in the backyard:
2) What about the smell? - Read below for more poop info, but here is a basic thing. If it smells, you're not keeping it clean. Chickens that are left to safely free-range in a yard are going to poop just like a dog or cat left to free roam in the yard - wherever they please. Except full-grown chickens usually weigh in under 8lbs. That's a lot less poop than most dogs and cats. When it is dry, there is no smell. If you move your chickens around the yard, their mess will fertilize your yard, not destroy it (unlike dogs'!). If you keep them in a stationary run, the run simply must be cleaned on a regular basis, just like any other pet kept in a confined area. The used straw can be put into a compost pile for fantastic garden compost!
This is taken from www.urbanchicken.net and helps dispel some common "Chicken Myths" that tend to come up when trying to raise chickens in an urban environment. Here's what he has to say:
"After watching two years' worth of battles to legalize urban chickens, I've identified the four most common myths introduced as fact in the argument against chickens in the backyard:
- Chickens produce too much poop - the fact of the matter is that dogs and cats produce way more excrement in a week than a flock of four hens. And while the chicken manure can be converted easily into fertilizer to help your garden grow, for health reasons, you cannot do the same with dog and cat poop.
- It'll cost too much to enforce an urban chicken law - the kind of people who want to raise chickens in their backyards for eggs are doing so (mostly) out of a sense responsibility for taking control of their food sourcing and reducing their carbon footprint. These are not the kinds of folks who'll be requiring animal control to come out and bust chicken owners for too many animals making too much noise (see: dogs).
- Owning chickens means hosting salmonella in your backyard - the food safety folks have done a great job sensitizing the public to take care in handling chicken so as to avoid salmonella. The simpletons spreading salmonella fears as an argument against urban chickens don't seem to understand that salmonella is a problem of safe food handling, not of responsible pet ownership.
- Backyard chickens will spread the bird flu - the fact is, it's through backyard flocks that we might insulate ourselves from the spread of the H5N1 virus and the like that tear through the million-bird in-bred flocks of large-scale agribusiness. But, of all the arguments against urban chickens, this is the point most often deployed as an end-of-discussion "so there."
About Us & Contact Info:
Thank you for your support! If you would like to reach Carrie & Justin Cox personally you can email us at: [email protected]
Carrie & Justin Cox live in Salem, VA where they are trying to raise their two children in as eco-friendly and self-sustainable way as possible. We believe in being active and involved members of their community.
We strive to grow as much of our food as possible, and what we can't grow we try to buy from local, environmentally responsible sources. We very much believe that if more people truly knew where the food they bought in the supermarket came from, they wouldn't want to buy it much less eat it!
And finally, we very much hope that this issue with the chickens results in a positive solution where the residents of Salem are allowed to have a small, backyard flock of hens that are kept in a humane and responsible manner.
Carrie & Justin Cox live in Salem, VA where they are trying to raise their two children in as eco-friendly and self-sustainable way as possible. We believe in being active and involved members of their community.
We strive to grow as much of our food as possible, and what we can't grow we try to buy from local, environmentally responsible sources. We very much believe that if more people truly knew where the food they bought in the supermarket came from, they wouldn't want to buy it much less eat it!
And finally, we very much hope that this issue with the chickens results in a positive solution where the residents of Salem are allowed to have a small, backyard flock of hens that are kept in a humane and responsible manner.