WHY YARD-RAISED CHICKENS SHOULD NOT BE PROHIBITED IN SIDNEY, MT My life wont be ruined if chickens continue to be banned inside the Sidney city limits Ill survive, really. I fully appreciate our mayor and all of our city council for leading our city well and I pray for their continued wisdom and strength in dealing with all of the struggles our community faces. And yet, I want to take the time to lay out some simple reasons why the ban on chickens on private residential property in Sidney should be lifted.

MONTANAS URBAN CHICKEN LAWS In 2007, residents of Missoula petitioned the city council to pass an urban chicken ordinance, which first brought a tie among the city council. The ordinance was to allow Missoula residents the right to raise up to six hens (no roosters) within the city limits. It met some resistance, as certain council members insisted that chickens are noisy, draw rodents and spread disease. Of course, none of the above is true, but its often the assumption of those whove not raised chickens and therefore dont understand the relative quietness of hens and their stellar ability to protect the property from pests like rodents, insects that hurt gardens and insects like mosquitos that hurt people, and even snakes. After passing the ordinance, the animal control supervisor praised the outcome one year later and other residents testified to it improving neighbor relations instead of hurting them. All in all, we dont see any huge problems with the chickens, Missoula County Animal Control Supervisor Ed Franceschina told me this week. Franceschinas records show a total of just 14 complaints about chickens in the last year. Considering this record, Wilkins says hes changed his mind. I was worried that there would be a lot of complaints, but it seems to be going all right, he says. In fact, more than one chicken owner I spoke to said that having chickens had improved neighbor relations, like Julie Gilbertson-Day, who used to keep chickens at her house in the University District. It actually helped us get to know our neighbors better, she says. Families stopped to show the chickens to their kids. People knew who we were because we were the people with the chickens. Leigh Radlowski, another Missoula chicken owner, agrees. Most people are really positive, she says. They may not want chickens wandering into their yards, but thats fair enough. Its what youd expect with a dog, too.1 Most of those 14 animal control calls, by the way, werent because of disturbance or property line issues with the chickens, but because well-meaning neighbors werent aware a new ordinance had been passed permitting them. The doomsday prediction that a few chickens in pen within the backyard would lead to a decivilization in the community or un-urbanize the community were completely unfounded.

1 http://www.urbanchickens.net/2008/12/missoula-urban-chickens-law-what-went.html

Other communities that have removed the unnecessary prohibitions against owning a few chickens on private property within municipalities include Billings (Ordinance No. 09-5498 passed in November of 2009)2, Bozeman (Ordinance No. 1767 passed in September of 2009)3, Kalispell (Ordinance 4-1 updated March 2010)4, Butte (Ordinance 6.12.020 D passed in April of 2014)5, Helena (Chapter 3 of City Code has allowed chickens since at least 1979), Miles City (Ordinance 1227 revised March 2012),6 and on and on and on it goes. Clearly, with cities in Montana like Billings, Bozeman, Butte, Missoula, Kalispell, Helena and Miles city all allowing chickens within city limits and the dreaded chicken-apocalypse has not brought about the end of civilization in these communities, there doesnt seem to be very many tangible barriers to the ownership of poultry within the city limits. Researching the laws of these Montana municipalities reveals a certain uniformity in their ordinance codes; most limit the number of chickens to six (give or take) and with the exception of Helena, prohibit roosters that are the noise-causing culprits. Virtually all prevent free-roaming of chickens (just like they do dogs, for example) and like other animals allowed within the city limits must be restrained upon the owners property (for chickens, this means a pen or a fenced yard), a small annual fee (usually its around $10 or $15 dollar per year per owner, not per chicken) and almost all of these cities require chickens to be kept in the back yard of residences. These simple, common-sense ordinances prevent virtually all neighbor-to-neighbor complaints. Unlike dogs, hens do not keep the neighbors up barking all night, and youve never heard of a chicken breaking out of its pen to attack a child passing by. Compared to other animals, theyre benign and harmless. But, Montana is not alone. Major U.S. cities that allow chickens on residential properties include New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Antonio, San Diego, Dallas, San Jose, San Francisco, Austin, Boston, Portland, Las Vegas, Albuquerque, Tucson, Fresno, New Orleans, Pittsburg, Orlando, Spokane and many, many others. In fact, statistics show that 93% of major U.S. cities (according to population)7 allow - at least hens on residential properites with the same type of common sense policies mirrored in Montana municipalities like Kalisipell, Billings, Miles City and Bozeman. Cities that are not major but still allow hens that border upon Montana include Cody Wyoming, Laramie Wyoming, Cheyenne Wyoming, Casper Wyoming, Boise Idaho, Sioux Falls South Dakota, Fargo North Dakota, New Rockford North Dakota and again, on and on it goes. Those are just the ones I found in a preliminary online search. You can also notice that these Montana ordinances, in particular - with the exception of Helenas - were all passed within the last decade. Theres a reason for that. Why are 2 https://billingsbackyardhens.wordpress.com/ 3 http://www.bozeman.net/Residents/Pets/Urban-Chicken 4 http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/kalispell-montana-chicken-ordinance 5 http://mtstandard.com/butte-s-backyard-chicken-ordinance/article_712dd794-cea0-11e3-8ef9-0019bb2963f4.html 6 http://milescity-mt.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Ordinance-1227_032712_Revising-animal-control-chapter-in-regard-to-keeping-of-chickens2.pdf 7 https://billingsbackyardhens.wordpress.com/2011/12/21/percentage-of-major-us-cities-allowing-urban-hens/

municipalities all over the country, from little towns to big cities, allowing chickens (other than that they dont hurt anyone) and changing their laws accordingly? REASONS TO ALLOW CHICKENS WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS 1. People are desiring to eat healthier. Many families, like mine, grow a garden so that our children can have nutrient rich, fresh food. Even on a medium-sized garden plot in our privacy-fenced back yard, we are able to not only grow enough to feed us bountifully during the summer months, but have enough to can tomato products (sauces, salsas, diced tomatoes, etc), green beans, corn, peas and other vegetables, pickles, and so forth to last us throughout the winter. And although our home-grown diet must be subsidized from local grocery store purchases, a large part of it was planted and harvested by our own family. This isnt just to teach our children work-ethic and give them a respect for agriculture, but because we like many Americans are skeptical as to the pesticides and growth additives put on store-bought produce. Concerning food production, virtually no animal has more potential problems for toxins and poisons than factory-produced poultry. Yard-raised eggs (as opposed to cage-raised eggs) are more nutritious, having two or three times more omega-3 fatty acids and just one third of the cholesterol of factory-farmed eggs. Yard-raised eggs have 2/3 more vitamin E, 7 times more beta carotene, and 4 to 6 times more vitamin D.8 A nutrition side-by-side comparison is a no-brainer. 2. Commercial hatcheries and production factories are growingly perceived as inhumane and morally repugnant. Male chicks born into industrial hatcheries (which raise the hens that produce our eggs commonly bought in local grocery stores) are either tossed into a grinder or gassed,9 because theyre worthless to the industry providing eggs. Certain individuals, while happy that the mass mechanization of food production allows vast swaths of humanity to be fed this way and would not seek to prohibit these practices, would desire to opt-out of that practice by producing our own eggs, wherein males can be given away as fryers or consumed in another fashion so that they are not wasted. Honorable Montana sportsmen eschew the unlawful waste of game (of pheasants, a wild bird, for example) and some are convicted that is no different than wasting perfectly good poultry because it doesnt fit the business scheme of the hatchery. 3. People desire to purchase locally-grown food. My family strives to eat only Montana-raised beef (and from ranchers we know) and even local pork (which we buy from a local butcher shop, raised by local farmers). Combined with wild game, this is the subsistence of our diet and the majority of our protein except for poultry. Montanas not exactly know for our poultry industry, and while a few local butcher shops sell organic whole chickens, its difficult to find organic, non-factory eggs from local farms when youre a city resident. It would be a huge blessing to be able to say that all of our animal-based diet is from food raised here at home, and we would reach that goal much more quickly if the city of Sidney would lift this ordinance. 4. Chickens do wonders to expose of biodegradable garbage instead of filling our local, county landfill. They recycle yard and food waste and turn it into a valuable organic 8 http://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/free-range-eggs-zmaz07onzgoe.aspx 9 This particular post attempts to negate urban ownership of hens, but the point is still poignant. ttp://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesmcwilliams/2013/11/21/five-reasons-why-owning-backyard-chickens-is-for-the-birds/

compost for our gardens. As a matter of fact, one city in Belgium is giving three hens to over two-thousand homes in an effort to reduce landfill costs.10 And for those who have gardens like my family, they chickens gardens in the post-season to make our work that much easier. And, their natural scratching and digging tendencies can help make the top-notch garden beds post-harvest and help in preparation for the spring planting. They also keep garden-killing insects at bay, cut down on pesky and disease-spreading mosquitos and ticks, and keep your yard snake free. 5. Raising a few chickens in the back yard teaches city-dwelling children about agricultural production and animal care. As Montanans, we want our children even those living in the city limits to have a basic grasp of the concept that our food doesnt come from the supermarket. From chick to egg-producer to kitchen table, its a fantastic way to teach town-bound children about animal care and food production. It was interesting in researching these various municipal laws in Montana that even the few towns that restrict chicken ownership make exceptions for 4-H projects. 4-H is a valuable and wonderful tradition in Sidney for many families, and yet our city ordinance doesnt reflect those values in its prohibition against virtually all livestock animals, even when it includes poultry or rabbits in that category and excludes 4-H town-dwelling children from participating. 6. Prohibiting the ownership of chickens is discriminatory against the impoverished. Although there is expense involved with raising chickens (particularly in starting the enterprise), after time the financial benefit exceeds the initial expense. Finding chicken feed, which can come in any multitude of organic sources that many people throw away and would happily give to their struggling neighbor for free rather than to put it into the garbage, is easier to come by than the money to buy eggs a staple of most every familys diet from the store. Do we want people to be any more dependent upon government social programs or community charities than they have to be? Likewise, for those with convictions against factory-produced eggs or health concerns regarding growth-hormones or other artificial additives, it is true that with enough effort organic eggs can be found from those outside the city limits (we buy occasionally from those who live fifteen miles our twenty-five miles out of town). Those eggs are often more expensive than grocery bought eggs (theyre more nutritional and taste better, so they should be more expensive), but how wonderful it would be to collect them every morning from your own hens! To not allow this, is to put these benefits of yard-raised eggs out of the financial means of poorer people. 7. We live in a time of economic insecurity, and chickens provide a sustainable diet. Regardless of what may happen in our nation or region economically, a few chickens in the yard means that your family will at least eat something. In times of great financial stress which our nation hasnt seen for some time, but still has seen in times past a few chickens in the back yard are a great source of food that is sustainable and insurance against whatever economic disaster could be looming. For the good of the entire community, the more people in our community who have their own source of food available, the better it is for the entire community. It is my understanding that the majority of the city council (I spoke to an official at City Hall this morning) is opposed to lifting the ban on yard-raised poultry in Sidney, and so I wrote this brief piece to help the community understand that it would be in the best interest of the entire community to allow some common-sense measures restrict, but not prohibit, yard- 10 http://www.rodalesorganiclife.com/wellbeing/5-reasons-raise-chickens

raised chickens. This would affirm the value of private property rights on residential properties, has tangible health benefits, helps the environment, promotes self-sufficiency and teaches our children about agriculture. Lifting the ban is a win-win scenario for the entire community of Sidney.