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Free the Homewood Seven!!!

"On the weekend of Independence Day, Homewood resident Virginia Murdoch is waging her personal fight for freedom -- the freedom to raise chickens in her neighborhood."

http://blog.al.com/spotnews/20...mewood_chickens.html

This may seem humorous, but this issue of suburban, low-impact poultry husbandry is one that is popping up all over the country. Some folks want to raise and keep their own chickens, fed more or less "naturally," and they like doing it in their own back yards.

The lady in this article is a Homewood resident. She is being forced to move her chickens out and she is going to take them to MOUNTAIN BROOK--the most elite suburb in Birmingham!

The lady's chickens are classy, all-American birds, with pedigrees back to colonial times and a commendable history of persistence against the odds. Noble fowl, deserving of our love and respect!!

"Her breed of bird was brought to America from England by early colonists, Murdoch said.

Threatened with extinction several times through their history, the American Dominiques have come to symbolize durability, productivity and self-reliance, she said."

And you gotta love THIS acronym: "CLUCK, Citizens for the Legalization of Urban Chicken Keeping"
Original Post

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BeterNu,
I think I see where you are going with this, but be honest, if you lived in a neighborhood where houses are often separated by only a few yards, would you want these chickens crowing and waking you up at the crack of dawn? Some people work at night, and as much as I detest a barking a dog, a crowing chicken could be just as bad.
On top of this, we have seen evidence that avian flu can and will jump to the human species if these animals are kept in close proximity to humans. In older days I don't think we thought about this as much, but I would much rather there be a controlled environment where these birds are kep and monitored in case of a break out of avian flu.
There are more issues to be considered here than the pedigree of a chicken and the fact that Ms. Cleaver wants to raise an all organic bird for the table.
quote:
Originally posted by teyates:
BeterNu,
I think I see where you are going with this, but be honest, if you lived in a neighborhood where houses are often separated by only a few yards, would you want these chickens crowing and waking you up at the crack of dawn? Some people work at night, and as much as I detest a barking a dog, a crowing chicken could be just as bad.
On top of this, we have seen evidence that avian flu can and will jump to the human species if these animals are kept in close proximity to humans. In older days I don't think we thought about this as much, but I would much rather there be a controlled environment where these birds are kep and monitored in case of a break out of avian flu.
There are more issues to be considered here than the pedigree of a chicken and the fact that Ms. Cleaver wants to raise an all organic bird for the table.


You obviously ain't no country boy. Roosters crow; Ms. Murdoch's hens do not. I would have no objections to an ordinance that prohibited roosters. Hens do not need roosters in order to produce eggs.

As to avian flu, I would think my chances would be better with Ms. Murdoch's low-impact, 7-chicken kind of situation than with the millions of chickens involved in industrial-style pountry culture, including the huge, multi-chicken house megafarms that also often create big problems with odor and water pollution. And if it is deemed necessary to keep up with who is keeping chickens, that could be done with a simple requirement that each urban/suburban chicken keeper must have a permit. The permit could, in addition, place a reasonable limit on the number of birds allowed at any one place. In the event of an avian flu outbreak, the locations of all those small flocks would be known and an urban hit squad (poultricide posse?)could be mobilized to dispatch the menacing little flocks.
Hens don't crow, but they do cluck, cackle and call back and forth. They're not silent.

Homewood already has placed what they consider a reasonable limit on chickens...based on distance from a residence, rather than numbers. Otherwise, Mrs. Murdoch seems in compliance.

Sounds like a simple matter to either request a variance from the ordinance, or petition the City government to change the ordinance.

BTW, as to the last line in the story...there's no Constitutional confirmation of the right to own chickens.
Well I assure you I was brought up on a farm, and sooner or later Ms Cleaver will decide she will want to raise her own little chickens, and unless the hens are adept at asexual reproduction, she is gonna need a rooster.
And yes you MAY be safer with a few single chickens running around, but I have worked with the poultry companies before, and I know how they monitor these large "megahouses", and these chickens are controlled.
The city and neighborhoods are not the place for this type of activity. What's next, pigs in the backyard?
If Ms. Cleaver wants a chicken farm, let her move out of the city limits, away from the nice neighborhood and get an acre of land. She can raise all of her chickens there, and hopefully not inconvenience her neighbors.
If Ms Murdochs feathers are ruffled, and she feels this is a bird brained ordinance, she should cry fowl!
She should not brood over it, but hatch an idea!
She could attempt to handle this by herself, as lawyers do not work for chicken feed, and she could quickly use up her nest egg.
Maybe she could approach the bad eggs who are enforcing this ban, single out the c o c k -of-the -walk, and ask what is stuck in their craw about having chickens in the neighborhood.
She would probably need to handle this situation, at first, as if she were walking on eggshells.
However, if she feels they are giving her a c o c k-and-bull story, she could put up a squawk!
Who knows? She could end up making them look like they had egg on their face, put them in their pecking order, win her case, and have something to crow about!
quote:
Originally posted by CageTheElephant:
If Ms Murdochs feathers are ruffled, and she feels this is a bird brained ordinance, she should cry fowl!
She should not brood over it, but hatch an idea!
She could attempt to handle this by herself, as lawyers do not work for chicken feed, and she could quickly use up her nest egg.
Maybe she could approach the bad eggs who are enforcing this ban, single out the c o c k -of-the -walk, and ask what is stuck in their craw about having chickens in the neighborhood.
She would probably need to handle this situation, at first, as if she were walking on eggshells.
However, if she feels they are giving her a c o c k-and-bull story, she could put up a squawk!
Who knows? She could end up making them look like they had egg on their face, put them in their pecking order, win her case, and have something to crow about!



Daaayyumm. That was PROFOUND. Great job Cage.
quote:
Originally posted by CageTheElephant:
If Ms Murdochs feathers are ruffled, and she feels this is a bird brained ordinance, she should cry fowl!
She should not brood over it, but hatch an idea!
She could attempt to handle this by herself, as lawyers do not work for chicken feed, and she could quickly use up her nest egg.
Maybe she could approach the bad eggs who are enforcing this ban, single out the c o c k -of-the -walk, and ask what is stuck in their craw about having chickens in the neighborhood.
She would probably need to handle this situation, at first, as if she were walking on eggshells.
However, if she feels they are giving her a c o c k-and-bull story, she could put up a squawk!
Who knows? She could end up making them look like they had egg on their face, put them in their pecking order, win her case, and have something to crow about!


From the story posted, it seems that Ms. Murdoch does not intend to seriously stand and fight for her right to keep and bear chickens, since she is taking her wee flock to a more permissive jurisdiction. I think she might have CHICKENED OUT!
Despite the fact that it is sort of low brow story, there appears to be much more when you get more information.
The story fails to point out that Mrs. Mrdoch is living in an apartment complex, not her own home. The law on the books states that she can have them if they are 300 feet away from neighboring homes, hers however are less than 25 feet.
I have seen pics of her "roost" and it looks tasteful, but again she is living in a complex with other people, and this just seems inconsiderate of thoe other people living there. The law is on the books for a reason, and they either need to change it or enforce it.
quote:
Originally posted by CageTheElephant:
If Ms Murdochs feathers are ruffled, and she feels this is a bird brained ordinance, she should cry fowl!
She should not brood over it, but hatch an idea!
She could attempt to handle this by herself, as lawyers do not work for chicken feed, and she could quickly use up her nest egg.
Maybe she could approach the bad eggs who are enforcing this ban, single out the c o c k -of-the -walk, and ask what is stuck in their craw about having chickens in the neighborhood.
She would probably need to handle this situation, at first, as if she were walking on eggshells.
However, if she feels they are giving her a c o c k-and-bull story, she could put up a squawk!
Who knows? She could end up making them look like they had egg on their face, put them in their pecking order, win her case, and have something to crow about!


poultry in motion!!

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