The keeping of chickens in urban residential settings is gaining popularity across the United States. Advocates of backyard chickens cite more nutritious and flavorful eggs, nitrogen-rich garden fertilizer, and natural pest control among the benefits of backyard chickens. Opponents worry about noise, odors, and the potential to spread diseases such as Salmonella and Avian Flu. The debate to legalize egg-laying chickens in residential areas is making its way to local governments throughout the country, with city councils trying to balance the health, safety and interests of both residents and chickens. In August, after debating the issue for nearly two years, the Sacramento City Council ap

I filled in for David Watts Barton Tuesday morning for the weekly segment of The Sacramento Press on Capital Public Radio's “Insight,” and Jeffrey Callison and I talked about chicken keeping, a record-setting City Council meeting on redistricting and a few fun additions to the central city – including a restaurant that serves drinks in fish bowls. The Sacramento City Council may pass an ordinance at its meeting Tuesday night that will allow residents to keep up to three egg-laying chickens in their backyards – as long as the chickens are enclosed and the enclosure is 20 feet away from the neighbors’ homes. Residents would need to apply for a permit and pay to renew it each year. There is

City staff will draft an ordinance that, if passed, will allow up to three egg-laying hens to be kept in backyards within city limits. The Law and Legislation committee of the City Council gave the nod to city staff to draft the ordinance in a unanimous decision Tuesday. City Councilman Steve Cohn, who walked out of a previous meeting to prevent the issue being shot down in a 3-1 vote, called Tuesday’s decision a victory, and said the ordinance should come to the full council for a vote within one or two months, where he expects it will pass. “I was very pleased,” said Cohn, who has been advocating for allowing hens in city backyards for more than a year. “I don’t think we’ll have a pro

Before you weigh in on either side of the great Sacramento chicken debate it’s worth considering the effort and cost that goes into the creation of a city poultry ordinance. The City’s Law and Legislation Committee will consider the costs and consequences of city chickens on February 15th, 3:00pm at New City Hall. It’s apparently not free to analyze chickens. The City’s Staff Report to the Law and Legislation Committee calculated spending approximately 40 man hours at a cost of $4,000 on the research and review of the potential ordinance. Costs to develop and implement a permitting process are estimated in the range of $1,000. Current nuisance enforcement is nothing to cluck at either. T

The fate of chicken keeping in Sacramento is still undecided after Tuesday’s Law and Legislation Committee meeting when Councilman Steve Cohn walked out and prevented Sandy Sheedy and Lauren Hammond from voting down the ordinance advocated by CLUCK (Campaign to Legalize Urban Chicken Keeping). Cohn was the only supportive voice on the committee. “What I’d like to do,” he said, “is allow more work to be done and have an actual ordinance be drafted.” Hammond said, “I have never been enthusiastic about the idea.” Cohn replied, “If you wanna kill it, kill it, but I’ll bring it back when you’re gone.” This was a disappointing finale for CLUCK as supporters were left puzzled by Cohn’s abrupt

Posted by mrlurker I have neighnors 2 houses down that own 2 rosters that make alot of noise all day long. Is it legal to have rosters in a residential neighborhood? I feel the neighbors are unapproachable and might cause trouble if I mentioned it. There are alot of cars and young adults that hang out in front of the house regularly. Im not saying they are criminals at all.. but I am reluctant to approach them as if they wanted to cause trouble this would give them a reason and someone to blame. What would you suggest to address this issue? Thank You Dear mrlurker, Well, well, who needs an alarm clock when you have roosters in the neighborhood. There really aren’t too many reasons to ha

Disclaimer: the contributor of this and his wife run Movies on a Big Screen, Sacramento's weekly screening series of documentaries, general independent film, classics and cult titles. The following is blatant self-promotion of a MOBS event in conjunction with Sacramento's CLUCK (Campaign to Legalize Urban Chicken Keeping). On Friday, August 7, 2009, at 7:00 PM and 9:30 PM and on Sunday, August 9, 2009 at 7:00 PM, Movies on a Big Screen, in association with CLUCK, will be presenting, "Mad City Chickens."  Filmmakers Tashai Lovington and Robert Lughai will be in attendance on Friday night only. Also on Friday night only - a raffle for a chicken coop! And since raising chickens in the city o

Backyard chickens. Frontyard gardens. Crop swaps. Fruit gleaning. The Good Food Movement, or movement towards a sustainable food and food production, is growing in Sacramento. And residents are seizing on the City's soils and politics to make Sacramento a living laboratory for a new wave of urban agriculture. "Urban agriculture is providing the forum for a larger social discussion," said Jennifer Lee of EAT Sacramento in an email. "Sacramentans increasingly understand that how we eat and how we grow has profound implications for our health, our communities and our environment." On July 11th, these efforts will culminate in Urban Ag Day.  Participants will have an opportunity to ride thei

 Someone thought it would be a good idea to abandon a couple of chickens at one of the UC Davis housing complexes. Two months and ten fold as many critters later, one can hardly walk next door without incurring the disapproving clucks of these easily-startled fowl. At least the students can now save some cash and ditch their alarm clocks for that au-naturale 7:00 am wake-up call.