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Fate of chickens in the city decided

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By Ryan Gauthier and Meagan Engle, Staff Writers 11:43 AM Wednesday, November 18, 2009

OXFORD — The issue of having chickens inside the city limits scratched by this week as council enacted a formal policy in favor of the poultry in a 4-3 vote.

Amid quite a few laughs from the audience, City Council debated the benefits of allowing people to keep up to six chickens at their own homes versus the risk of drawing more natural predators into the city limits.

But in the end, chickens won out when council members Ken Bogard, Richard Keebler and

Greig Rutherford were outvoted.

Chicken keeper Rob Abowitz, who attended the meeting, requested and was granted a change to the proposed rule, increasing the number of allowed birds from four to six.

“I honestly thought there was something on the books that allowed this,” Abowitz told council.

Abowitz and his wife Kathleen decided to raise chickens behind their Oxford home nearly four years ago after a friend from Seattle told them about keeping a chicken coop in the middle of a bustling city.

“They’re really low-maintenance,” Rob told The Oxford Press at his home. “It took us a while to build a coop that was secure enough to keep out the large number of natural predators in the environment, but it was all a learning process.”

He said they lost numerous hens to enterprising hawks, raccoons, opossums and mink during the first few years of having chickens.

During their peak period of egg-laying — between six and 18 months — the hens were producing between 10 and 12 eggs per week. And while they may not have been organic, Rob said at the very least the eggs were hormone free.

“I wouldn’t say the eggs are organic as we’re feeding them items from our inorganic kitchen,” he said. “But the eggs are bigger, fresher and taste better than ones we’d get at the store.”

Nine-year-old daughter Maddy said she never imagined a henhouse in her own backyard, but she’s gotten used to it.

“I still don’t think it’s cool to have chickens,” Maddy said. “But it’s definitely not weird. I would encourage all of my friends to do this.”

While their current brood seems to have stopped laying eggs, the family has no plans to butcher them for meat. They’re not exactly the most affectionate of pets, but Rob said the family gets a lot of satisfaction out of just watching them interact with one another.

“When they’re out and you’re just kind of sitting — you’ve done some work outside and you’re sitting watching them — it’s really quite relaxing,” Rob said. “They’re really interesting to watch. It’s interesting to see the pecking order that they keep with and they enforce.”

Though city council gave the green light to keep chickens, roosters are not allowed inside the city. Rutherford also tried to propose a rule to forbid keeping chickens in the front yard, but his motion died for lack of a second.

Bogard expressed concern over the possibility of a rat problem if the food, or chickens themselves, attracted the rodents. He also spoke about the possibility of chickens attracting predators.

But outgoing member Alysia Fischer countered that the abundant population of squirrels and even house cats could attract predators.

“There are plenty of house cats and we’re not saying you can’t have house cats,” she said.

“I do hope to leave city council having been a part of the legalization of chickens,” she said, to a chorus of laughter from the audience.

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This one had council running around like a bunch of chickens with their heads cut off.

pw
9:57 PM, 11/18/2009

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Q. Why did the chicken want to cross over High Street in Oxford the second time?
A. She was trying to get away from the drunkin Miami student that was trying to rape her

just the facts
5:21 PM, 11/18/2009

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Q. Why the chicken cross High Street in Oxford?
A. He wanted to be first in line at Brick Street for Green Beer Day and beat all the rest of the drunken Miami students!

just the facts
5:16 PM, 11/18/2009

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My Grandmother had two chickens in her Hamilton basement when I was a little girl (1966ish). I thought they were pets & then one day they were gone. We probably had chicken that day for dinner & I just didn't put it together until I was much older.

My Grandfather briefly raised rabbits (again 1966ish) in their Hamilton backyard and I could never understand why I wasn't allowed to have one for my own pet. Again, years later I figured it out...

turnip
2:20 PM, 11/18/2009

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