“If kept to small numbers and cared for properly, backyard flocks neither should nor would create unpleasant odors, lead to any increase in pests or predators, nor be a risk for spreading infectious diseases to either humans or commercial fowl. I had my chickens in Columbus for two years before my neighbors ever knew they were there!

Surely four to six hens clucking as they scratch and eat up ticks and other pests and the smell generated by their droppings cannot compare to the blasts of the train and the stench from the poultry processing plants and grain elevators that we have in the heart of downtown. Boom box speakers driving by, motorcycles revving up and dogs barking … we live with much of that. No one asks our permission. When it exists in excess then we can file a nuisance complaint. So it should be with chickens not kept properly and responsibly.”

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what will the realtors say?

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Now, here’s one to throw some oil onto the fire….
What about, (a hush falls on the crowd…) Clothes lines?
(A gasp goes around the room, then silence, the silence of anticipation…)

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Can we all please get beyond the notion that backyard chickens pose a biosecurity or disease risk to commercial flocks and people? This myth pushed by corporate ag is no more real than the boogey man or the tax on emails rumor that went around a few years back. Numerous studies both in this country and abroad point the figure of avian flu disease risk squarely on commerical flocks. They provide the perfect environment for mutating bugs. The Shenandoah Valley avian flu outbreaks in 1983 and 2002 were both likely caused by live bird markets on the east coast and not backyard chickens. In 2002, testing of backyard flocks for avian flu came back with ZERO positives. Poor biosecurity procedures by poultry companies were also to blame. Studies of the outbreaks in Asia by the John Hopkins School of Public Health and GRAIN also point to large commercial operations as the real problem. So if you want to oppose backyard flocks because you think they will lower your property values, make too much noise, or stink up the joint those seem like points to consider. However, the biosecurity threat glass holds no water.

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I’m not trying to prejudge the results; maybe Heritage Oaks is really a worthy expenditure that would stack up well against other city recreation options…if so, that would really bolster the arguments in favor of keeping it around.

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