As we remarked in, I think chapter one of our book, the town of Mouscron, Belgium, adopted a chicken solution to their household waste problem.
It’s happened again, this time in France.
Officials in the town of Pince, population 200, a village in northwestern France, said the idea first began as “une boutade,” (a witty remark) but then they realized it was a very good idea. The goal, in addition to reducing waste, is to strengthen neighborhood relationships, to provide an educational opportunity for children, and to help with expenses in light of the increase in the price of eggs.
I’m hopeful this will start happening more often, until it becomes routine. Making having your own chickens normal again would be such a sane direction for cities to take.
As much as I love it when people come visit and make over my chickens, I love it even more when they come over and stand three feet from them and not say a word or give them a second look.
They’re usually country people or old timers or people from other countries, and it thrills me to pieces. Like chickens are supposed to be there. Which they are.
I just read in the codes this week that while my city will allow me to have chickens, my HOA will not. I’d love to see us return to the days when having chickens was just the normal way of things.
Sandy–You never know, your HOA might be open to change . . .
Yes, I do believe everyone should own chickens. We need to stop the factory farming of eggs. And plus, chickens are such a joy to raise. Last night we had an animal get into our coup. We lost 2 of our girls, but the blessing is that we still have 3 left. Chickens are wonderful pets with the bonus of eggs!
Hello All, after our Broody hen Ethel’s 5 shipped fertile eggs did not hatch, we went to buy 3 day old chicks and a lady told us the babies would not accept Ethel because they don’t know her “cluck?” so she gave us 10 eggs that her hen had been on and today we got our first chick!!! Ethel is so happy and so are we…this process has taken 3 months but today it’s all worth it!! I have pictures but don’t know how to post them!!
I have a small flock of urban chickens, which I’ve had for many years. They are quieter than my neighbors’ dogs and are kept cleanly in a coop/predator-proof run, surrounded by a cottage garden. This city placed a ban on farm animals a couple of years ago because of a miniature pig dispute between neighbors. While I do want to say I’m grandfathered in, that would not really be the case. It is legal still, however, to house a HORSE in a city backyard with no acreage because it relates to transportation and the old city foundation laws. People have ponies in row home backyards here, and as long as they are humanely kept, it is legal. If my neighbors complain about my hens, I have no problem adding some riding horses here (I’ve owned horses before). My neighbor down the street has 4 horses. I am right off of a city park with horse trails, too. Personally, though, I find chickens more entertaining, useful, and a real joy to be around everyday. This city needs to remove that ban and let people have hens for healthy eggs and educational value to families and ethnic groups.
Sig–Does sound a bit backwards. You can always fight city hall if you want. I think the trend is toward eliminating chicken bans, and you have the tide on your side.
HOAs are the bane of my existence. I have several friends who want to begin keeping chickens and practical gardens but are afraid to even approach their HOAs on the subject. It’s very sad.