Fear of allowing backyard chickens ‘largely not rational

To the Editor,I was saddened to learn that the Tecumseh City Council voted down a measure that would have allowed residents to keep hens on their urban lots on an experimental basis. According to a report I read, one of the city councilors commented that he “couldn’t be bothered” or that it was “too much work” to collaborate with city residents to create this opportunity.As the graduate of an agricultural college (where I studied poultry science and game bird management, among other related subjects) and a resident of a community where chickens have just been officially allowed after a seven-month deliberation by our city council, planning board, and board of health, I am both disturbed and appalled by this. Here, in Salem, Massachusetts — a community nearly 400 years old — our city councilors and volunteer planning and health boards are all city residents who are willing to work on behalf of their fellow city residents, to create a working solution that is fair to all. Our residents may now, after applying for a permit, keep hens on their properties; those of us who have kept poultry since before the new ordinance (I have been raising ornamental bantam chickens here for 21 years) were grandfathered and are allowed to keep our flocks and current coop setups.It was determined by our council that chickens do not create any greater issues (and, actually, likely far fewer problems) than do dogs, cats, parrots and other pets legally kept in our city.Drawing on science and data from our agriculture department, experts and experienced poultry-keepers (I have been raising fowl for more than 40 years), our city council was convinced that six hens in a spacious, secure, tidy coop pose far fewer issues than do more conventional pets, in terms of noise, mess, potential diseases (dogs, cats and other mammals pose far a far greater potential issue than do birds such as chickens).It is my understanding that in Tecumseh, it is permissible to keep up to three dogs on a property. By rights, then, a Tecumseh resident could keep as many as three 150-pound Rottweilers or mastiffs in their yard. I shudder to think about the potential noise and poop allotment this would create! By contrast, four or six hens weighing a whopping five or six pounds apiece, does not even come close in the amount of daily waste or noise; and, in fact, their manure makes great compost for the garden (which dog poop does not). In our region, chicken waste is eagerly sought after by the local composting companies, while dog and cat waste are rejected due to disease hazard.Fear of allowing urban-suburban chickens is largely not rational, and, in my opinion, is based on lack of knowledge and understanding of what a chicken-keeping is about. In our increasingly urbanized world, people are becoming more and further removed from the plants and animals that were — and remain — a critical part of a healthy human ecosystem.In closing, I sincerely hope that the Tecumseh residents who support chicken-keeping in their city will not let this initial defeat end their drive. If anything, it should fire them to rally even stronger to educate and influence the city council to take another — and more informed — look at the matter.Cady A. GoldfieldSalem, Mass.