Never mind the “Secret Lives of Bees”–I’m intrigued by the Secret Lives of Kids. I would never guess what’s going on in my own kids’ heads if I didn’t chatter and play with them. Case in point: our 11-year-old son, Christian, has been harboring a long-standing wish to own chickens. I had no idea.
He first floated the idea in the context of our long-term Plan: a bed-and-breakfast on the acre that’s awaiting us on the Big Island of Hawai’i. Could we have chickens there, he wondered, and could he help with them? Given that the “long-term” part of the Plan is largely due to considering ourselves anchored-in-Idaho by joint custody until the kids get through school, that would be a lo-o-ong wait. Really, you want chickens? Well… How about NOW?
Anatoli’s chicken-house
Our neighbor Anatoli has chickens already—chickens who (he claims, in his own thickly accented English) “speak Spanish, and English, and on Saturdays, Russian.” And Chuck (the disabled Vet just down the way from us, whose yard gets mowed in turns by Keoni and Steve and Bill, who have undertaken the volunteer rotation without ever talking about it) has hens that he raised himself from the eggs. So no problem, we figured—and we promised Christian chickens this summer.
The beginning of May, to our surprise, brought a form-letter from the landlord reminding everyone to mow their yards and keep their porches tidy… and to get rid of “farm animals” by June 1. The letter clarified that chickens were meant by that, and that there had better not be any chickens left on the property by June. The afternoon of the letter’s arrival, Steve and Bill and Keoni and Anatoli convened at the “four corners” where our yards converge, and (like a bunch of biddies themselves) dissected the letter, managing in the process to dissuade Anatoli (conditioned, perhaps, by Soviet-Bloc life?) from immediately killing his dear hens. The idea of a neighborhood petition arose from the gab-session; Keoni volunteered me to write one up, and Bill said he’d walk it all around the park.
Gretchen Anderson, author of “The Backyard Chicken Fight” (and raising chickens in our hometown)
A little research showed that every town in our county (including the capital city of Boise) legally defines hens (up to a certain number, which varies town by town) as pets, rather than farm animals. Since our leases prohibit “farm animals”—but not specifically chickens—our argument hangs on the definition. I got in touch with nationally-recognized author and “backyard chicken advocate” Gretchen Anderson, who happens to live in our own town of Eagle, to inquire about the rules and interpretations of this municipality–though I realized soon after that our trailer park (“Eagle” address notwithstanding) is outside the town boundary…
In any case, our “Request to Reconsider the Ruling Regarding Chickens” relied on these points:
- Female chickens, up to a certain number, are legally considered pets rather than farm animals even within city limits of the cities in Ada County. The most restrictive city in Ada County is Boise, which currently allows up to three female chickens (and is in the process of considering an increase to allow six). Other cities in Ada County have set even higher numbers allowable as pets, collectively setting a clear legal precedent for the classification of chickens as pets rather than as farm animals.
- Female chickens do not create any noise nuisance, health hazards, or devaluation of property value.
- Chickens provide excellent pest control with regard to bugs, provide fertilizer for gardens, and provide eggs for the household—all of which are markedly advantageous for families attempting to feed themselves in these tough economic times.
image from backyardpoultrymag.com
By the next evening Bill had collected more than forty signatures on the petition. The only person in the park who declined to sign cited as her reason the fact that she didn’t want her son-in-law (who also lives here) to take it into his head to raise chickens… Bill met with the manager, presented the petition, and then… We waited. June 1 came and went, and we still hadn’t heard anything either way. Anatoli’s and Chuck’s chickens continue to cluck away on either side of us, oblivious to their suspended sentence.
So… We’ve decided to go ahead and build our poultry-pen. Steve has a stack of two-by-fours for which we bartered a couple recycled coffee-creamer-jugs filled with Keoni’s teriyaki sauce & his ginger salad dressing, I just found a free roll of chicken wire on Craigslist, and Christian is doing the research about details like chicken-food…
***
On a more sobering note (literally, for the two of us), our little neighborhood also marked a sad circumstance today. Our neighbor four doors down—known for his metal-work and his race-car driving—took his own life today. Steve knew him well because he used to live in our trailer, and Steve (who has been Sober a year longer than we) says he was in Recovery, but had gone back to drinking. The Crime Scene Investigation team has been courteous and circumspect, quietly inquiring among the neighbors about his recent habits, what sort of music he’d been listening to. And I suppose it’s telling that in this fairly tight-knit little country neighborhood, no one had answers. It’s telling, too, that he’s one of the only neighbors whose name I don’t know. We’d actually been keeping an eye out for him, wanting to introduce ourselves and ask if he had plans for the stack of tiles in his driveway, but we hadn’t yet found—or made—the opportunity. We were reflecting yesterday on our brief 18 months of Sobriety—as well as lessons learned from that relapse, brief but utterly disastrous—and our neighbor’s suicide brings the severity of this disease home to roost.
While we’re working toward chickens, we’re enjoying ducks. We’ve watched this troupe since they were eggs under our back bushes…
To end on a related—but more upbeat—note, we lost a dear friend yesterday morning. I say “upbeat” because this man’s life is one to celebrate, even mixed with the sadness of goodbye. Gary (or Grrrr, as we always called him) “graduated from the Program” with decades of Sobriety behind him—a man who daily celebrated the blessing of “going to sleep every night instead of passing out, and waking up every morning instead of coming to.” We’re pretty sure that he has already ensconced himself in a back-row seat for the Great Meeting in the Sky, set up his Cribbage board, rolled his own cigarette, and responded to another angel’s “Good-to-see-you” greeting with his standard response: “It’s good to be seen!” Grrrr, you are loved! And we know that you have gone home to roost where you will be most joyful. Save us a seat!
June 18th, 2012 at 11:06 pm
Good luck with the chickens. A good friend of mine raises them, and the eggs are crazy good. I can’t stand stores bought anymore.
Sorry to hear about your neighbor. Suicide makes me sick inside.
June 18th, 2012 at 11:23 pm
Yes, we’ve been enjoying occasional eggs from Anatoli’s hens, and looking forward to MORE! :) AND the adventure…
June 18th, 2012 at 11:45 pm
So sorry to hear of the loss of your friend and that of your neighbor.
June 19th, 2012 at 1:01 am
sorry about the loss of your friend, what a great send off note tho. I have been wanting chickens too….I’m going to see if I can find a loop hole too! Thanks for the info!
June 19th, 2012 at 3:29 am
I love your sense of community, your devotion to your children and your friendships. I’m sorry for your loss. God bless both of those men who passed.
June 19th, 2012 at 4:51 am
How industrious! I think it’s wonderful that you can give your kids the space to discover new things about themselves, like raising chickens!
June 19th, 2012 at 5:09 am
I have had layer chickens for several years now. The first four have slowed down their production but I haven’t the heart to get rid of them, and second four lay HUGE brown eggs daily. Every day is like a mini-easter-egg-hunt. People love getting fresh eggs – great for barter. They eat chicken feed (cheap!) and kitchen food scraps. Quiet and easy and healthy and environmentally friendly. Excellent project. Just watch out for dogs/foxes/coyotes/weasels depending on where you live!
June 19th, 2012 at 8:27 am
I had some banny roosters once and they were the best watchdogs. Darrell and his other brother Darrell wouldn’t let anyone near the house. They had been known to chase phone repairmen across the yard and they were only about 10″ tall! he he What great fun it will be (for your whole family) to raise chickens.
Sorry for your losses, Kana. What a great reminder these sad events can be, as to the fragile state of our own lives in sobriety. I am grateful to you for sharing both of these tales. ((hugs))
June 19th, 2012 at 9:05 am
I left one long comment and lost it–got kicked off-line, computer froze. At any rate, wanted you to know how much I love this post, to remind you how beautifully you write, to mention that Sara also wants chickens, and to say I’m sorry about your friend, Great post, my friend.
Hugs,
Kathy
June 19th, 2012 at 9:19 am
Way to stand up and bark. I hope the chicks get permanent parole.
I went to the funeral of an acquaintance yesterday and was struck by how much we *don’t* know the people in our lives. We never know the horrors and joys people around us experience.
Blessings on this day.
June 19th, 2012 at 9:25 am
As a vegan, I must say that the highest purpose of chickens is that as pest controllers.
June 19th, 2012 at 10:32 am
My comment was too long for the reply here, so you’ll have to read it on my blog. http://togacell.com/2012/06/19/171/
June 19th, 2012 at 10:32 am
[...] post on her blog http://kanatyler.com/2012/06/18/home-to-roost/ reminded me of my only experience with baby chicks. I was posting a response and realized that [...]
June 19th, 2012 at 12:00 pm
My ex and I used to keep chickens – we named them after explorers which somewhat confused the neighbours!!!
June 19th, 2012 at 1:29 pm
Good luck! I grew up around chickens.
June 19th, 2012 at 1:31 pm
Well I hope Christian’s chickens to great and give him lots of joy. This post is also a sad reminder to step outside our boxes to meet our neighbors.. As for GRRR I hope he is happy and having a great time. :)
June 19th, 2012 at 2:59 pm
I grew up with chooks (aussie slang) too. Nothing like home-hatched eggs. Sorry to hear about your friend, and neighbour too. Loss sucks!
June 19th, 2012 at 8:02 pm
I hope they let you keep the chickens. Caring for animals can be a great lesson in responsibility for little ones.
June 20th, 2012 at 3:45 am
I have lots of friends who own chickens, but I don’t think I’d dare. We have foxes and weasels and coyotes and raccoons and snakes and a very sneaky English setter, lol.
Sorry to hear about your losses. I like how you recognize the difference between finding and making an opportunity. Because that is so true, and one we all need to be more aware of.
June 24th, 2012 at 11:53 am
We had chickens for years! If you want some super fun eggs, get some araucana– the turquoise color is beautiful, and our araucana eggs were always delicious. :)
You can also get an “Ameraucana” which is just the Americanized breed of the chicken — I believe their egg production is above average compared to the araucana. We also used to have Rhode Island Reds, and they are very dependable layers.
I’m surprised to see how much I remember about chickens.
June 26th, 2012 at 1:27 pm
Hope to get to allow your chickens to ‘hatch’. So sorry to hear about your neighbour. Nice of you to remember him with kind consideration.
June 29th, 2012 at 5:24 pm
[...] results in rewards unsought. Keoni stopped to offer condolences to the father and brother of our recently deceased neighbor, asking also how he might be of help. They’re looking to sell the place, so he offered to [...]
July 12th, 2012 at 6:45 pm
[...] after tackling the political angle of backyard chickens and gathering our (free) resources, we finally got our start on the chicken [...]
September 21st, 2012 at 4:38 pm
[...] House is finished! (Previous pieces of the poultry play-by-play, if you’d like them: Home to Roost, Ain’t Nobody Here But Us Chickens, and Our Little Patch of [...]