Thursday, March 19, 2009

Chicken Crimes or Not?

I'll be in court this morning. One of the locals got charged with violating local zoning ordinances due to his pet chickens. Andrew Wordes has a dozen or chickens in the back yard and someone complained that he was violating the rules against livestock. One part of the city zoning says chickens are livestock and another part excludes them. There is a very active backyard chicken group in the area and they are meeting at the courthouse this morning to support Andrew and yours truly will be there. Interestingly, so will CNN and all the local TV stations. For some reason this little spat has garnered quite a bit of publicity and even hit the national news. I may even be on CNN this morning!
I don't have chickens(yet) but I resent the city telling me I can't keep a few around if I want to. All the other cities around allow a up to 25 or 30 "pet chickens" except Roswell. I can understand some limits and restrictions but I have over an acre of room and no immediate neighbors and a dozen or so chickens wouldn't bother anyone. Besides, depending on how the economy goes producing your own eggs may be a matter of survival and not just a hobby.
So anyhow, this morning is set aside for the right to keep chickens. If you happen to be watching the local Atlanta news or even CNN today you may see me and the other chicken supporters. We are all wearing something yellow so we will be easy to spot.
I'll be back later.

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