The backyard poultry debate continues in many areas. It raised is head again in Guelph recently, with more city government debate about how far you have to keep your backyard chickens from your neighbours. There are a number of issues to consider, like potential for spread of zoonotic bacteria (e.g. Salmonella), avian flu, noise,
More on urban chickens: Part II
A reasonable question, expanding on the recent discussion about urban chickens and disease risks, is: why don’t we know how often people get sick from urban chickens?
To answer the question, we need to think about how diseases are diagnosed and reported.
Let’s say I decide to raise some chickens in my backyard.
More on urban chickens: Part I
Urban chickens continue to be in the news, with debate about instituting (or enforcing) bylaws banning or restricting the raising of chickens in backyards running next to articles on how to raise your own backyard flock.
People have various concerns, including:
- Noise
- Attracting wildlife, including predators such as coyotes
- Smell
- Infectious diseases
- Animal welfare
But
Chicken diapers…even I couldn’t make this one up
I have three kids that are all now (thankfully) past the diaper stage. I have no idea how many diapers I changed, but I don’t have a huge desire to start doing it again, especially for chickens.
Yes, there are now diapers for chickens.
I understand the whole urban chicken concept. I don’t actually have
Urban chicken debate
The debate about urban (backyard) chickens is again in the news, this time in Windsor, Ontario. The debate was ignited by a recent case in which a Windsor couple has been given one week to get rid of their backyard hens. The couple is preparing to fight the order, stating that the chickens are
Urban chickens
A new trend in the back-to-nature/all-natural (or whatever the catch-word of the day is) movement is urban chickens. These chickens are raised in small numbers by city slickers (i.e. urban residents) in their yards, and are typically used as a source of fresh eggs. Not surprisingly, this concept has met with some controversy.