COMMENTARY
Donn Esmonde: City chickens deserve an ‘eggception’
Published: April 01, 2009, 12:30 am
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I don’t want to get egg on my face, but I have to admit it. When I heard about the West Side lady with the chicken coop, my first thought was, "No way." Opening the city's doors to chicken coops seemed like a step back to a time when folks just off of the boat, and one step from starvation, kept hens to put eggs on the table.
I had visions of smelly, cackling birds running across a muddy plot. I imagined irate neighbors running around like chickens with their heads cut off. Then I took a look Tuesday at the deluxe coop de ville in Monique Watts' neatly tended yard. I found out that the seeds of an urban chicken-farming movement are spreading across the land. I hunted and pecked on the Internet for thecitychicken.com Web site. Finally, I realized: The sky is not falling.
A chicken on every plot is not regressive. It is progressive.
Animal-control officers Saturday told Watts that it was against a city law to own hens. By Monday, she made sure her five fowl had flown the coop. The fugitives are brooding in an undisclosed location until the feathers stop flying.
"Hopefully the law will get changed and I won't have to give up my hens," Watts told me. "There are a lot of people who want to do this."
Watts is not some odd bird or clucky eccentric. She works in the fundraising office at Roswell Park. She and her husband, Blair Woods, are good eggs. They are co-founders of Urban Roots Garden Co-op. They are among the bright, progressive urban warriors who — house by house — are reclaiming a threadbare West Side neighborhood. Watts thinks that the complaint about the coop came from a local drug dealer or slumlord whom they are putting the heat on.
Now they are part of a newly hatched national movement for fresher, more natural food. Chickens eat insect pests, their manure is great fertilizer, and they cluck — "no louder than a crow flying overhead," said Watts — only when about to lay.
I know what some folks are thinking: I would not want a chicken coop next-door to me. At first, I felt the same way. But knowing what I know now, I would not hire a fox if the neighbors built a henhouse.
City after city across America is changing laws to allow fowl, with limits on the number (usually six) and type (no noisy roosters). Buffalo is late to put its eggs in the basket, as about two-thirds of American cities reportedly allow backyard chickens — mostly for eggs, not slaughter. Madison, Wis., boasts more than 80 chicken owners. There are ways to do it that keep neighbors happy. Like dogs, hens need to be registered and — this should make our fee-hungry mayor happy — some places charge $25 for a permit.
I asked Watts' next-door neighbors if they were bothered by the coop, which has been there for nine months.
"I didn't know they had chickens," Lisa Ho said. "It doesn't bother us at all."
I am happy to report that the attitude of city officials is refreshingly tolerant. Whereas once the likely reflex was to slaughter the birds and send in the bulldozer, now there are open ears and minds. David Rivera, the Council member, formed a "chicken task force" to look into what other places have done.
"We want to make sure we do this right," said Rivera, "and factor in health and neighborhood considerations."
For Watts, chickens cross the road from livestock to pets, with distinct personalities. Buttercup is a big eater; Effie is adventurous; Minnie is the beauty; Tilda is small and sweet; and bossy Meg is tops in the pecking order. Watts looks forward to the day when the fugitives can resume their "eggcellent" adventure in the backyard coop.
There are plenty of ways to rebuild a city. The universal message: Don't put all your eggs in one basket.
desmonde@buffnews.com
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