Comments on: Chickens: A Rant

By: Emma

Emma — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 23:00:17 +0000

Thanks, that sounds good.Right now my friend Madison is at my house. My teacher and mom both think their feet look like a dinosaur’s foot.

By: Capital Taps

Capital Taps — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 00:12:43 +0000

Oh, I think Tommy Eliot might usefully be employed! The Ballad of Ben Cannon needs the counterpoint of a Chant of Chicken or Rondeau of Rooster…please, a fowl fricassee!

By: Emily Grosvenor

Emily Grosvenor — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 21:25:45 +0000

A detractor! How exciting and brave of you to voice your opinion in a sea of wanna be chicken keepers!

People who don’t follow rules will have the chickens anyway, as you have learned in Keizer (incidentally, Keizer allows chickens). The people in Salem who are trying to push through the measure are people who want to abide by the law, and are thus more likely to follow the terms of the proposed amendment.

As for road kill, it is everywhere, a fact of life. I did a ride-along with a DOT worker who picks up road kill once. Chickens aren’t really the big roadkill problem.

By: Emily Grosvenor

Emily Grosvenor — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 21:22:31 +0000

Emma, we’ll have to take some new pics, also of the coop! I had some of the ugly duckling stage, but much prefer the chicks…

By: Mary Kay H

Mary Kay H — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 20:59:18 +0000

Are you opposed to pets in general, or just the feathered kind? Your argument could apply to dogs, cats, kids — just about anything, really. Frankly, if I saw someone keeping any creature in hot weather without adequate food, water, or shelter, I’d be making some phone calls. I sure wouldn’t say that because one neighbor didn’t take care of their dog/cat/guinea pig, nobody should have them.

Besides, keeping chickens is not about having a rare pet species. It’s about having some control over our food, and where our food comes from. Plus, chickens eat a TON of bugs that you don’t necessarily want running around your yard or crawling in your house. Chickens provide benefits beyond the fresh, incredibly healthy eggs they produce.

By: Mary Kay H

Mary Kay H — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 20:54:59 +0000

Sorry… guess I could have said “Thus,” or “Ergo,” but we’re talking chickens and eggs here. so bottoms seemed fitting

By: JJ

JJ — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 20:44:42 +0000

I am against having chickens in Salem. I’ve had neighbors in an apartment in Keizer who had two chickens they kept on their postage-sized stoop on the hot pavement without food or water under an overturned plastic laundry basket. In my current neighborhood, I’ve seen a neighbor with chickens running loose around their house and yard. Unfortunately, I’ve also driven around the remains of squashed chickens in the street. Keep them in the country.

By: Emma

Emma — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 00:18:35 +0000

Don’t you have a more updated picture of our chickens?! Now they are outside and have feathers! We are still feeding them their normal food but now they have tasted a huge variety of things, like dandelions, slugs, moths, daisies, strawberries, a little bit of banana, and some other things that I forgot.

By: Emily Grosvenor

Emily Grosvenor — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 18:52:16 +0000

I always think it is funny when people say “the bottom line is.” It’s like inserting an obvious end to the conversation. But yes, chickens can die, and violently. And that is indeed a bottom line.

By: Mary Kay H

Mary Kay H — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 18:35:30 +0000

The dog argument fails to hold kibble if you throw cats into the mix. Do neighbors break into heated arguments over dogs killing, barking at, or chasing cats?

Bottom line is, if you free range your chickens, it doesn’t matter if you’re in town or in the country. Chickens are prey, and predators lurk everywhere, be it the neighbor’s aggressive dog or the hawk perched in a nearby tree. As much as we love our chickens, the reality is that we might lose one to…erm, unfortunate circumstances, and thus must be prepared to handle that reality. It is part of owning an animal.