When I went to the city council meeting and I asked about having chickens I thought, Well, I will have my chickens by spring. Really, I thought my work was done. I mean, I got up my nerve and spoke and asked for the chickens, so that should be all I have to do, right? Wrong, nothing is ever quite that easy. When I went to the city council meeting last night, I found out that the next committee meeting that will be dealing with the chicken ordinance will be on February 1. There will be a total of two meetings to get the ordinance passed.

I pretty sure that the subject of having chickens in the backyard will be in the paper as there was a reporter in the audience. I have mixed feelings about this – I’m happy on one hand that the word will get out and more people that want chickens in their backyard will show up and give their support, and, on the other hand, I’m kind of nervous there will be people there also that don’t want their neighbors having chickens. Thanks to your helpful comments on a previous post I was able to get some answers to questions people might have. For instance, I’ve found out that four to five hens only produce as much waste as an average sized dog. Unlike dog and cat waste you are able to add chicken waste to your compost and reuse it in your garden. For even more information on changing city chicken ordinances there here are two websites that have been helpful to me, Chicken Revolution and Changing Your City's Chicken Laws.

About a week ago I was told it would be a good thing to contact my neighbors and find out if anyone else is interested in having chickens. So one bitter cold January evening I bundled up with my big coat, scarf, hat, gloves, and long johns underneath my jeans and walked to some of my neighbors to ask them if they are interested in owning chickens. Shaking from the cold, I started knocking on doors of the neighbors I knew. Most people generally were interested – they would say things like “what a neat idea,” but just as quickly add “but I don’t want to raise any.” Then I finally hit the jackpot, and I got one neighbor who was ready to go and said he would love to come to the meeting. Another neighbor across the street said she would love to have chickens for her granddaughter for educational purposes. The lady next to her said she didn’t want any chickens, but would come to the meeting, just to support me and see what a council meeting was all about. Now, she’s nice.

Have you ever been to a city council or town meeting before? To tell you the truth I haven’t, till I decided I wanted chickens. You might be like me and think, how boring. But they are truly interesting, and you find out all the things that are going on in your area. You get the information before any one else about what streets are going to be paved, rate increases, etc., and you get to have a voice. You get to go up front before the microphone and speak your mind and let the council members know how you feel. That is if you can gather up all your nerves. But you know, now that I’ve been to a couple, I think I might continue to go. I may not get to every one of them, but I am going to go to as many as possible and keep informed about my city. Something I should have done a long time ago.

Now, on to more neighbors, the ones I don’t know by name, and ask them if they would like to keep backyard chickens in the city. I have two weeks … and hopefully some warmer days for knocking on doors.

Something for reading by a nice fire:

If everything goes alright and the city I live in passes a chicken ordinance, I could have chickens by the spring. I’m excited at that prospect, but lately just a little nagging question has crept in to my thoughts and keeping me up at night, repeating itself over and over again, What on earth do I know about raising chickens? Then the answer comes just a bit more softly but not by much, Not a thing, absolutely nothing. I’m a city girl who wants to raise chickens so I can have fresh eggs, and frankly I don’t know a thing about how to raise them. Spring will be here sooner than I think and I’d better get some answers quick.

So, what are the questions I want to know the answers to? Since I first started writing this I found out the answers to a few but still there are a lot. Well here they are (try not to laugh too hard):

How many eggs do they lay a day? Well, that was easy look up on the Internet most places said one a day, but one site said something about resting here and there and you might get 5 eggs a week from one hen. What do they need to rest for? Oh no, another question.

Are they loud? Another look on the Internet, and I found out that roosters are the ones that are loud, but apparently chickens just cluck and make louder noises when bothered. Okay, what or who is going to bother my chickens. Sheesh, another question.

What kind of coop do I need and how much will it cost? At first a portable one seemed like the answer until I considered our harsh winters and then decided a more permanent one will be the best choice. The price of chicken coops can be sky high but I’m looking for a cheap chicken coop now on craigslist – I’m just holding off until I make sure the ordinance passes.

A portable one still sounds appealing for the summer months, maybe my husband Bat can figure out how to make us one later this spring.

More questions racing through my head included:

What kind of chicken do I want? Which leads to the question, do I want brown or white eggs?

At what age do they lay their eggs?

Will I get any eggs in the winter?

How long will an egg stay good in the nest?

How long are eggs good once they are in the refrigerator? (Mine come stamped with the date on the carton.)

What on earth do you feed them? This apparently is one loaded question – everyone has different ideas.

Do they need shots?

So many questions, but I have a few months – hopefully I’ll know the basics by the time the chicken ordinance is passed.