Comments on: Weekly Roundup http://www.mwvlocal.com/2009/10/28/weekly-roundup/ Sat, 04 Sep 2010 12:40:42 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Kate http://www.mwvlocal.com/2009/10/28/weekly-roundup/comment-page-1/#comment-574 Kate Fri, 12 Mar 2010 06:39:06 +0000 http://www.mwvlocal.com/?p=614#comment-574 Thank you for the long comment, Sherry. I appreciate your visit and your time spent sharing your POV. I'm working on another post about this issue. Not sure when it will go up, but hope you'll come back to check it out. Thank you for the long comment, Sherry. I appreciate your visit and your time spent sharing your POV.

I’m working on another post about this issue. Not sure when it will go up, but hope you’ll come back to check it out.

]]> By: Sherry http://www.mwvlocal.com/2009/10/28/weekly-roundup/comment-page-1/#comment-563 Sherry Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:45:19 +0000 http://www.mwvlocal.com/?p=614#comment-563 As a Salem resident & someone who grew up in the country (so far out near the coast range we couldn't even see anyone else's lights at night...), I'm familiar with chickens. I have no bias against keeping chickens, but rather than "fear mongering," my objection to keeping chickens within the Salem city limits is my experience with irresponsible pet owners and people who see animals as a whim or as a way to save money (ie: if I have chickens I won't have to buy eggs) without wanting to put in the time, effort & money to make sure the chickens are well taken care of, don't disturb the neighbors & don't cause unpleasant sights & smells. I have neighbors who can't manage to keep their dogs from barking continuously and who don't care that their cats are killing all the songbirds in my garden & depositing waste in my yard. Of course there ARE a lot of responsible chicken people out there, but a lot of the people who would exercise their "right to keep chickens" are not experienced or motivated to do it correctly. Who is going to monitor this? It's already difficult in Salem to find someone to come out & tag junked cars on the street or fix potholes, in this economy is the city going to hire a "Chicken Enforcement Officer" to make sure the chickens aren't being mistreated, housed improperly, or bothering the neighbors? I live in a suburban neighborhood because I do NOT want to keep chickens, goats, ponies or any other farm animals. Chickens have a specific smell (especially when the coop/area is not cleaned often or is not big enough) which I don't care for. Also, even though roosters would probably not be allowed, hens are a bit noisy from time to time and NOT always just during the day. While my home is on a larger lot, most of the houses around me are newer & built on smaller lots not conducive to "farming." That's just the nature of recent building trends. I have friends just out of the city limits who keep chickens but they have larger properties, don't live "cheek by jowl" with their neighbors and inhabit a more "country" atmosphere. I'm happy to have these friends and am thrilled to get eggs from them from time to time. I do not think chickens belong within the city limits even though it seems an unpopular opinion at this time. As a Salem resident & someone who grew up in the country (so far out near the coast range we couldn’t even see anyone else’s lights at night…), I’m familiar with chickens. I have no bias against keeping chickens, but rather than “fear mongering,” my objection to keeping chickens within the Salem city limits is my experience with irresponsible pet owners and people who see animals as a whim or as a way to save money (ie: if I have chickens I won’t have to buy eggs) without wanting to put in the time, effort & money to make sure the chickens are well taken care of, don’t disturb the neighbors & don’t cause unpleasant sights & smells. I have neighbors who can’t manage to keep their dogs from barking continuously and who don’t care that their cats are killing all the songbirds in my garden & depositing waste in my yard.

Of course there ARE a lot of responsible chicken people out there, but a lot of the people who would exercise their “right to keep chickens” are not experienced or motivated to do it correctly. Who is going to monitor this? It’s already difficult in Salem to find someone to come out & tag junked cars on the street or fix potholes, in this economy is the city going to hire a “Chicken Enforcement Officer” to make sure the chickens aren’t being mistreated, housed improperly, or bothering the neighbors?

I live in a suburban neighborhood because I do NOT want to keep chickens, goats, ponies or any other farm animals. Chickens have a specific smell (especially when the coop/area is not cleaned often or is not big enough) which I don’t care for. Also, even though roosters would probably not be allowed, hens are a bit noisy from time to time and NOT always just during the day. While my home is on a larger lot, most of the houses around me are newer & built on smaller lots not conducive to “farming.” That’s just the nature of recent building trends.

I have friends just out of the city limits who keep chickens but they have larger properties, don’t live “cheek by jowl” with their neighbors and inhabit a more “country” atmosphere. I’m happy to have these friends and am thrilled to get eggs from them from time to time. I do not think chickens belong within the city limits even though it seems an unpopular opinion at this time.

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