City leaders allow fowl play

The chickens are coming! The chickens are coming!

If you are among the self-sufficient crowd, that’s something to crow about. Me? I’m crowing. Not that the new ordinance approved by the Lincoln City Council has any impact on me. No. 1, I don’t reside inside the city limits. No. 2, I don’t have any chickens and, to preserve my happy marriage, I don’t have a backyard chicken coop in my immediate or long-range home improvement plans.

I still regard the city council’s passage of the new law as something good. For one, the public debate over this issue was kept to a minimum. That’s not always been the case when issues about animals come before the council. Feeding feral cats immediately comes to mind.

Secondly, the council’s 6-2 vote to permit a small flock of chickens in residential backyards provides an inkling of light that this all-Republican governing body isn’t afraid to tiptoe into somewhat progressive territory.

It’s not that Donald Trump and Joe Biden have picked up on The Great Backyard Chicken Debate, but in much less stressful times with far fewer issues than the country now faces, I suppose they might have. How would that have played out, I wonder. I suppose Trump would have strongly opposed the idea on the basis that mega-giant egg-producing corporations that are big campaign donors could stand to lose profits if chickens were to take over the backyards of the country. Again, supposition only, mind you, Biden would be pro-backyard poultry for the little guys and gals of America who could legally pinch their too-few pennies by gathering a handful of eggs each day from their backyard chicken pens.

As mentioned above, the city council’s vote was not unanimous. Aldermen Kevin Bateman and Sam Downs voted against the chickens. Downs didn’t offer an explanation of his “no” vote on the ordinance, but Bateman did. Rest assured, Bateman said nothing about corporate egg farms being the loser in this battle.

He previously voiced a concern that the backyard flocks would aggravate what some perceive as a growing pack of coyotes who reportedly are roaming the streets and alleys of Lincoln at night looking for a quick meal, but he didn’t mention those wily critters this week during the council’s pre-vote discussion.

“I have made it no secret on how I will vote – mainly for the disease problem they create,” Bateman told his council colleagues. He mentioned receiving phone calls from constituents who supported his opposition.

The proposal originated from Alderman Ron Keller, who said constituents had also contacted him and requested that he bring the matter before the council. “… this is something for those who want to raise chickens and will comply within the ordinance guidelines,” Keller said.

Bateman indicated that some Lincoln residents already have chickens in their backyard. “… I want to make sure the person who called me in regards to the rooster in the 500 to 600 block of Palmer is watching and knows that I’ve tried my best to vote this down,” Bateman said during the debate.

The official ordinance resolution approved by the council also acknowledges some illegal poultry paradises already exist in our fair city. It states: “Those who currently have chickens within the City of Lincoln have thirty days to contact Building and Safety and thereby adhere to the new City standards for keeping poultry.”

The city attorney has drawn up guidelines to issue permits to homeowners who decide to tackle DIY egg production. First off, this isn’t going to be a cheap enterprise. Far from it. Yearly permits must be obtained for a $25 fee – specifically, that’s $25 per chicken. And the permit has to be renewed each year. Yikes, that’s a lot of store-bought eggs.

Then, those would-be urban chicken ranchers dreaming of a wall-to-fall flock of egg layers had best find a new dream. Flocks are limited to six hens per normal-sized residential lots. A cap of 10 birds is placed on property that is substantially larger than normal.

And that rooster Bateman mentioned, the one reportedly roosting and crowing his fool head off on Palmer Avenue? He’s history, soon to be deported, or even worse (for the bird), the stew pot. Evidently because male chickens are known for their boisterous pre-dawn crowing, “The keeping of roosters or crowing hens is not permissible,” the new law states.

That clause should appease neighbors who enjoy sleeping in on the weekends.

“I am excited for the community of Lincoln and the progressive leadership of the city council in approving the new chicken ordinance,” stated Dr. David Gerlach, president of Lincoln College and an early supporter of having chickens in the backyards of Lincoln. “As a community we need to always be thinking about our food security and I think this is a great initial step in doing so,” he wrote in an email.

I agree. But I still have a problem with that $25-a-bird permit fee. That seems steeper than the steepest henhouse roof. Twenty-five bucks for a flock of six hens sounds a lot more reasonable.

Dan Tackett is a retired managing editor of The Courier. He can be reached at dtackett@gmail.com.