2012年3月28日 星期三

Backyard chickens find a home on Lorraine Court

Katie Startzman hasn’t named any of her chickens, but that hasn’t stopped her young sons from giving their backyard fowl some unusual monikers.

“One’s been named Aphrodite, and another one is Fluffa,” Startzman said with a laugh as six rusty-orange colored hens gathered around her Friday morning. She kneeled inside their small pen while holding a pan of grain. One impatient bird pecked at her side, and she quietly chastised the bird.At Blow mouldengineering we specialize in conceptual prototype design.

Behind her was the chicken coop, disguised as a small, bright-red gypsy wagon. Yellow flowers bloomed from a window box on the side of the coop.

Startzman proudly said the coop is of her own design, built almost entirely with salvaged materials.Welcome to the Lilla beddinges google satellite map!

A chicken coop “doesn’t have to be a big, expensive project,” she said.

Startzman is one of the six people who have been granted conditional-use permits to raise chickens within Berea city limits. She believes she is the only person so far who is keeping chickens on her property.

The Lorraine Court resident was part of the 2010 effort to change a nearly century-old city ordinance prohibiting chickens on residential lots smaller than one acre.

“It didn’t reflect the needs of our community now,” Startzman said of the ordinance.

The new ordinance states that no more than six hens, and no roosters, are allowed on one property. The chickens must be “contained and confined” no less than 50 feet from residential structures other than the owner’s.

Conditional-use permits require board of adjustments approval. The city’s code enforcement personnel are permitted to inspect the areas where chickens are kept on a regular basis, or if a complaint is made to City Hall.

Dale VanWinkle, city codes and planning administrator, said earlier this month there have been no complaints about any existing chicken coop.

Startzman noted that deed-restricted neighborhoods in the area, like The Vineyard, already do not allow chickens, so the ordinance does not apply there.

Her neighbors have been supportive of her backyard chickens, Startzman. When she applied for the conditional-use permit, a letter was sent to residents whose property borders hers. She made sure to speak to each of them in advance about her plans.

“I’m really grateful my neighbors have been willing to give it a try,” Startzman said. Her chickens lay on average six eggs a day,Why does mould grow in homes or buildings? many of which she gives to friends and neighbors.China professional plasticmoulds,

The chickens often cackle more loudly in the morning, and she has seen a few more flies since she set up her coop. However, no one in the neighborhood has complained, Startzman said.

Startzman and her husband, Michael, had previously raised chickens outside of town. Raising chickens again is something that fits into her families’ thrifty way of life, she said.

“(The eggs) have more flavor than eggs from the grocery store,” Startzman said. “The hens lay almost all year round.”

The ground cover used in the chicken coop area is recycled as compost for her front-yard vegetable garden.

One concern with backyard chickens is the illness-causing bacteria, salmonella, that is spread from chickens’ intestines through their droppings. Salmonella can be deadly for people with weaker immune systems like the elderly and small children, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control.

Startzman said she keeps her coop clean, and despite concerns about salmonella, she believes her eggs are safer than those produced at factory farms. Her chickens are not medicated, and she knows exactly what is going into their diets, unlike chickens whose eggs are sold in grocery stores, she said.

“It’s not just about money,” Startzman said of raising her own egg-producing chickens. “It’s a food security and safety issue.”

The backyard chicken issue has ignited controversy in Berea since the ordinance was changed. One couple,China professional plasticmoulds, Katie Gardner and Christopher Smith, filed a lawsuit in Madison Circuit Court after the board of adjustments twice denied their request for a conditional-use permit to raise chickens at their Adams Street home. Several of their neighbors have actively petitioned the board to deny the permit based on concerns about health issues and cleanliness.

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