Christopher Bindel wrote:Besides raccoons, rats, snakes, and Gary's mention of the dogs, what about all the stray cats in Lakewood. Now I've never owned cats and do not know much about their specific diets but I know that all cats a carnivores and seeing/hearing/smelling a chicken in someone’s back yard would probably just be too good to pass up. And I don’t know about all of Lakewood but I know in my neighborhood, and many of my friends’, there is defiantly a problem with lots of stray cats.
This is not a comment so much worrying about an influx of even more cats, more than another potential problem for those waning to keep them. I personally don't have anything against this ordinance, however I do appreciate Gary bringing forward the possible problem of rat proliferation. I hope this is something that is addressed in the committee meetings and forums when discussing this possible ordinance.
After raising chickens for 7 years and being around them for over 20:
1. None of my birds have ever had mites.
2. Rats were not a problem but opossums were. Two chicks were killed by these animals and I trapped 5 of them and they were quickly dispatched.
3. Research shows that birds with adequate living space and a healthy diet are highly resistant to disease unlike factory farms where a single sick bird can devastate the entire population. My birds have never been visibly ill. Besides the birds would have to be checked for certain diseases anyway if they are shown.
4. In 7 years only 5 birds died in my coop and run. 2 were eaten by an opossum, 1 hung itself, 1 was stepped on by an excited child and 1 became trapped between a fence and died of heat stroke.
5. I have never seen rats in or around the coops or runs. I did see a rat running down riverside drive a few months back and I see them near the Lake all the time. Having grown up close to water and and working in the wastewater industry, you realize that there are many of these animals around and a few chickens are not going to amount to anything with the amount of waste people produce.
6. Cats do eye the birds but they have not gone after any of the mature chickens.
7. You put the birds away at dusk every night anyhow. They are secure in the coop and they roost until dawn so the predator issue is a mute point.
8. Dogs? They're not allowed off the leash anyhow and the chicken are in a fenced run. My birds used to lay net to my dog in the sun.
I also believe Grace is right. Most people won't go through the trouble to raise chickens because it requires some work so the number of these birds would be relatively small and easy to manage.
