COMMENTARY by a Chicken-Hearted Resident

Two hens for every boy. (Photo: Stefanie Hadden)

Two hens for every boy. (Photo: Stefanie Hadden)

December 21, 2013

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Cape Charles resident Stefanie Hadden made the following presentation Thursday at the Town Council meeting.)

Hi friends and neighbors! Backyard chicken-keeping is a rewarding and educational activity. It is also harmless. Keeping a small number of hens on one’s private property, properly secured and cared for, is a forward-thinking win-win for the community. It is a perfect example of sustainable living, and an important counterpoint to inhumane industrial- scale poultry production.

Hens are friendly, curious and productive! They‘re quiet, clean, entertaining birds and make wonderful outdoor pets. They produce nutritious hormone and antibiotic-free eggs ($4.29 per doz. at the grocery!), keep yards free of ticks and other insect pests, and provide excellent garden fertilizer in the form of their composted droppings.

Did you know the average dog produces 12 ounces of waste per day, where a hen produces a mere 1.5 ounces?

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Residents of the R1 Historic District should be allowed the freedom to engage in this fruitful and fun hobby, as long as it is done on a small scale and in a well-managed way. Cities and towns large and small across the country have been joining the progressive wave of allowing backyard chicken keeping, with more municipalities approving it every day. They understand that promoting sustainable, “green” living by allowing residents to have hens is the right thing to do, and it’s good for the health and image of the town.

Common Chicken Myths and Misconceptions

• They’re noisy! Roosters and barking dogs are noisy. Hens are pretty quiet, making little sound except after egg laying, when some cluck excitedly for a few minutes. The decibel level of this sound at its loudest is about 60 decibels, the same as two adults talking, and it’s not continuous, only short bursts.

• They’re vectors for disease! According to the Centers for Disease Control, cats can transmit 16 diseases, dogs 17, and chickens 3. Salmonella is often mentioned, but careful hand washing is a very effective control in addition to maintaining a tidy, sanitary coop and run.

• They’ll lower my property value! In 2012, Forbes magazine listed the 10 healthiest real estate markets, and all but one allows backyard chickens. If anything, a progressive attitude towards chickens is an attractive quality in a town or city.

• They attract rodents! Rodents are attracted to birdseed and food scraps, but they do not eat chicken waste. Compost piles and backyard birdfeeders will both attract pests if not kept well.

• They smell! Pine shavings in the coop and run absorb odors very effectively, as does composting. Properly kept, a small group of hens is un-smellable, even on the hottest summer day.

Thanks for your support!

Submissions to COMMENTARY are welcome on any subject relevant to Cape Charles. Opinions expressed are those of the writer and not necessarily of this publication.

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11 Responses to “COMMENTARY by a Chicken-Hearted Resident”

  1. Marita Patterson on December 21st, 2013 6:24 am

    I support Stefanie! If keeping chickens is legal in New York City, seems a little strange they are banned in Cape Charles.

  2. Pamela Barefoot on December 21st, 2013 8:02 am

    My cousin in Raleigh NC has a very upscale chicken coop in a pricey neighborhood, it is on Raleigh’s annual chicken coop tour which is a fund raiser for a worthy cause. Let’s attract visitors to Cape Charles for a chicken coop tour and sell the eggs too!

  3. Susan Lindeman on December 21st, 2013 8:50 am

    I’m with Stefanie as well. Our neighbor 2 doors down in Richmond has them and none of the neighbors even knew it. No smell, no noise. Just healthy eggs!

  4. Pete Baumann on December 21st, 2013 9:09 am

    I support you Stefanie.

  5. Kearn Schemm on December 21st, 2013 9:29 am

    104 Monroe supports Stefanie, and more importantly, her wonderful kids that love those chickens as pets, in her efforts. The basic rule of food is: closer is better. The longer the trip from producer to consumer, the more the food product suffers and the more economic and environmental costs are attached to it. Backyard gardens, orchards and hens makes the distance from producer to consumer the shortest it can be and thus is, as Stefanie says, a win-win situation for all.

  6. Kathleen Rouse on December 21st, 2013 12:28 pm

    As Stefanie Hadden’s mother, I wholeheartedly support her, her very fine husband Don, her three terrific sons and her six pet chickens! The entire family and the chickens are very dear to me. All are very entertaining, smart, clean and sociable. The hens and my grandsons will come to swing with me on my outdoor swing…yes, occasionally a chicken will hop up either on my knee or on the back-rest of the swing. They sit and talk-cluck quietly with me for a few minutes, then hop down to go eat some more bugs from the flower beds. And my sweet grandsons will come by to chat with their 74 yr. old grandmother, which I, of course, appreciate.

    I did not appreciate hens as pets until Stefanie acquired her six. I remember my grandmother running after a chicken in her yard, grabbing it and decapitating it on the chopping block. (It was delicious as Sunday mid-day dinner !) As a five year old, I was horrified, but as an adult I understand that was what you had to do to keep your family fed as the Great Depression gave way to WWII. Nowadays I appreciate Stef’s hens for a different reason. As company, as beloved pets, as good natural instruction for my grandsons. I can always get ready-to-cook chickens for the stew-pot at the grocery if I wish.

  7. Judy McKnight on December 21st, 2013 8:06 pm

    I am with Stephanie too.

    I grew up in Colonial Place in Norfolk, VA. (Cape Charles attracted me initially because its homes reminded me so much of Colonial Place.) One Easter, the Easter Bunny left my two sisters and me three little chicks. Two grew up to be chickens; one grew up to be a rooster. My sisters and I were in charge of feeding and caring for them, which we did with minimal reminding. And we played with them everyday after school.

    Everything was fine, until Monster Mac (the rooster) began to crow in the mornings. A number of strategies were implemented to contain his natural enthusiasm for daybreak. But, after too many complaints from too many neighbors, it was decided that we should donate Monster Mac to City Park. But how could we separate him from his sisters, the only family he had? The park agreed, and so their barnyard welcomed Monster Mac and his sisters. For a while we visited them regularly, but then we gave that up too.

    Years later, a former neighborhood friend, who had gotten a chick that Easter too, revealed that when her chick became a chicken, it had disappeared one day. Reportedly it had been donated to City Park too. Later she learned that actually, they had eaten it for dinner one night.

    Well, at least we hadn’t eaten Monster Mac.

  8. Jeanne Evans on December 30th, 2013 11:37 am

    Yay for Stefanie! Margaret Mead once said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

    We are proud to call Stefanie our neighbor. We support her raising of chickens as we supported the way she worked to keep cigarette butts off the beach and her endeavors to enrich the quality of education at Kiptopeke Elementary when her children were enrolled there. We believe in her pattern of socially responsible consumption. It is peace work each time any of us prepares a meal with fresh, locally grown produce or fresh eggs from one’s own chickens. Thank you Stefanie for leading the way!

  9. Terri Wandrick on December 31st, 2013 4:11 pm

    I support Stefanie Hadden. I see no reason why they should not be allowed to have their chickens. The boys love their pets. And that’s what they are — pets. What is the Town Council afraid of? What is their reason for not allowing the chickens? It’s not like the chickens are going to come into town and make trouble. Come on, give the kids a break. Let them have their chickens.

  10. Stefanie and Don Hadden on January 1st, 2014 8:29 pm

    With all due respect, we do not get the sense that the town council is “afraid” of chickens or any attendant issues. In fact, the town planner, at the direction of council, is currently working on crafting an ordinance that will hopefully address everyone’s concerns and allow for anyone who has the time, energy, patience and necessary preparation to engage in backyard chicken keeping. Rob Testerman has been quite helpful and we look forward to a public hearing that will be valuable and informative. Thank you everyone for your kind comments and funny chicken reminiscences! This is a town filled with really great people. We look forward to being able to share tips and advice, stories and experiences as we continue on with our hens.

  11. Wayne Creed on January 7th, 2014 1:53 pm

    Not sure how the chicken ordinance is coming, but have some friends up north who are organic farmers that passed on some reference links:

    http://www.fresh-eggs-daily.com/
    http://www.backyardpoultrymag.com/

    Fresh Eggs Daily also has a nice Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/FreshEggsDaily/posts/635881513120428