I moderate the Chicago Chicken Enthusiasts Google group. We have 225 members -- and I see you're about to be #226! Welcome! There's a lot of info on the site, plus links to plenty more. I also help teach our Basic Backyard Chicken Care workshop: http://www.learngrowconnect.org/node/2121. More than 150 people have taken it in the past 2 years. In Chicago, it's legal to keep chickens as pets and for eggs, but not for slaughtering at home. We recommend that people who want to keep chickens FIRST learn about them and prepare a good coop/run and maintenance system, and check in with their neighbors. Hens need tending like any household pet but are no messier than dogs and cats, and for sure quieter than many dogs -- or cars, buses, and radios. Roosters are loud, but you don't need a rooster to get eggs, so we suggest NO roosters in the city.
We support your efforts and applaud your initiative! Let us know how we can be of help.
Best wishes - Martha

Hi I support you 100% with all your efforts!!! I am gathering people to sign your petion, I check your site daily and you are doing great--have to tell you I am computer STUPID (LOL) i am 53< you have a strong following and we are going to do everything we can to help you get this past... you should be very proud of yourself and all your hard work, the end result will be so benificial!!!
SAVE OUR CHICKENS...
I want to put an ad in the tradelines to get more signatures, so if you see this I am resonsible.. Please feel free to contact me via my email : redeaster@gmail.com--please send me your email address so we can talk further.. I don't think neighbors should have to give permission, some move and some are jerks, you are doing a good thing and don't get discouraged!!!! go green

If I lived in your city, I would sign that petition! But since I don't, good luck to you and don't stop until you get your 320 signatures! I think what you are asking is great! Good Luck Audrey!
Gerri

Thanks!

CHICKENS ARE:
-easy to care for and can teach kids responsibility
-totally entertaining to watch & better for kid's minds than tv/games
-provide fresh & healthy eggs that are not raised in cruel factories
-make free organic fertilizer & recycle kitchen food scraps
-naturally control bugs without the use of earth-polluting pesticides
-make less noise than most dogs/parrots,.....
Pets that "give back" - what a novel concept! Change ordinances that are too strict or apply to get a special variance. Best of luck with your efforts!!

http://home.centurytel.net/thecitychicken/chickenlaws.html
http://www.backyardchickens.com/ (check out their message board/ forum)
http://www.mypetchicken.com/about-chickens/sustainable_living_with_chickens.aspx

I am so proud of you! I have 4 hens & live where they are not allowed either. Keep the coop clean & water-in any little piles of free organic fertilizer every night = no odor issue. My neighbors all love my chickens now! They enjoy feeding them scraps & showing them to their grandchildren. Store feed in buckets w/ lids to not attract mice. Proper coop design can make clean-up easy. A deck below their roosting bar covered with newspaper can be tossed everyday. We built my coop in my garage where they can exit through a window and heat it with a 250W bulb in the winter. Plastic & cardboard down, then wood shavings on top.

i am doing the same thing in my town, so you are an inspiration, NEVER GIVE UP!!!!!

I am delighted with our chicken family and can't imagine not having them. I purchased our egg-laying chickens because I want my family and I to be more responsible about what we put into our bodies, and to acknowledge where the food comes from that we eat. My four kids are learning so much - and so am I.

I dont live in St.Joe so i cant sign the petition,im very proud of you & keep fighting far what you want & whats rite ! God bless you allways.

Thanks for the support everyone!

Our city council recently allowed hens (5 max & no roosters) within the city, changing the ordinance that previously banned them. They concluded that they shouldn't stop people from keeping them in the interest of the sustainable lifestyle movement that is sweeping the country. One of the city council members is a good friend of ours and he and his wife have absolutely fallen in love with our 'girls'. His wife is particularly taken with the Ameraucana; she now refers to her as her godchild!

You can do it!

I will upload photos...

Audrey,
I coordinate a community garden in Kalamazoo. I was just able to get a variance from my city to allow chickens at the garden, which is on city property. Please let me know if you need any help. Here is a link to the article that was recently published about my chicken project.
http://www.mlive.com/living/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2010/07/new_coop_a_source_of_nutrition.html

Audrey - I don't live in St. Joe so I can't sign the petition, but keep up the good work. Educate, educate, educate so that people can learn the benefits and learn that a few backyard chickens will not smell, will not attract vermin, and will not make noise. I wish we could have backyard chickens here in Stevensville.

Keep fighting the good fight! Your parents must be so proud of you - you are articulate and intelligent, and you are learning to work through the system to get what you want. A lot of adults could learn from you!

I hope you win!

Keep up the good work Audrey!!!