City Chickens

   Since my family moved back to Willmar eight years ago, I've been exposed to the wonderful life of maintaining a hobby farm. Sure, at the time it was quite bittersweet, I was in my teen years, so of course I was at times a little resentful having to do a decent amount of the chores with the sole payback of being able to eat a healthy proportion of eggs and poultry. Unlike most kids, however, I oftenly enjoyed the time I had with the animals as well as watching them grow to become tasty tasty meat. Alas, I am now twenty-two, my parents no longer live in the boonies and I seemed to have rooted myself, along with my wife, in middle of town. No more farm fresh eggs or poultry for this guy.

 

   A year ago, just to make sure, I double-checked our city's laws on keeping livestock, poultry and other farm animals within the city. I was a little suprised to see that our town isn't necessarily against raising chickens in town, per-say, for as long as they find favor in you. Meaning you must apply for a permit (cha-ching) and pass their inspection (cha-ching)[1]. I haven't applied for this yet. 100% of me wants to, though I feel my fate is totally at the hands of whoever issues the permit and whoever is going to be inspecting my property. I'm quite positive, based on the fact that I haven't seen anyone else raise poultry in town, that I will be denied. I could be wrong, however.

 

   So what respawns my interest in raising chicken in town today? This has been an on going idea of mine since a pro-Urban Chicken group started in Duluth back in November. They share similar views on the subject with  me: Chickens are cleaner than most other pets, they aren't loud, they are natural, they are far less suseptable to salmonella and other diseases carried by birds and they prove to aid a self-sufficient lifestyle (as well as fits some interpretations of "Going Green"). Cities such as Seattle and New York allow Urban Chickens, so why can't a city the size of Willmar do so as well?

 

[1] Municode Willmar, Mn Sec. 4-1. Keeping of livestock, fowl or swine.