the things people argue about?! Chickens....not a big deal. I would so much rather have a chickens as neighbors than a barking annoying dog any day, or a cat that is left out to fight with all the other neighborhood cats! Chickens sleep at night, dogs and cats don't....

"With any animal, there are possible issues, but a list of possible threats from a dog or cat would be at least as long, and probably longer [than that of a few hens]."
per:
Ron Kean,
UW-Extension Poultry Specialist

thekai, what? It is from pigs and water fowl intermingling, not from domestication. The hunter gatherer paradise is a myth because hunter gatherer societies are violent.

My only problem with this is that it has been established that most of the diseases and viruses we are dealing with today are a direct result of the domestication of animals.
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To really put this into a good perspective... most tribal nations in the Americas did not believe in domesticating animals. The natives lived off of the land and wasted as little as possible. They believed that things in nature should be left to nature, and man should interfere only when absolutely necessary. By comparison, Europeans and most of the rest of the world had been domesticating animals for centuries by the time they finally discovered the Americas and began colonizing. When said Europeans finally arrived in the new world, they brought with them not only food, skills, and a labor force, but also their animals and all of the diseases which thrived in their environments in Europe. The natives, with their immune systems having little or no interaction with these bacteria and viruses in the past, were like pigs to the slaughter. Disease ran rampant and in fact was responsible for wiping out more Native Americans and their tribes than ANY guns used by the white man. In fact, I'm not even talking about dubious efforts of the white man to gain more land, such as distributing blankets full of small pox. I'm talking about diseases completely inadvertently being transferred and then wide spread throughout all natives of the new world.
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It is when I consider these occurrences in the past that I really must question the sensibility of putting livestock into a (albeit not too heavily) densely populated area. Keep livestock away from large amounts of people, as much as possible. I do not think chickens should be allowed within the city limits. It is simply unsanitary and unwise.

Chickens are not pets; they are livestock. They should not be allowed within city limits, period. Rural areas, sure, but not in town.

The proposal states that there will be no roosters allowed in Janesville, and they will need to remain contained. (no running at large.)

There are pros and cons to having chickens in city limits. We moved away from Janesville a few years ago and now in a Rural city down south and there are chickens in city limits where it is a little cool to see them at first, after a while they are noisy and if they arent in a pen or aviary they dont just stay in your yard! They also crow at all hours of the day not just early morning.

living in the country we've had chickens sevearl times. its a great learning experance for kids. and GREAT EGGS

I hate chickens. But I could care less if my neighbor had a few. I also don't like cats, but they seem to be running around and I'm not putting up a 5yr. old fit about them. I don't understand people's issues in this city. If you don't like it, nobody should? Is that it? Just let people have a few chickens, they're not asking for a petting zoo.

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We were just going to volunteer.. but if they want to pay us 120,000 -- that would be fine too!

Being allowed to have chickens is about sustainable living, something we should be allowed to have if we want it. I would love to have a few chickens. That way I know where my eggs come from and what the chickens are being fed! Seriously, anyone ever check out the documentary Food Inc?

Madison can raise chickens with minimal problems. Chickens are friendly if you raise them to be. Chickens don't smell. They don't make much noise. My dog makes more noise then a few chickens and so does the old man that lives next door to me.

Great Idea! We then can hire 2 more police officers and put them on the chicken patrol at a cost of $120,000 a year

I am applying for the Chicken Inspector Job !!!

I think to raise chickens in town is a great idea. As a 4-H leader for Rock Valley 4-H here in Janesville, it will be good for the childern. Childern living here in town that would like to show some chickens at the local 4-H fair would be able to if they had the chickens in their back yard. We must remember that the childern are our future. We as adults must nurture our future in any postive way that we can. I cannot waite to build my chicken coop.

Chickens? YES!!! I see nothing wrong with raising a chicken or two in town. But there must be limits placed on how many will be allowed. Janesville has limits on the number of dogs and cats people can have, so why not chickens. Cackling chickens make less noise than a barking dog. And I've smelled some doggie doodoo that, if allowed to pile up, isn't the best smell either.

it really seems that all people have to complain about on this site is things that make too much noise and get in their way. I've never heard of a bigger bunch of whiners in one area until I moved here three years ago.

If someone want to have chickens, have chickens.

Zythia13 just found this one I can see we still have the same type of hide in my hole types here I guess they are to scared to do a little reserch

or cats, dogs, hamsters and turtles? hmm.

Maybe the focus should be on making sure their children are "raised" before we allow parents to raise chickens.

The proposed rules and ordinance change emulates that of what the other cities have been using. (No, it's not a "slippery slope" to having total invasion of backyard farms with mules and cows. Most other animals do not thrive in an urban environment; they require too much space, massive amounts of feed storage, or generate too much poo.) Because it just makes sense, I feel that people should be allowed the freedom to keep any animal provided that the following requirements are met: the animal must be proven to thrive in the conditions it is being offered. The animal must not be toxic, or otherwise poisonous to humans, or be otherwise capable of attacking, killing or ingesting a person. And must not be kept in quantities that would violate ordinances concerning running a business from a residential home (fur, food, pet sale.) And the animal must not be excessively smelly, loud, or destructive of another person's property (running at large.) Fortunately, like any other pet, chickens can be quite easily cared for so that they are not smelly. It's the ammonia in the poo that smells -- not the chicken. Excessive moisture should simply not be an issue with a few hens. And with a ban on roosters, the noise ordinance will not be violated. There really IS no issue here. People in towns an cities are doing this, all over the world. Really.. it's okay.

They are messy, stinky, and why would anyone want to have a chicken in town? Are they going to keep it in their house like a pet? Or are they planning on erecting chicken coops?

My previous post was in jest. However, although I don't have a problem with chickens being raised in small quantities, it is a slippery slope. There would have to be strict enforcement of the number of chickens, the sex (No roosters), and the quality of the chicken coops. If not, then, as others have mentioned, Janesville could begin to look a bit run down. The problem now, is that we don't have enough money or manpower to enforce this. Besides that, eggs are pretty cheap at the grocery store. Granted not as good, but it's not as though raising chickens in the backyard is going to save anyone economically.

dub190
What if I want to marry a chicken?
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Find a blind, deaf and dumb one and you might have a shot. A long shot, but a shot.
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You asked :)

Twerp13, Janesville couldn't do it, because there are too many whiners in Janesville,,,

I live in the city because I don't want to live around noisy, stinky, farm animals. I prefer noisy, stinky, pollution, Sirens, airplanes, and trains,. . . . .It's just a preference. I don't want to live in an environment that looks like a 3rd world country where dogs, mules, rats and other animals are out taking a dump where ever they feel like it.

I also want a goat, takes care of my lawn and I also would like some ducks but really, I do not care one way or the other on having chickens in town. We have reckless drivers the police do not go after so why not some loose chickens. Might make people slow down.

I would do it just to annoy my neighbors.

well if people can have chickens, i want a goat, couple of pigs and a mule!

I have a huge yard and would love to raise a few chickens and let my children help me, we do not have the luxury of being able to afford a place outside of town and I feel that most would be responsible owners and the waste of 4 hens would smell better than the poo of my 2 dogs.

Chickens are to blame for this economic recession, one chicke in particular named Obama.

Noise? How about those "darn" motorized toy cars at the house on the corner that run for what seems to be hours. The dog a house away doesn't go past his invisible fence, but barks incessantly -- even when his owners are home. The bass on the speakers from the house behind the 7ft tall fence in our backyard drives the birds away.

Chickens? As much as I'd love to have them, having them around noisy humans might make them lay scrambled eggs! Oh, how I wish we lived in a quieter neighborhood, like the one we moved into so many years ago. But that's what happens when "civilization" moves closer to our home. What more noise could a few hens make? GO CHICKENS!

Exactly if Madison, New York , Seattle and MANY others can do it, without much problems then I think little ol Janesville should be able to also.
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Again 4 hens are not going to make much noise, smell,messes or any disturbances. You get much more noise from a dog, neighbor kids, traffic, etc... I hope they do allow the chickens, my mom, brother and several friends would love to "grow" their own eggs and occasionally butcher a chicken for the stew pot (when her egg production ends) It is no different than butchering a deer in your garage.
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Please read up on the subject, you'll be surprised to learn how easy a small flock is to maintain. Luckily we live in the country (near a new subdivision we won't be annexed in for a few years yet) and we raise not only a few chickens but also a pair of ducks. Some are 4-H projects, but some are for good eating, and NONE of our neighbors complain. In fact the neighbors dog and cats that run loose are much more of a problem (destructive) and a lot noisier than the chickens.

Most major cities in the U.S. allow chickens to be kept in town. That's how big of a problem it is to have a few pet hens.

I'd like to raise chickens and put a few broken down cars in my front yard as well. Maybe a few old tires...redneck things up a bit. Probably start leaving my Christmas lights on all year also in blinking mode with half the lights burned out. In the summer, I want to leave my grass grow to about two feet tall so it looks like a hay field. I think it would look good growing around the tires. Yeeeehaaaaaawwwwww!!!!

Some of my best friends are chickens.

Chickens belong to the farmers to raise, not residents inside a city.

I would like to raise a penguin in my back yard.

Gross.

I would throw a fit if my neighbors started raising chickens. I don't want the smell or the noise. I hate to admit that I would become a pain in the backside to my neighbors and the city.

It would sure be nice to raise them in the yard opposed to my spare bedroom....

I live in a rural area, so it would be alright with me. But if I lived in the city, I would be pissed if I could hear them at 5 am, or smell their waste. Chicken are livestock, and not a domesticated animal. How does the city draw the line between using them to feed a family or having it as a pet?