By Jim Bloch
Chickens may be coming to Port Huron.
Not fast-food chickens ala Chic-fil-A or sit-down chicken dinners ala Chicken in the Rough, but real live chickens, the kind you might see wandering around towns and villages in Mexico or Antigua.
They won’t be strutting around the streets pecking at this and that in Port Huron. They’ll be confined in hen houses with small runways in the backyard of residents.
At its regular meeting April 14, the city council voted 6-1 to introduce an ordinance amendment allowing residents to raise up to five hens – not roosters – in their backyards. Worried about what the ordinance meant for the future appearance and desirability of the city, Mayor Anita Ashford voted against the introduction.
“We can’t even keep up with the cats,” Ashford said, as heard on the recording of the meeting posted on YouTube. “Now we got the chickens.”
“Hens must be confined in a chicken house or coop in the backyard with a minimum of one square foot per hen,” according to the amendment. “An outside, enclosed run no larger than eight feet by eight feet, attached to and including the chicken house or coop is also permitted.”
The comments of City Manager James Freed and City Attorney Todd Shoudy had a jokey quality to them that Ashford did not find very humorous.
“We directed city attorney Todd Shoudy to look at drafting a chicken ordinance,” said Freed. “Mr. Shoudy holds an advanced degree from George Washington University. I was very impressed with his knowledge on chickens and the amount of research he has done. He read some white paper from Michigan State University on proper chicken care and handling and the size of the coup. He called me for a briefing, and I honestly could care less.”
The audience laughed.
“Just to be clear,” said Shoudy. “I know enough about chickens to be dangerous.” The audience laughed again. “I’ve had a little bit of experience with a chicken coop on my
property and some wild animals tried to get in. The Michigan State University Agricultural School recommended that if you’re going to have an ordinance in a city setting, you should limit the number of chickens to four to six. So, I picked five. I also recommended that you do not allow roosters for obvious reasons, because roosters are quite loud and crow in the morning and would wake up a lot of the neighbors. So, we said hens only. It’s very important that chickens have an enclosed facility so they can stay safe from the elements and animals. I know from experience that raccoons, possums and, out where I live, foxes can get … through a fenced fairly easily.”
The ordinance contains requirements designed to protect the birds, their caretakers and fellow residents.
“The biggest concern I have about the ordinance is the impact on neighbors,” said Shoudy.
“Hens must be fed and watered on a daily basis,” according to the ordinance. “The Poultry Facility must be at least 10 feet from any property line and at least 20 feet from a neighboring residence. The Poultry Facility shall be constructed and maintained in such a manner as to prevent vermin and insects from being harbored within the walls or underneath the enclosure. Enclosures must be kept in a state of good repair at all times.
Hens may not be allowed inside a residence, porch or attached garage, and must be confined in the Poultry Facility at all times.”
Shoudy noted that people sometimes see chickens as emotional support animals.
“The problem with that is the feces,” Shoudy said. Chickens running around and defecating in a house can create unsanitary living conditions.
The coops and runways must be cleaned regularly.
The hens and their eggs must be for personal use only, not for sale.
“Our animal control officer will really be hands on with this … to protect animal safety,” said Freed.
Freed asked Shoudy if he went to Tractor Supply to look at chicken-related products.
“I’m a regular at Tractor Supply,” said Shoudy to laughter. “I did not go for that purpose, but I did notice as I was walking in that there was a prefab chicken coop for $400. So, they’re not cheap.”
The final reading of the ordinance amendment will be April 28.
Mayor Pro Tem Sherry Archibald urged residents to submit feedback, pro or con, about the ordinance before its final adoption.
Mayor Ashford said that she did not want to live next to chicken coops.
“When I read the ordinance, I felt sorry for the chickens because it seemed like they were being abused,” said Ashford. “They’ve got to be locked up … More importantly, when we look at ourselves, what do we want to be? We’re losing population … and we’re passing an ordinance with chickens in it.”
Do people want to come here just because you can have a chicken coop? Ashford asked.
“Then that smell you talked about,” Ashford said. “It travels in the air. It’s not going to be contained.”
Unless someone could convince her otherwise, Ashford said she would vote against the measure. The city has a housing problem and a blight problem and now, she said, “you’re trying to move in this kind of element.”
Jim Bloch is a freelance writer based in St. Clair, Michigan. Contact him at bloch.jim@gmail.com.
