Monday, February 22, 2010

Chickens in Urban Gardens

When I was young we used to get fresh eggs and bushels of apples right off the trees from a small farm in Ontario, Canada.  I remember they always tasted so fabulous, and now that I'm grown, and I know how long produce can sit on shelves in storage areas or on trucks or railcars, I know exactly why the food straight from the farmer's doorstep tasted so much better.  It made complete sense to me, then, when I read an article about a movement that's been formed here in Denver, Colorado to make getting and keeping a permit for livestock a whole lot easier. The article, called "Fowl lovers unite to streamline Denver chicken laws" by Joel Warner was in The Denver Post on Monday, Mar. 16 2009. 

Right now it seems to be a somewhat expensive and time consuming process to get and keep a permit.  But personally, I'm all for people being more responsible for their own consumption, so anything that makes that process easier is okay by me.   I mean, look at the benefits:
  1. You know what you're eating, what's gone into it and what hasn't
  2. It's fresher
  3. Growing your own reduces transportation and storage costs and expenses
  4. It tastes better when you've worked for it
  5. A sense of accomplishment
  6. It should be less expensive
I guess some people worry about odor that can arise with the keeping of livestock, but by using a product called BiOWiSH-Odor™ , there's no need to worry about that potential problem!  BiOWiSH-Odor™ reacts bio-chemically with odor-causing molecules, catalyzing their transformation into smell-free non-toxic end products, which are consumed in nature.  It does not mask the odor, but rather, it rapidly accelerates decomposition.  BiOWiSH-Odor™ has been tested by independent laboratories and confirmed to be non-toxic, non-irritating, non-flammable, non-pathogenic and non-hazardous!  Some of the benefits to using BiOWiSH-Odor™ are:
· It's fast acting
· It's cost effective
· It's operative at low dosage rates
· It works in a wide range of operative conditions
· It has a long residual effective period
· It's all natural anti-microbial action – sanitizes as it works
· 100% organic
· and it's harmless to humans and the environment

Maybe I need to share the above with the Denver Community Planning and Development spokesman Julius Zsako. He expects a city council discussion "sometime in the near future". 
I think the City Council needs to know about BiOWiSH-Odor™ so they can be relieved of worries on the point of odor issues.  Just sayin'.  By the way, the article in The Denver Post also expected the proposed changes to-
"go through without much of a feathered fight. After all, the city council
 voted last November to allow residents to keep beehives in their backyards
and officials seem to be similarly convivial to this proposal.
"I'm for anything that makes the process easier, as long as it's effective,"
says Denver Animal Care and Control's Kelley."

I'd be curious to know just how many people in Denver would really be interested and inclined to have chickens in their urban gardens. I wonder if anybody has studied that? I know I'd like to have some chickens in my garden. They don’t have to take up much room, and oh, for fresh eggs once again!

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