Printer-friendly version Reader Comments

South Portland is asked to allow chickens in residential areas.

By WILLA PLANK Staff Writer June 22, 2007

SOUTH PORTLAND — Olivia Collins has employed a favorite tool of 10-year-olds – sidewalk chalk – to persuade neighbors to support her family's bid to raise a few chickens.

Slogans such as "Go chickens" and "Give peeps a chance" lined her driveway and the street in front of her house in the Thornton Heights neighborhood this week.

"I really wanted to have chickens because they are cute," Olivia said, though she also likes the idea of living a little closer to the land.

Olivia asked the South Portland City Council on May 30 to change the law that prohibits chickens in residential areas. Councilors will discuss the matter at a workshop Monday, joining Westbrook as a community debating backyard chickens.

Olivia and her family have also put up a Web site, www.sopochickens.org, to gather support. On the site they offer several reasons for keeping chickens, including having fresh organic eggs, saving fuel used by trucks and using the chicken droppings for compost.

Stacey Collins, Olivia's mother, said chickens can be affectionate pets if they are handled from the time they are chicks.

"We just want to walk out into my backyard and get our own eggs," said Stacey Collins, who also gardens at the family's modest home on Keswick Road.

Collins said she is prepared to answer the questions and concerns of the council, which has mixed feelings on the issue.

Collins has 40 signatures on an online petition and 40 signatures from neighbors supporting backyard chickens.

"It has also brought our neighborhood together," Collins said. "All the neighbors ask about the chickens."

Collins said she and city officials have been talking about what a new ordinance might look like. One option would be paying for a permit and having written approval of neighbors. Included would be a stipulation that chickens could be removed if neighbors or health officials have a concern.

Councilor Linda Boudreau said the council has looked to other communities for guidance. "I'm not sure I want chickens next to me," she said, while conceding that she is leaning toward approving the idea.

Maxine Beecher, another councilor, said she would like to see a six-month trial allowing up to six chickens per household and requiring neighbors to be notified.

"We have pretty small lots, and our neighbors are pretty close," she said.

Beecher said she has mostly heard support for the proposal.

Talk of chickens and other farm animals also spurred debate in Westbrook.

Eric Dudley, city engineer for Westbrook, said the issue of hobby farming and beekeeping will be discussed at a public hearing Monday. The issue was brought up last summer after a complaint of noise and odor from a property with chickens, and then a complaint about bees being kept on another property.

Cape Elizabeth allows chickens for personal use, according to code enforcement officer Bruce Smith. Commercial use of chickens is allowed on properties larger than 100,000 square feet.

Smith said in 10 years he has heard three complaints of chickens running loose. There have been no complaints of smell or noise, he said.

Mallory Marshall, who lives in Cape Elizabeth, said she got her first two chickens at a fair 10 years ago.

"Most people who keep chickens in an urban setting just watch their antics," said Marshall, who keeps her chickens in a large chicken house.

Donald Hoenig, state veterinarian at the Department of Agriculture, said people can buy chickens from feed stores or order them directly from hatcheries. "I think it's kind of a growing trend," he said.

Hoenig said chicken predators include raccoons and skunks. Chickens can get feather mites and can occasionally contract a few viral or bacterial diseases that are generally not transmissible to humans. Salmonella concerns can be alleviated by properly washing and cooking eggs.

Hoenig said avian influenza is not a concern as long as the chickens are enclosed...