Sunday, July 15, 2012

Chicken Week @ Town and Prairie

I said there was a 
BIG CHICKEN UPDATE 
coming soon and I wasn't kidding.




Our not so lovely neighbor... who lives yonder on the other side of my

"I hate you," hedge...

(let's be frank here, she planted a crummy one first, so I had to show her how it was done...)
(see 6 foot tall flowering shrubs below)




...decided that she was going to call the county on us about our chickens.

This person has failed to mind her own business since we moved in.

We have done nothing but clean up and beautify a property
that had been overgrown, dated, and vacant for a year.

But you know the type.






And you know what...

we are not the only people that keep chickens even though it is "not allowed."

It is SUSTAINABLE to teach your children how to grow a garden...





to use what you grow at your table...






and have your own sources of food in your backyard.

It is important to know what goes into your food
because it goes into your body.






The way people create so much DRAMA over it all you would think raising a handful of chicks
is equivilant to having a crack lab in your backyard.

It wasn't so long ago that many people had
their own self-sustaining forms of agriculture
and it was a normal way of life.

I REFUSE TO BE LABELED A CRIMINAL

for educating my children about what goes into food.
Four hens on almost an acre of property aren't hurting ANYONE.

Well.  We DID get a letter from the county. 

We DO have to have an inspection to show that the chickens have been temporarily moved.

TEMPORARILY??

 




YES.  Enter St. Joseph who has been watching our backs (and the coop) this WHOLE TIME!

And the remarkable backyard miracle that is about to evolve
right in front of us.


She starts battles but we DID NOT lose the war.

In my doings with the county to resolve the issue, I discovered that

a new ordinance has been drafted by our county and is up

FOR A VOTE

this Thursday.

There is a lot of support on the "YES" side!!

The new ordinance will allow people to have chickens AND goats AND pot-bellied pigs.






SO!

After THE VOTE on Thursday (which we will be attending),
(assuming it all goes our way)

and after our official -inspection-,

(the girls are going on vacay to Grandma's for a few days)

we can purchase a brand new special use permit

and bring the girls home permanently.






HOME CHICKENS RULE.

YOU WILL NEVER EAT GROCERY STORE EGGS AGAIN

ONCE YOU CAN RAISE YOUR OWN.

I will continue to update this week on proceedings.
Sharing with

19 comments:

Cheree @ The Morning Latte said...

Sending prayers for a positive vote!!! In our city, we're allowed up to 10 chickens with permits. (our farm has been outside the limits till just recently so we've been grandfathered in.) You're yard is full of beauty, and the chickens only add to it--I can't understand how anyone would have issues with it. She must be very lonely or bitter or something. I can't say I would be able to do it but, perhaps after this vote, you could bring her a dozen of fresh eggs and nicely let her know about the new law??? At least you'd know that you did offer an olive branch no matter what happens after. :o)

Grandma Barb's This and That said...

Praying for a YES vote!

NanaDiana said...

What a wonderful neighbor...uh-huh...so wonderful, in fact, that if the vote goes through you MUST get a goat AND a pot-bellied pig. Park the pig right outside her nearest window and teach it to oink loudly. As a matter of fact, when you pick it out look for the loudest dirtiest one in the litter. And...I sure hope your goat doesn't get loose and eat the clothes off her line!

Can you tell me what you have planted that makes up that beautiful hedge? I absolutely love it- xo Diana

Katie @ Wildwood Creek said...

Your yard and garden is so beautiful! I don't understand how someone could complain about a few clucking chicks.

Cherry's Prairie Primitives said...

Woo whoo to you for sticking to your guns!! Sorry your have to deal with a bothersome neighbor. I hope the vote is yes!!!!

Blessed Serendipity said...

I would love to live next to a neighbor like you. I love what you are teaching your children and a few chickens really don't make all that much noise. We can have as many hens as we want in our neighborhood, just no roosters. I vote for you being able to keep your birds. Good luck. Your garden is gorgeous by the way.

blessings,
Danielle

Shabby Marilyn said...

Good luck, love chickens! When I was growing up we had chickens and plenty of fresh eggs! Miss them, no chickens allowed when I live :(

Cathy L. Calamas said...

You go girl!! Can I move next door??
My dream is to have a garden like that one day!! I have a tiny completely shaded back yard. :((
thx for stopping by my blog too.

Prims By The Water said...

Wish I could vote for ou, cause it would be a big fat YES. At my other house, they sold the horse farm that was adjacent to our property...built 90 houses. One day my son told me that the new neighbor wanted to talk to me..so I walked back to the far end of our property to talk to her. She wanted me to cut down my weeds which were by my garden...she was a city girl and did not know what blackberry and raspberry bushes were..thought they were weeds. It got so bad, that they were telling me what to do in my own yard...put up the for sale sign and moved to the river. Good luck to you and hope you can keep your chicks. Take care, Jance

Cottage and Broome said...

Hope the vote goes in your favor. Your property looks beautiful and teaching your children about how to grow food is always at good thing. Thanks for stopping by, Laura

Debra@CommonGround said...

hope this works in your favor. So many factors now that would show this as beneficial. why can't people mind their own business? and your garden is truly wonderful@!

Pam Kessler said...

I like NanaDiana's idea - you really need a goat and pig now! I haven't checked out you next post yet, so hopefully it's good news. BTW, the house that I grew up in was 1/3 acre and considered in the town and we had a barn where the previous owners had chickens and a horse. People have been having farms in all sorts of sizes for a long long time.

Keeping It Cozy said...

Ugh... you and your poor chickens have been through it! Glad to hear the vote was yes and hopefully the fees will come down.

Larry said...

I love your althea hedge... too bad that it had to be established for the benefit of separation from an obnoxious neighbor. Your gardens are beautiful and your post makes me realize how lucky I am to live out here in farm country with neighbors who never complain... although I suspect they sometimes think I'm slightly insane with some of my 'over the top' projects. the latest I heard about was "we work to get rid of field stones and he hauls them back into his yard". Good luck with the vote! Larry

Larry said...

I love your althea hedge... too bad that it had to be established for the benefit of separation from an obnoxious neighbor. Your gardens are beautiful and your post makes me realize how lucky I am to live out here in farm country with neighbors who never complain... although I suspect they sometimes think I'm slightly insane with some of my 'over the top' projects. the latest I heard about was "we work to get rid of field stones and he hauls them back into his yard". Good luck with the vote! Larry

Fishtail Cottage said...

i'm so curious as to how the voting ruled.....please do let me know. people are so strange...i'd rather hear a cock-a-doodle-do rather than an abnoxious dog barking....thank you for sharing your post over here at Fishtail Cottage...looks like you might need to layer your althea hedge...lol xoox, tracie

debra said...

I am not sure what the problem is ?

What is her complaint? do you have roosters ?
Your property and gardens are beautiful and organized...there should be no problem ?
A rooster crowing ( if that is the issue ) is no different than a dog barking or a neighbor that has a rock band and so on. You just deal...

Unknown said...

Un-be-leive-able!!! Only a roster would bother anyone, hens shouldn't bother a normal person. Hoping your vote passes, then I think you should get 2 dairy goats and a potbelly pig or two. Just cause you can. Your land is beautiful, gardens awesome. Found your post at Home and Garden Thursday. Following you now to see what happens....

arrielle_p said...

WOW! You have a very beautiful garden and I love it! One of my dream house in the future is to have a garden in front of it. Wish to live in a place like that. Your blog is so gorgeous and inspiring. :)
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