Chickens come to roost in Palo

To Mary Benion, the reason for raising her own chickens is simple.

“I want to know where my food is coming from,” said Benion, 43, of Palo.

And then there's the entertainment factor.

She and her husband, Rod, 49, wasted no time after the Palo City Council voted to allow chickens in this town of 900.

The ordinance passed Monday night. By Thursday, the Benions had built a mobile chicken coop and bought four pullets - young hens - in Homestead for $7 each.

The two are learning as they go. Neither has lived on a farm, but have friends who own chickens. They own the lot next to their home and garden with their neighbors in the large lot on the other side.

Benion spent her day off Friday watching the four chickens in their new surroundings.

“That's all I've been doing all morning,” she said, sitting in a chair next to the outdoor pen.

A black and white Barred Rock chicken craned its neck to go after a fly while the others, a Rhode Island Red; Golden Comet and California White, pecked the ground.

Sparrows chirping nearby were louder than the chickens, which made little noise. No roosters will be allowed in Palo.

At just a couple of months old, the pullets are expected to start laying eggs - an average of one per day - in July.

Chicken backers are pushing for ordinances in Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, with Cedar Rapids likely to allow a trial run with 50 homes.

Benion said she didn't know if anyone else in Palo planned to raise chickens. Visitors stopped to watch as the chickens hesitantly descended the ramp to their new home.

“Seven dollars for entertainment,” she said. “That's worth it.”

To Mary Benion, the reason for raising her own chickens is simple.

“I want to know where my food is coming from,” said Benion, 43, of Palo.

And then there's the entertainment factor.

She and her husband, Rod, 49, wasted no time after the Palo City Council voted to allow chickens in this town of 900.

The ordinance passed Monday night. By Thursday, the Benions had built a mobile chicken coop and bought four pullets - young hens - in Homestead for $7 each.

The two are learning as they go. Neither has lived on a farm, but have friends who own chickens. They own the lot next to their home and garden with their neighbors in the large lot on the other side.

Benion spent her day off Friday watching the four chickens in their new surroundings.

“That's all I've been doing all morning,” she said, sitting in a chair next to the outdoor pen.

A black and white Barred Rock chicken craned its neck to go after a fly while the others, a Rhode Island Red; Golden Comet and California White, pecked the ground.

Sparrows chirping nearby were louder than the chickens, which made little noise. No roosters will be allowed in Palo.

At just a couple of months old, the pullets are expected to start laying eggs - an average of one per day - in July.

Chicken backers are pushing for ordinances in Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, with Cedar Rapids likely to allow a trial run with 50 homes.

Benion said she didn't know if anyone else in Palo planned to raise chickens. Visitors stopped to watch as the chickens hesitantly descended the ramp to their new home.

“Seven dollars for entertainment,” she said. “That's worth it.”