CLUC asks City Council to allow up to 6 hens in backyard coops; chickens are pets, not livestock, supporters argue

Cedar Rapids Citizens for the Legalization of Urban Chickens - CLUC - last night asked the City Council to allow up to six hens in the backyards of single-family homes.

A similar move is afoot in Iowa City, and representatives of the group note that a growing list of cities now allow urban chickens in backyards. Those cities include Spokane, Wash., Madison, Wis., and Des Moines, they said.

The group's Rebecca Mumaw told the council that raising a limited number of egg-laying hens will allow residents to raise their own food just as they do in vegetable gardens now.

Mumaw suggested three ways that the council might proceed: consider chickens as pets, not livestock; create a new chicken ordinance allowing up to six hens; instituting a one-year trial to allow 50 homes to have chickens.

Mumaw said an urban-chicken ordinance would prohibit noisy roosters and the outdoor slaughter of chickens.

Brendan Owens said chickens in the backyard provide nutritional value and educational value for families. Chickens can be fun, he told the council.

Matt Mayer said today's chicken coops are small and attractive, and he added that a five-pound chicken doesn't produce any more waste than a five-pound dog. He said backyard chickens are a growing trend, and he pointed to a 42 percent increase in the circulation of Backyard Poultry magazine as an indication of increased interest in urban chickens.

The comments came during the council's public comment period, and the council does not respond to such comments. Mumaw said she thought council members Monica Vernon and Jerry McGrane supported the chicken idea.