Column - Laissez Fowl

You say “backyard chicken” and I say “grab some barbecue sauce and a pint of potato salad.”

But that's not what Citizens for Legalization of Urban Chickens, or CLUC, is talking about. They're Cedar Rapids residents who want the City Council to allow them to raise a few living, egg-laying chickens in their backyards.

CLUC, in case you didn't know, is only one small battalion in a national poultry putsch. People in cities all across the nation are asking for permission to raise backyard chickens. Anxiety over food safety, revulsion over food processing and a recessionary streak of self-reliance has plopped fresh eggs on many a city council's plate.

So far, the Cedar Rapids council isn't saying much. It's hardly a top priority. But it is a fascinating study in government.

In every community, government wields power on behalf of a conformity majority. And often that's a good thing. I can't turn my front yard into an auto salvage lot or raise longhorn cattle in my garage or operate a coal-fired manure thrower while listening to Metallica at 120 decibels at 4 a.m. We expect everyone to live by some rules to keep things orderly.

But government must be careful not to go too far. Most of us would hate to see laws that required every house in town to be white, fronted by four symmetrical bushes and adorned with one regulation concrete gnome. Too much conformity.

In the middle of this tug of war between government and a desire for sameness is a gray area inhabited by people who want to do things just a little differently, who have slightly different take on the pursuit of happiness. And boy, do those people get under some people's skin. That's where, I think, CLUC finds itself.

I tend to root for those quirky grays. And on this issue, I'm laissez-fowl. All I'm saying, at the risk of having egg on my face later, is give chickens a chance. Pass a small-scale poultry pilot and see what happens.

I lived in Ames, which allows chickens, for six years. There was a coop down the street, and other than fascinating my kids, I saw no real impact. Judy Parks, assistant city attorney in Ames, says her department has received zero complaints. Dogs, yes. Chickens, no.

Still, neighborliness counts. I think any ordinance that allows chickens should require consent from neighbors. I have a feeling some friendly explanation and a promise of free eggs would go a long way.

Just think, neighbors talking to neighbors, solving problems. Heck, barbecues might even break out.

Comments: (319) 398-8452; todd.dorman@gazcomm.com