I say “no” to chickens and ducks and bees but evidently there’s a contingent of folks in Westminster who think otherwise. They think “rural” and they want us to embrace the thought of chickens in our backyards. Of course, we all know that you need roosters to produce chickens and you know how that comes about.
If I never
I grew up on a farm in Minnesota where my mother was in charge of the fowl aspect of farming. She delighted in her 200-plus Leghorn chickens and those pesky roosters. We even had a goose gander and when I was about 4 or 5 that gander used to chase me all around the yard and then sit on me while I screamed bloody murder for help.
It pleased me no end when that goose ended up at the Thanksgiving dinner. And from one Saturday night to the next we argued who would help my mother kill a few chickens for Sunday dinner. Plucking the feathers was a distasteful job.
Off the Lawn
The flock of chickens were seldom on our front lawn because we had a smart dog who dragged them back to the chicken coop. But it stands to reason that with chickens comes chicken poop and summer on the farm brought forth no shoes and lots of chicken poop to walk in.
Back to chickens in Westminster
Okay! I admit I’m totally against having chickens, ducks or bees being kept by well-intended folks who probably won’t clean up those chicken pens. I’ll bet too there will be lots of code enforcement calls to deal with crowing roosters at 4 a.m.
I say
If I never eat another fried egg I won’t have missed out on any of life’s food supply. I still say if you want to farm then buy one but keep chickens, ducks, roosters out of the backyards in Westminster. And I don’t think too much of keeping bees either. If just seems to invite more problems.
Say no
If and when the Westminster City Council is called up to argue the merits of these agricultural animals, I hope they use good common sense and deny this move in our city. But if the rural-minded folks prevail I’ll try to be a good neighbor to all of God’s creatures. There, I’ve said it. I’m opposed but not willing to organize opposition.
Quote of the week
“It’s May, it’s May the lovely month of May.” The Musical Camelot
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