Denver City Council Hearing June 13 — your input needed / Protecting Backyard Chickens, Ducks, and Goats
The main issue which both sides on the debate over the proposed Denver Food Producing Animals ordinance underestimate is the welfare issue. Simply put, how do we protect backyard chickens, ducks, and goats?
If you live in Denver, please come to the City Council meeting this coming Monday (June 13) to speak out for more protection for backyard livestock. The City Council meeting will be held at 5:30 p. m. on June 13, fourth floor of the City and County Building. Or write to your City Council representative, but do it NOW (the vote is less than a week away). You can find your City Council representative by going to , scrolling down to the “Neighborhood maps” on the bottom right, and entering your address. The resulting report will tell you what district you are in (and a bunch of other things also).
Why should we care about backyard chickens, ducks, and goats? It’s true that conditions for livestock will usually (but not always!) be better in backyards than on factory farms. But such animals still need protection, and the inevitable cruelties that will result will be just as real, and much more visible. Since it will happen right in people’s backyards, we will be teaching our neighbors and children that cruelty to animals is acceptable.
Specifically, I would urge the following steps to modify the current proposal:
1. Allow keeping of chickens and ducks as pets only (as is done in other cities such as Chicago and Portland, Maine).
2. Mandate minimum standards for coop space for chickens and ducks of at least 4 square feet per animal. The current draft has NO minimum space requirement for coops at all, and one prominent Denver advocate of backyard chickens (essentially a backyard factory farm)!
3. There is no reasonable way that goats can be humanely kept in the city; urge that goats be eliminated from the ordinance.
Many inexperienced backyard livestock owners get into this with the deluded notion that they are going to get better animal produce at a reasonable price. This just isn’t going to be possible once you add the cost of an adequate coop or shelter, vet bills, feed, and so forth. They will face a dilemma when any one of these things happens:
(a) The animal gets sick. If the owner takes it to the vet (as one would do with a pet), that will greatly increase the cost for those eggs! Many owners will opt for seeing whether the animal will recover on their own, and the animal will suffer terribly or die.
(b) The owner realizes that a decent chicken coop costs a lot of money, so they try to build one “on the cheap,” don’t do a good job, and leave the animals helpless against predators. Or they build one so small (like the 1 square foot per bird advocated by Sundari Kraft!) that the conditions in the coop could be little better than a factory farm.
(c) They get a rooster from the hatchery instead of a hen (roosters would be illegal under the ordinance). Or if they get dwarf goats for milk, the mother gives birth to male goats.
Dwarf goats will suffer even more under the ordinance. One person I talked to at an eastern farm sanctuary said that she would suggest 1/4 of an acre as an adequate space for a pair of dwarf goats. Even 1/16 of an acre would be 2700 square feet. The current ordinance allows a pair of goats to be kept on 260 square feet. I just don’t think that a pair of goats will be happy with 260 square feet. And a single goat in 130 square feet will be in goat hell (goats are very social animals). It may be better than a factory farm, but not by that much.
Moreover, keeping goats for milk implies baby goats — the mother goat will not give milk unless she gets pregnant. The ordinance guarantees an automatic goat overpopulation problem. Our clueless director of Denver Animal Care and Control, Doug Kelley, stated publicly that animal sanctuaries will be happy to take on surplus animals. This shows the mentality of the City and their complete ignorance of animal issues. It is precisely the animal sanctuaries (like ) who are most concerned about the proliferation of livestock in urban areas.
So please, if you care about animals, do one of two things. Write to your City Council person NOW (the vote is less than a week away); see sample letter below. Or better yet, come to the City Council meeting on Monday, June 13, at 5:30 p. m. It will be in the City and County Building, fourth floor. Speak out to ensure that this ordinance protects the animals.
– – – – – – –
Dear City Council Representative,
I urge rejection of the proposed “Food Producing Animals” ordinance unless it is modified to protect the animals. Please change the proposal so that chickens and ducks are only allowed as pets and so that there is a minimum space of 4 square feet per chicken or duck in their coop, in addition to the pen space.
I do not believe that dwarf goats will be happy in the city at all. A single goat confined to 130 square feet of space will not be a happy goat. They need a lot more space and a companion goat. Goats cannot give milk unless they become pregnant, so if a lot of people start keeping goats, Denver could easily have a goat overpopulation problem.
Sincerely,
A Concerned Animal Lover
(slightly modified June 11)
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Thumbing through a baby chickens for sale in Sacramento Pennsylvania
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Typically hatcheries online offer both standard breeds
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was worth it! How to Care for your new baby chickens in Sacramento,
Pennsylvania Baby chicks are quite
adorable as well as
tough to stand up to,
yet it's finest to prepare for their
arrival prior to you get them. Prepare first
by collecting not only the
correct products, however
likewise the appropriate
knowledge to care for
them. Raising baby chicks is relatively
easy, you just need
to offer them with the following: A tidy and warm
environment A lot of food as well
as water Attention and also
love Habitat Your environment can be an easy box, fish tank,
cat service provider, or guinea
porker cage. Line it with old towels as well as
coverings (without loosened
strings!) to begin, and also after a few weeks use straw over newspaper.
Note: Avoid using only
newspaper or various other sandal
surface areas-- or your chicks legs can grow
misshapen. You likewise need
something to provide food and also
water in, such as a chicken feeder as well as water
dish from the feed shop, or a pickle jar
lid for food and an animal bird water dispenser from a
pet dog shop. Likewise, as the chicks grow older you could present a perch
right into the habitat to obtain them
educated on perching. Warmth To
maintain your chicks heat you have to
provide them with a warmth source.
This can be as basic as a 100 watt
light bulb in a reflective clamp style lamp from an equipment shop, or an infrared reptile heat
light bulb also work extremely well (my
referral). Chicks need this
heat 24/7 up until their downy fluff is
changed with feathers (which can use
up to 2 months). The freshly
hatched require a temperature level
in between 90 and 100 levels,
and every week this could
be decreased by
roughly 5 levels or
so. The heat source should be on just one side of the cage
to enable chicks an array of
temperatures. The chicks are your finest
thermometer- if they are hiding in the
opposite corner of your warmth
lamp, you have to
reduce the temperature level. If
they are surrounding each various other under the
warmth (not merely snuggling),
you have to add some heat.
Home cleaning
Cleanliness is vital as
well as it keeps your chicks healthy and
balanced. Make certain to alter
the bed linen
commonly and also
always offer tidy
food as well as water Food and water.
Chicks expand extremely fast
which calls for lots of tidy
food and water. Give
enough whatsoever times and inspect
usually to avoid dehydrated as well as
hungry chicks. Chick food is different compared
to grown-up chicken food, as well as it is available in both medicated and
also non-medicated varieties. Feed chick food for the
very first 2 months, after that
change to a raiser food (~ 17 %
protein) for another 2 months,
and then to a somewhat
reduced protein feed or a layer feed
(if you have levels). Dirt Some chicks want
to get a running start on taking
filth baths, while others won't occupy that activity until they are
older. If you have the room in your chick
room, present a tray of sand or
filth for them to bathe in.
Attention and love There are a
few benefits to spending time with your chicks. First off, they will most
likely bond with you and
not escape as adults. Second, if you
analyze your chicks daily as well as
view their actions, you can
capture health problem or other troubles previously. Watch out for wheezing, limping, or
other unhealthy
signs. Be sure to
additionally consider
their poop, as looseness of the bowels can result in matted plumes as well
as clogged up cloaca.
Lastly, it is essential to watch out for social problems, such as the
smallest chick obtaining teased. Vacant nest disorder So your
chicks are currently completely feathered
and also its time for them to leave the
safety and security of your house
and move outside right into a
coop. Take a look at our
part on chicken cages to find out
more
regarding coops and also
correct cage environments.