Ok here’s the letter I sent to our neighbors. We’re hoping to go back to zoning this week.

Dear neighbors,

We are the owners of the house on 5561 E. Gill Pl. We are writing to inform you of our intent to own chickens. We would like to inform you of why we want chickens and address any potential concerns.

Why do we want chickens?

·        Eggs! These will be egg-laying chickens, not meat chickens, and we are more than happy to share eggs with our neighbors.

·        Chickens eat table/garden scraps, less meat. Feeding chickens a vegetarian diet and scraps ensures that their eggs are higher in omega3s and lower in cholesterol.

·        Their refuse can be used in compost! Compost makes for a happy garden. Again, we are more than happy to share with our neighbors.

·        We are going to purchase bantams. Bantams are 1/5 to ¼ smaller that average chickens.

·        They are fun. They are not your typical pet, and in fact owning chickens as pets is on the rise in the cities. There are many Web sites dedicated to the urban chicken/owner.

Concerns you may have:

·        Are they going to be noisy?

o       No. We are only going to own hens, no roosters. The place we are buying them from sexes them before sending.

o       Chickens roost from dusk until dawn, if not longer, so they will be sleeping at the same time as everyone else.

·        Will they smell?

o       No. We will be very diligent in cleaning the coop. Moreover, as mentioned above, their refuse will be composted.

·        Are they going to be flying into my yard?

o       No. As we have dogs, and there are raccoons and foxes in the neighborhood, the chickens will be kept in a coop/run, completely enclosed. See attached diagram.

o       Their wings can also be clipped in the event of a “chicken run”.

Additional info:

·        If there are any other questions, we would be more than happy to address them, or as mentioned, you can view related Web sites on the Internet.

·        Joseph now works from home, so he is around more to deal with any issues that may arise, regarding anything, during the day.

We greatly respect our neighbors and appreciate communication between our households. Please do not hesitate to contact us.  

Respectfully,

Joseph and Lauren Jestes