Alder cries fowl over chicken restrictions

Update to ordinance being pushed

Lynn Welch  —  5/26/2008 8:40 am

A Madison council member wants to change an existing law that could get a lot of clucking.

Ald. Marcia Rummel, District 6, hopes to change Madison's 4-year-old chicken ordinance to allow people living in multi-family dwellings to keep chickens. Currently, the law enables only people living in single-family residences to have the fowl.

"My goal is to allow more people to have chickens who want chickens," said Rummel in an interview.

The draft proposal currently adds two-family detached dwellings into the ordinance. But Rummel said she'd like to find a way to include multi-family households to the law. The amendment is in preliminary stage and has not yet been scheduled for a hearing.

Backyard chickens have become popular in Madison, boosted this year by a documentary on the phenomenon, Mad City Chickens, which debuted at the Madison Film Festival in March.

The movie tells stories of urban chickens, and the issues surrounding them.

Chicken keeper Alicia Rheal said she's heard a lot of chatter about chickens since the film.

"Those who were on the fence were waiting to see if it was going to work and what problems would arise," Rheal said of the increasing interest in keeping chickens. "You don't have to be a farmer to do it."

One of the drawbacks of the current city law is that it restricts chicken keeping to only residents of single family homes.

She also said the ordinance could change to allow up to six chickens per residence instead of the current four.

Currently, Madison's ordinance allows those who acquire a $10 license to keep up to four hens. Roosters are not allowed. Nor is slaughter on site. Chickens need to be in a coop, or enclosure, a minimum of 25 feet from a neighbor's home. Birds must also be registered with the Department of Homeland Security, for disease tracking purposes.

Rummel noted the Mad City Chicken movie for heightened awareness of urban chicken keeping.

"My co-worker just moved and she wanted to have chickens but could not," explained Rummel. "Other people are also interested and I'm trying to get them hooked up."

Rummel is seeking input on how to add dwellings with multiple units into the proposal. Contact her at district6@cityofmadison.com.

This month, officials in Ann Arbor, Mich., proposed legislation for urban chicken keeping based on Madison's regulation.

For more information on chicken keeping in Madison, go to www.madcitychickens.com.

Lynn Welch  —  5/26/2008 8:40 am