Nothing foul with Point Breeze coop idea

One might expect to be able to pick out the residence with the chicken coop in the back, especially on a quiet block in Point Breeze.

But when I stopped by Marie Teasdale's apartment house on Wednesday, there was no farm smell or loud clucking. The chickens in question were pecking around with a minimum of fuss. When Teasdale let them out of their fenced area, she got them back in by clapping and marching behind them.

In short, those chickens are better trained than my dog.

Teasdale, 27, applied for a permit with Pittsburgh's zoning hearing board to keep 12 chickens on her property on McPherson Boulevard. She also had sought permission to keep beehives, but withdrew that part after the idea ruffled some neighbors' feathers. I had a lot of questions for Teasdale, but here's one that's always puzzled me: What makes someone want to own chickens in the city?

Teasdale, who is originally from Portland, Ore., studied environmental science there and took an urban farming class.

"It was my absolute favorite class," she said.

The idea of making fresh produce and vegetables available to the benefit of a community and the environment inspired her to create her own mini-farm. Besides the chickens, Teasdale is planting a large garden and has a compost pile.

She owns nine chickens. The Urban Agriculture Zoning Code says that a person can own three chickens as long as the minimum lot size is 2,000 square feet. From there, it's one chicken per 1,000 square feet.

Teasdale's property (a house and two vacant lots next to it) is well above 12,000 square feet, so the request is within the parameters of the relatively new law.

She said she checked with her immediate neighbors when she first began housing the chickens, and found no opposition. So when she went to the hearing last week, she didn't expect much squawking, because not one person ever raised any concerns with her before.

A few neighbors showed up to complain about the chickens, claiming they smelled bad, attracted predators and could carry diseases, such as the avian flu.

"I was honestly very surprised," she said.

Teasdale disputes each point. She said she has never come across a case in her studies of chickens spreading avian flu in North America.

She adds that she keeps a clean coop. I don't know what constitutes an acceptable coop because I grew up on concrete, but I walked through the area, and it smelled and looked clean to me. Also, I didn't step in any chicken ... you know.

As to the predators, she acknowledges the neighborhood has a rat problem, but it predated her chickens. Also, she said there is no rat problem on her property.

She's awaiting a decision from the board, but in the meantime, she is moving her chickens to a bigger coop, which is being built. It will have two levels, a drainage system and fencing to keep predators out.

If the board decides against her, she plans to seek another permit for a different number of chickens.

If there is a next time, though, she says she'll attend the hearing with neighbors who support her, as well as pest control and farm experts.

"I can understand where the apprehension is from, but I think it's unwarranted," Teasdale said.