County could expand chicken-coop policy

You may be surprised to learn there are chickens tucked away across backyards all over city neighborhoods.

Don’t be surprised to possibly see more coming.

The Pinellas County Commission held a public hearing on whether to loosen rules on backyard chickens. The official vote won't come until Dec. 20, but there's a lot of support right now in Pinellas County to make backyard coops legal across the county.

The Bates family is in support.

"It's more about the education of it,” Kelli Bates said. "It's also about the health of it that we are taking care of our food.”

They don't live on a farm. These are backyard animals living the city life in St Petersburg.

"They are very easy to take care of,” Bates said. “They don't take a lot of tender love and care.”

In fact, their chicken coup takes up about the same amount of space as a swing set would.

"We get really great, just fresh eggs laid right there that day," Bates added.

The chickens could have free range of a backyard, but they are going to lay the eggs right inside their coup. In the spring and summer, the Bates’ 19 hens lay up to 20 eggs per day.

It's legal at their home in St Petersburg, but some chickens have been hiding out in garages – in sections of Pinellas County where raising them at home is against the law. Well, at least for now.

According to the county’s 4H extension agent, there's a lot of interest in at-home coops.

Of course, that can also bring clucking, which is a noise your neighbors might not be fond of. There's the issue of that smell, too. Those are the two biggest concerns against backyard coops.

Bates said she hasn't had any problems with her neighbors. One reason may be her old-fashioned hospitality.

"We've actually gone door to door asking our neighbors, ‘Do you mind if we have chickens?’ Here are some fresh eggs," she said.

There seems to be a lot of support for this within the county commission. A lot of residents are curious what it takes to get started.

The basics are a fence and some chicken wire for containment and some wood to build a nesting box.

The Bates family said they use fresh soil that's raked frequently to keep the smell down.