It may just turn out that the chicken comes before the egg — at least at Havelock High School.
Havelock commissioners agreed to hold a hearing on Sept. 26 on a request to allow chickens at the high school for educational purposes.
City rules now prohibit barnyard animals within city limits.
“It’s very important for students to have real live specimens to work with in the classroom,” Kayla Harris, Havelock’s new agriculture education teacher, told commissioners Monday night. “We live in a world now where a lot of things are virtual, but in career and technical education, especially agriculture education, it’s important for those students to understand the life cycles of a chicken, or the life cycles of a cow — how they reproduce and how they produce more products for us to consume and to use on a daily basis.
“Our goal is to get our students ready for careers in agriculture and any other industry that they can enter. More and more jobs related to poultry production are coming to North Carolina.”
Harris pointed to the Sanderson Farms poultry production facility in Kinston.
“They are looking for skilled students to come and work in their companies, and I feel it’s our responsibility in Craven County and at Havelock High School to have our students ready to take over those careers,” she said. “There’s a huge opportunity for them to make great money, wonderful benefits and retirement packages.”
Harris proposed that the school be allowed to have 20 chickens, all hens and no roosters. Havelock Principal Jeff Murphy told commissioners that the school had a horticultural compound that would be modified to house the birds.
“We’re going to have it in an orderly fashion at the high school. We’re going to house it in the right way. We’re going to build the right structure so that it’s the right way for chickens,” Murphy said. “We’re going to do it on a trial basis also. We’re going to see how it benefits students. And we’re going to make sure that it works with our educational environment, and if it doesn’t, then we’ll do away with it. If it does, then we’ll keep doing it. Whatever the laws are, we’re going to stick to that as close as possible.”
Commissioner Danny Walsh pointed out that the board had previously turned down a request from resident Janet Hatfield to keep three chickens in a backyard coop.
Havelock Mayor Jimmy Sanders suggested an exception be made for schools and that the birds not be allowed within 400 feet of a residence.
Sanders said the high school is isolated and well away from homes, and Commissioner Will Lewis pointed out the differences between the two requests.
“Two main reasons why we said no to chickens in the city of Havelock was proximity and property values,” he said. “Those were our major sticking points. It seems like both of those can be dealt with in this situation.”
Though there was no vote taken, it appeared that there was a 3-2 split on the board in favor of allowing the chickens at the school.
2011年9月20日星期二
2011年7月17日星期日
Urban chicken coop roosts in Westmount
Each morning, Marci Babineau steps out the backdoor of her Westmount townhouse to fetch a half-dozen eggs from the chicken coop in her yard.
"It still amazes me everyday," says Babineau, a yoga teacher who had chickens growing up in suburban California. "I always thank them, because I feel like saying, 'I'm glad it's you, not me (laying eggs)."'
Chickens are permitted in Westmount, though backyard chickens remain an underground movement in most North American cities amid concerns about smell, sanitation and noise.
But that's gradually changing as many urban dwellers seek a closer connection with the food they eat.
A growing number of Canadian cities now allow chickens within their boundaries, while others are considering the possibility.
Vancouver and Niagara Falls now allow chickens within city limits, along with cities south of the border such as Chicago and Seattle.
A recent trial run in New Brunswick was deemed a success, while a group in Toronto is also pressing the issue.
Most city dwellers who raise chickens, like Babineau, do so for their eggs -- not for slaughter. Some are motivated by concern about the antibiotics, chemicals and chicken feed used in industrial farming.
Babineau, a breast cancer survivor who began raising fowl in search of a healthier lifestyle, says the eggs from her chickens tend to include a darker, richer yolk than the ones in the grocery store.
"I like that it makes me feel like I'm doing something toward my diet my family's diet--and our welfare -- that's very tangible," said Babineau.
The city of Montreal outlawed chickens in 1966, part of the era's trend against livestock within municipal boundaries.
While the law is still on the books, advocates are hoping a pilot project launched this summer in one borough could be the beginning of its undoing within the municipality.
"We had a lot of demand from residents, especially because it's now allowed in other cities," says Francois Croteau, mayor of the Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie borough.
The project announced last month means the borough will operate a hen house open to the public.
The original proposal was to permit residents to keep a few hens in their backyard if they had a large enough plot, but not everyone was in favour of the plan.
There were concerns backyard chickens would make too much noise and attract pests, such as rats.
"After one year (of considering) the regulations we found the first step would be a project that would focus on education and environment," Croteau said of the project.
Supporters like Babineau say that, without a rooster, neighbours wouldn't even know the chickens are there and a properly maintained coop eliminates concern about smell and cleanliness.
"I quite enjoy having them next door, actually," said neighbour Joyce Pickering. "I like the clucking sound, which don't hear too much of, but occasionally. It makes you feel sort of like you're in the country."
Babineau's hens – Lulu, Daisy, Coco, Kiki and Om – are kept in a closed-in run at the back of the garden, which connects to a winter-warm area beneath the house where they eat, roost and lay eggs.
They subsist mostly on vegetable scraps from her own home and those of nearby friends and businesses.
"I had got really interested in the local food movement so I thought, 'Oh I know, I can have chickens,"' says Babineau.
Babineau has taken it upon herself to gradually spread the word about the benefits of being in closer touch with your food.
"The whole neighbourhood drops by to see the chickens, especially the families with little kids," says Babineau, who adds that her own son is enthusiastic about the project.
"I'm just trying to encourage them to come back to living with more nature and revisit some of the things we gave up a long time ago."
"It still amazes me everyday," says Babineau, a yoga teacher who had chickens growing up in suburban California. "I always thank them, because I feel like saying, 'I'm glad it's you, not me (laying eggs)."'
Chickens are permitted in Westmount, though backyard chickens remain an underground movement in most North American cities amid concerns about smell, sanitation and noise.
But that's gradually changing as many urban dwellers seek a closer connection with the food they eat.
A growing number of Canadian cities now allow chickens within their boundaries, while others are considering the possibility.
Vancouver and Niagara Falls now allow chickens within city limits, along with cities south of the border such as Chicago and Seattle.
A recent trial run in New Brunswick was deemed a success, while a group in Toronto is also pressing the issue.
Most city dwellers who raise chickens, like Babineau, do so for their eggs -- not for slaughter. Some are motivated by concern about the antibiotics, chemicals and chicken feed used in industrial farming.
Babineau, a breast cancer survivor who began raising fowl in search of a healthier lifestyle, says the eggs from her chickens tend to include a darker, richer yolk than the ones in the grocery store.
"I like that it makes me feel like I'm doing something toward my diet my family's diet--and our welfare -- that's very tangible," said Babineau.
The city of Montreal outlawed chickens in 1966, part of the era's trend against livestock within municipal boundaries.
While the law is still on the books, advocates are hoping a pilot project launched this summer in one borough could be the beginning of its undoing within the municipality.
"We had a lot of demand from residents, especially because it's now allowed in other cities," says Francois Croteau, mayor of the Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie borough.
The project announced last month means the borough will operate a hen house open to the public.
The original proposal was to permit residents to keep a few hens in their backyard if they had a large enough plot, but not everyone was in favour of the plan.
There were concerns backyard chickens would make too much noise and attract pests, such as rats.
"After one year (of considering) the regulations we found the first step would be a project that would focus on education and environment," Croteau said of the project.
Supporters like Babineau say that, without a rooster, neighbours wouldn't even know the chickens are there and a properly maintained coop eliminates concern about smell and cleanliness.
"I quite enjoy having them next door, actually," said neighbour Joyce Pickering. "I like the clucking sound, which don't hear too much of, but occasionally. It makes you feel sort of like you're in the country."
Babineau's hens – Lulu, Daisy, Coco, Kiki and Om – are kept in a closed-in run at the back of the garden, which connects to a winter-warm area beneath the house where they eat, roost and lay eggs.
They subsist mostly on vegetable scraps from her own home and those of nearby friends and businesses.
"I had got really interested in the local food movement so I thought, 'Oh I know, I can have chickens,"' says Babineau.
Babineau has taken it upon herself to gradually spread the word about the benefits of being in closer touch with your food.
"The whole neighbourhood drops by to see the chickens, especially the families with little kids," says Babineau, who adds that her own son is enthusiastic about the project.
"I'm just trying to encourage them to come back to living with more nature and revisit some of the things we gave up a long time ago."
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