Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Food systems used to deliver our food breaking down, says one supporter trying to bring backyard chickens to one suburb.
Part of a series on local food and suburban farming. Keeping chickens isn’t just for farmers anymore. While there aren’t statistics available on backyard chickens, a rise in popularity is evident by online chicken forums and news reports of suburbs and cities dealing with poultry zoning issues. This summer, the Crystal Lake City Council voted against chickens, but it was a close vote, decided by the city’s mayor. Why do people want to keep their own chickens? Ed Fuhrmann, who is leading an effort bring backyard chickens to the Round Lake communities, said there are many reasons people want to raise their own chickens. “Very rarely in my research is it just about the chickens or just about the eggs. There’s usually a tipping point, …
Monday, October 3, 2011
Backyard Chicken Run delivers feed to city and suburban coop keepers.
Part of a series on local food and suburban farming For John Emrich, the foray into the local food movement began 10 years ago when he started juicing. He realized that to get the most benefits from large quantities of vegetables, they should be organic. “There was a morphing from outdoor enthusiast to environmental advocate. Those two worlds came crashing together. I realized organic was not just the best for myself, it was also the best for the environment,” Emrich said. Going organic naturally led to an interest in local food and backyard chickens. Emrich took a class on raising backyard chickens with Angelic Organics Learning Center, a partner to the Angelic Organics Farm, a community-supported agriculture (CSA) farm in Caledonia, Ill…
Part of a series on local food and suburban farming.
Long Grove soon may become the first village in Lake County that allows its residents to keep chickens. In McHenry County, the city of McHenry also is considering welcoming backyard hens. This summer, the Crystal Lake City Council voted against chickens, but it was a close vote, decided by the city’s mayor. Other suburbs that allow chickens include Evanston, Oak Park, St. Charles, Naperville and a few other west suburbs. In Wisconsin, Milwaukee and Madison residents can keep hens. The city of Chicago always has allowed chickens. “It’s almost backwards from what you would expect. You would think there would be chickens in the country and you would think as you get closer to the city, it would be more restrictive. But the city allows …
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
A tied council vote nixed the possibility of revising the ordinance prohibiting residents from keeping chickens within the city limits.
Erik Blome’s chickens won’t be coming home to roost after the Crystal Lake City Council voted down a resolution allowing residents to have a limited number of chickens on their properties. Earlier this year, the city ordered Blome to remove his four hens from his Crystal Lake residence or pay a fine. Reluctantly, he sent them out of the area, their fate in limbo. Told the family pets were farm animals, the city said he was in violation of a city code prohibiting them on residential property. Blome launched a campaign urging the city to change the ordinance to allow residents to have a limited number of hens on their properties. The campaign drew a large number of supporters not only in Crystal Lake, but in surrounding McHenry County …
E Blome
9:59 am on Monday, October 3, 2011
Government needs to get out of our lives. They do not know better than we do wht is good for us, what a "pet" is, or how to stay healthy. In fact, the opposite is the truth. more ›