Is Atherton rural enough for backyard chickens?

Keeping chickens has been all the rage in Menlo Park of late, where most lots are far smaller than half an acre. We were entertaining the idea until we cared for a neighbor's five hens for a week, and were reminded how dismayingly prolific these birds are with their droppings (the neighbor's hens were allowed to roam free during the day and the backyard was all but unusable). You really, really must crave fresh eggs to carry through with this and I can't imagine there are that many people in Atherton willing to put up with the mess, regardless of lot size, to warrant regulating hen husbandry (our neighbor lasted perhaps six months before the mess became too much and the birds were sold).

Gern

Chickens are making a comeback across america - particularly in backyards. People are over-reacting about them. I live on a small lot (<< 0.5 acre), and have had chickens for more than 8 years I believe. They are great fun, and the eggs!! So good. Dogs, pool filters, and local ravens and scrub jays may more noise than chickens. When they get bothered you get some occasional clucking - of course we're talking about just HENS. My neighbors didn't even know I had them for quite a while. I have no idea what they mean by smelling chickens. My wife would never let me keep chickens if they smelled. A neighbor will never smell them. If they do, then that person is not taking proper care of the chickens. I don't know if I would be happy without my small garden and my chickens.

MP Neighbor:

do you keep them cooped up at all times?

Menlo Park Neighbor has it right! Atherton's City Council is making a big to-do about nothing. The Backyard Chicken hobby has become a national pastime and Atherton's Big Brother attitude is completely out of place. This whole topic should have been handled with common sense and professional advice back in September when the Atherton Planning Commission discussed the topic at their regular meeting. In the audience and among the speakers were two veterinarians, one who is a "Poultry Advocate" and the other who is the official San Mateo County Public Health Veterinarian. They offered good comments and a willingness to be a legitimate resource for all concerns regarding poultry flocks on suburban lots. There are backyard chickens in every town on the peninsula and all with smaller lots than Atherton. Chickens are quiet and their inconspicuous droppings are definitely not smelly. The many hawks, crows and jays in our yards and trees make far more noise and produce more droppings than mere domestic poultry. Barking dogs, predatory cats and wandering wildlife cause way more noise and grief than gentle, productive pet chickens. Most families will have five or fewer hens; big deal! Stop all this silly arguing about coop and pen dimension and placement nonsense. The recommendation for having "chicken inspectors" is beyond the pale. Chickens are a renewable resource, they teach children about the responsibility of caring for domestic animals that reward their owners with a prize egg each day. I'm yet to meet a neighbor so crotchety they would complain about something as inconsequential as a few laying hens. Have our councilmen nothing better to do than belabor this point with multiple meetings and regulations? Let common sense prevail and stop the nonsense. Chickens are a benefit of private property rights and they create no burden to neighbors. Please stop making a mountain out of a mole-hill.

Finally, a case where Atherton residents can't complain about a change destroying the town's rural character - no wonder they're silent; they have no idea what else to say.

Fly-on-the-Wall rules the roost!

In addition to producing a high quality egg every 24 hours, hens recycle food and yard waste keeping it out of landfills as it composts into an highly organic soil builder for your garden. A single chicken can bio recycle about seven pounds of food residuals in a month.

They serve as an organic pest cleanup crew by devouring flies and other unwanted insects. They also assist the gardener by clearing out weeds.
Raising hens in the back yard is a humane alternative to factory farming.
A small flock of chickens requires only a few minutes of your time a day.

Back yard chickens are sustainable, entertaining, educational and might even prevent the clinical depression associated with listening to the "chicken manure" being spread by a few of our city council members!

Gern - your friends could've went about it in a much better way. While we had a couple hens who roamed, we generally kept a portion of the yard separated for the hens, and they had a their henhouse within those confines. You just have to be willing to build a separate area for them with chicken wire and posts.

Atherton us "rural"? By what definition of "rural"? Atherton is just a very very wealthy suburb with large lots-- nothing more.

A friend lives in the country, in a truly rural area, and has a flock of chickens. She told me that chickens kill rats! Didn't know that! So -- they are great for rat control, as well as insect control.

BTW -- at least one coyote has been seen in Atherton recently -- -- in Holbrook Palmer Park -- so please please please keep all chickens in a coop at night. )Unless you just want to raise your chickens to be coyote food.)

I like the idea of backyard chickens.

I had the good fortune of hen-sitting for neighbors while they were on vacation. Though Blondie is no longer producing eggs, she is a beloved family pet. I would let her out of her roost in the morning and she would cluck and cackle at me as I filled her food tray and then follow me around the yard until I sat down so that she could have a few minutes of cuddling. Blondie has also bonded with the newly acquired family dog and they do quite well together. I wish I had the room in my yard for chickens, not only for their eggs but for their friendship.

Developers who want to reshape Atherton, get off your high horses. Your Google gazillionaire clients can sleep through a few clucks in the morning.

This is a fun thread! I didn't know a coyote was seen at HP Park in Atherton. Lots of unleashed little dogs there and other critters that'd make tasty snacks.

Blondie the hen sounds adorable. Reminds me of the PBS documentary about chickens.

The bottom line is that a city doesn't have to have rural areas for residents to keep hens.