Rob:  Well, farm roots run deep in Oklahoma; but as our state, as well as our nation becomes more urbanized, those rural ties are becoming strained.  Joining me now is KOSU’s Gail Banzet.
Gail Banzet:  Hi Rob, and that’s right.  And in an effort to participate in organic farming and save money, many city residents are buying a few chickens for their backyard.  And, while Oklahoma may be a rural state, urban chickens aren’t currently legal in the state’s capitol city.
Jack Gillium:  Oh no, she’s on her egg.
Gale Banzet:  Twelve year old Jack Gillium is the proud owner of three chickens and they live a luxurious life in his mom’s backyard.
Jack:  One of them towards, both of them are over there, two of them are over there and then Tridant is probably over there having eggs.
Gail:  Jack’s chickens were initially an Animal Science project for Boy Scouts; but soon after bringing them home, his mom, Lori, grew fond of the barnyard animals, especially Tridant’s eggs.
Lori Gillium:  You know, they just taste better; and maybe part of its mental knowing that there’s no, you know, antibiotics or anything in them.
Gail:  Do, are they loud, do you hear them a lot, does the rooster crow?
Jack:  Yeah, they’re, the rooster sure does crow a lot.
Gail:  Have your neighbors ever said anything to you?
Jack:  No, not really.
Gail:  And, you’ve had them for seven months now.
Jack:  Yeah.
Gail:  The Gillium’s aren’t the only ones in favor of the backyard birds, Sarah Braden and her family decided to investigate the chicken project after growing an organic garden.
Sarah Braden:  So, a couple of years ago I called the city zoning office and asked them if it was legal to have chickens in Oklahoma City and they said that it’s perfectly legal; so, we started building a chicken coop.
Gail:  But soon after, Braden was informed the chickens were not legal.  In response to the rule, she attended neighborhood association meetings and searched resident’s opinions and also created an online petition to legalize the birds.  Later, she took her cause to the city council posing an amendment change to this rule, outlined by Oklahoma City Chief Zoning Inspector, John Wilson.
John Wilson:  So long as you have an acre of land, it doesn’t matter what the zone is, you can have chickens or livestock.
Gail:  Simple, but maybe a little vague; and, there aren’t very many backyards in Oklahoma City larger than an acre.  Braden’s proposal would restrict loud rooster’s that crow, but at the same time, allow people to keep a maximum of eight hens in a clean and dry area in their backyards.  Braden says she has a lot of supporters who think backyard chickens are a smart idea; they provide organic waste for gardens, eat insects, and produce fresh eggs.
Sarah:  There are cities all across the country that either already allow chickens or that people like me are get, you know, asking the city council’s of those cities to change the municipal code.
Gail:  Dallas, Denver, New York, Las Vegas, cities all around the country allow backyard chickens, but what about the noise and the smell?  Braden says it’s not a problem.
Sarah:  Of course, if you live next door to like, Tyson Foods, then you’re going to have a smell issue; but, my proposed amendment change limits the number of chickens to eight, you know, if they’re well cared for, if there are a limited number of them the smell isn’t an issue.
Gail:  Braden makes her case for chickens, but there are a lot of Oklahoma City residents who don’t think the birds belong in the city.  Bruce Hall is a former President of his neighborhood association and he says he used to get complaint calls about chickens all the time.
Bruce Hall:  And, I had probably three calls from people within the neighborhood of loose chickens in the neighborhood.  One lady called and told me it was destroying her flowerbeds, the chickens were loose; and actually this was pretty hilarious, somebody, one of the chickens pecked a hole in her child’s swimming pool.
Gail:  Hall says he understands where chicken supporters are coming from, he grew up on an acreage.
Bruce:  And it’s a great tool to teach responsibility for children and that type thing.
Gail:  But, Hall thinks there’s a reason why chickens are considered farm animals.
Bruce:  Again, if you have an acreage; inside the city, I don’t agree.
Gail:  If Oklahoma City residents violate current chicken rules, they’ll be asked to remove the animals from their property.  Failure to comply could result in a citation and eventually a fine of up to five hundred dollars.  Since Sarah Braden presented her amendment to city council last fall, the group has conducted a peer study of similar cities in the region, seven out of eight allowed chickens.  Braden says the birds aren’t any different from the pet dogs owned by her neighbors.
Sarah:  It’s not okay for their dogs to bark all night and they have to clean up after their dogs, and that’s fine and they do that, and I support their right to have dogs.  And, you know, I think it would be nice if my neighbors could support my rights to have chickens.
Gail:  Oklahoma City’s current rule dates back to the early nineties.  Before that, chickens could only be kept in agricultural-zoned areas.  Now the next step in a possible rule change is to conduct two public meetings on the issue of backyard chickens, Rob.
Rob:  So, when it comes to these backyard birds, how does Oklahoma City stack up with other towns around the state?
Gail:  Well, that depends.  Here in Stillwater chickens are allowed within the city limits if they’re kept more than a hundred and fifty feet away from any structure other than a barn.  In Tulsa, chickens are only allowed within agriculturally-zoned areas; and in Enid last year, the city council passed an ordinance banning all livestock from the city limits, but then a month later the city council repealed the decision.
Rob:  Now I know this next question may sound a little simplistic for anyone that grew up around chickens, but when it comes to chickens and roosters they’re not all created equally when it comes to making noise?
Gail:  That’s right.  A male chicken, called a rooster, does a lot of crowing which can be a lot louder and more obnoxious than a female chicken, called a hen, and she just does a lot of clucking which is a little bit quieter.
Rob:  Well alright Gail, we certainly appreciate the story.