People all over, including many of us here in Lockport, are craving a more natural approach to living. Farmer's markets, craft breweries, and farm-to-table restaurants are popping up everywhere. Home vegetable gardens and backyard chicken keeping are natural extensions of this trend. We, as citizens of Lockport feel that the laws that govern the residents of this city should keep with the times to reflect this trend.
For thousands of years, chickens, like dogs and cats, have lived alongside people in backyards large and small in cities and small towns. Unlike a half‐ton bull or 400‐pound hog, a six‐pound hen is not inherently a farm animal.The typical laying hen starts to produce at four to six months, lays nearly daily until she is 6, and then lives another two years. A crucial point is that for backyard chickens (unlike their counterparts on farms), the end of productivity does not bring on the end of life. Commercial chickens are bred to produce large numbers of eggs very quickly and then to be culled and used for such things as animal food and fertilizer. Suburban hens, however, are treated as individuals. They are typically named, and when around age 6 they stop producing eggs, they are ‘retired’ and treated as pets for the remaining year or two of their lives.Chickens are friendly, social, intelligent, affectionate, entertaining, low‐maintenance,small, quiet, and inexpensive to keep. They are quieter and cleaner than most dogs.They uniquely offer suburban and city‐dwelling children the opportunity to understand a little more clearly where their food comes from. And they offer all of us the opportunity to produce a little of our own food.
Lockport Urban Chicken Keepers Proposes the Following:
1. Single family homes within the City of Lockport shall be permitted to keep laying hens for household egg gathering.
2. Roosters are prohibited.
3. Chickens and their enclosures must be at least 15 feet from property lines and not visible from the street.
4. Enclosures must be attractive and well‐maintained.
5. Chickens and their enclosures must be kept in a neat, clean and sanitary condition free from offensive odors, excessive noise, or any other condition that would constitute a nuisance.
By signing this petition you are letting the Lockport City Council know that you support a change to Lockport Code of Ordinance 90.03 (A) to allow for the keeping of chickens within the City of Lockport.
Updates
September 18, 2017
Seeing this kind of momentum feels heavy because it reminds me how many people are waiting on this change. I am exhausted by the pushback we keep facing but seeing this validation helps me keep going.
Reached 100 supporters
September 18, 2017
31 Comments
With companies price gouging food prices. The people of Lockport IL sould be able to keep chickens to provide a food source for there families! Wake up Lockport times are tough we need to be self-sufficient!
My husband and I are hoping to sell our current home and relocate in the near future. We love the Lockport area, but the town's ban on backyard chicken coops is a dealbreaker.
It’s terrible that lockport residents can’t have chickens for pets and egg production!! I had 2 beautiful Isa Brown chickens and my girls didn’t bother anyone! I only had them for two months when they called the police on us!! I had to find a home for them or get fined!! The police were very understanding and even felt bad for us. I did take my girls back to the farm. They will be missed. This is so sad! We pay our taxes, keep our homes clean and don’t disturb neighbors and they can’t mind their own business.
Chickens are a great addition. They love to eat bug, witch is always great, they love scraps, left overs are a great treat. They aren't any noisier than dogs, except chickens sleep at night and dogs still bark. Great experience for kids.
As someone who used to live next door to a neighbor with chickens I fully support people who want to keep them. They are quiet, fun to watch, and our neighbor's generosity kept us in fresh eggs!! I had less problems with the chickens next door than I do now with the new neighbor's barking dog. I am pro chicken all the way!!!!
Would love to build a small chicken coop in our backyard under our deck for 4 or 5 laying hens only - NO roosters.
As long as the owners keep them healthy, clean and it's no bother to neighbors it would be great!
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People all over, including many of us here in Lockport, are craving a more natural approach to living. Farmer's markets, craft breweries, and farm-to-table restaurants are popping up everywhere. Home vegetable gardens and backyard chicken keeping are natural extensions of this trend. We, as citizens of Lockport feel that the laws that govern the residents of this city should keep with the times to reflect this trend.
For thousands of years, chickens, like dogs and cats, have lived alongside people in backyards large and small in cities and small towns. Unlike a half‐ton bull or 400‐pound hog, a six‐pound hen is not inherently a farm animal.The typical laying hen starts to produce at four to six months, lays nearly daily until she is 6, and then lives another two years. A crucial point is that for backyard chickens (unlike their counterparts on farms), the end of productivity does not bring on the end of life. Commercial chickens are bred to produce large numbers of eggs very quickly and then to be culled and used for such things as animal food and fertilizer. Suburban hens, however, are treated as individuals. They are typically named, and when around age 6 they stop producing eggs, they are ‘retired’ and treated as pets for the remaining year or two of their lives.Chickens are friendly, social, intelligent, affectionate, entertaining, low‐maintenance,small, quiet, and inexpensive to keep. They are quieter and cleaner than most dogs.They uniquely offer suburban and city‐dwelling children the opportunity to understand a little more clearly where their food comes from. And they offer all of us the opportunity to produce a little of our own food.
Lockport Urban Chicken Keepers Proposes the Following:
1. Single family homes within the City of Lockport shall be permitted to keep laying hens for household egg gathering.
2. Roosters are prohibited.
3. Chickens and their enclosures must be at least 15 feet from property lines and not visible from the street.
4. Enclosures must be attractive and well‐maintained.
5. Chickens and their enclosures must be kept in a neat, clean and sanitary condition free from offensive odors, excessive noise, or any other condition that would constitute a nuisance.
By signing this petition you are letting the Lockport City Council know that you support a change to Lockport Code of Ordinance 90.03 (A) to allow for the keeping of chickens within the City of Lockport.
Updates
September 18, 2017
Seeing this kind of momentum feels heavy because it reminds me how many people are waiting on this change. I am exhausted by the pushback we keep facing but seeing this validation helps me keep going.
Reached 100 supporters
September 18, 2017
31 Comments
Chickens are neither disruptive nor unhealthy. Many other municipalities allow chickens. Nobody is asking for roosters nor 10 chickens, simply enough to provide eggs. This restriction is outdated.
With companies price gouging food prices. The people of Lockport IL sould be able to keep chickens to provide a food source for there families! Wake up Lockport times are tough we need to be self-sufficient!
My husband and I are hoping to sell our current home and relocate in the near future. We love the Lockport area, but the town's ban on backyard chicken coops is a dealbreaker.
It’s terrible that lockport residents can’t have chickens for pets and egg production!! I had 2 beautiful Isa Brown chickens and my girls didn’t bother anyone! I only had them for two months when they called the police on us!! I had to find a home for them or get fined!! The police were very understanding and even felt bad for us. I did take my girls back to the farm. They will be missed. This is so sad! We pay our taxes, keep our homes clean and don’t disturb neighbors and they can’t mind their own business.
Chickens are a great addition. They love to eat bug, witch is always great, they love scraps, left overs are a great treat. They aren't any noisier than dogs, except chickens sleep at night and dogs still bark. Great experience for kids.
As someone who used to live next door to a neighbor with chickens I fully support people who want to keep them. They are quiet, fun to watch, and our neighbor's generosity kept us in fresh eggs!! I had less problems with the chickens next door than I do now with the new neighbor's barking dog. I am pro chicken all the way!!!!
Would love to build a small chicken coop in our backyard under our deck for 4 or 5 laying hens only - NO roosters.
As long as the owners keep them healthy, clean and it's no bother to neighbors it would be great!
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Chickens are neither disruptive nor unhealthy. Many other municipalities allow chickens. Nobody is asking for roosters nor 10 chickens, simply enough to provide eggs. This restriction is outdated.