Letters to the editor
Chickens getting a bad rap
Editor: This is a reply to the letter “Backyard chickens and rabbits,” in the July 31 issue of the Sun. The problems mentioned concerning having chickens and rabbits on a city lot can all be addressed. Rodents are all around, even if there are no chickens or rabbits. They can be controlled by not leaving food out at night, or water, and if possible, keeping fruit from fruit trees picked up when it falls on the ground. There is an excellent booklet “What You Can Do to Prevent and Control Rats,” put out by the Marin-Sonoma Mosquito and Vector Control District, that you can pick up at the master gardeners’ table at the Friday Farmers Market, or the ag commissioner’s or master gardeners’ offices at 19722 Eighth St. E.
I have chickens and have never seen a cockroach in my yard. If there were any, the chickens probably ate them! If the chickens’ quarters are kept clean with good ventilation, and a place for them to take dust baths (for possible mites or lice, though my vet has never found any on the chickens I have taken to him), then it isn’t any different from having dogs or cats around.
The only times chickens might seem aggressive is when mother hens are protecting baby chicks; or some roosters, if they are threatened or teased or treated badly. Other than that, roosters are great pets and they do funny things – like chase you when you are mowing the lawn! They are actually looking for the bugs you are rousting out of the grass.
If chickens and rabbits are kept clean they do not smell. If you pick a chicken up and smell their soft feathers, there will be no fragrance at all, unless their pen and house are not kept clean. This is easily done by putting down a thick layer of bedding, such as straw, which by the way, chickens love to play in. It can keep them busy for hours just scratching and clucking with delight when they find a grain of wheat, barley or oats. Two of my six hens stopped laying eggs a long time ago, but it doesn’t matter, they are my pets and they will stay with me as long as they, or I, live.
I agree that having backyard chickens and rabbits is a responsibility, they need clean water and feed daily, they need to be kept safe from predators and they need room to roam around and search for goodies.
As for turning your animals into food, I believe you can take them to a butcher, I wouldn’t recommend doing it yourself in a residential area.
Likewise, roosters are great, but it is a whole new experience raising chicks. It is fun, true, but hazardous for the little ones – you have to be extra vigilant. And of course there are those that are not too happy with the crowing.
Doreen Proctor
Sonoma
Wants more Kathleen Hill
Editor: We need more of Kathleen Hill – please give her more print space. Her column is the only one of its kind in town and we want to be up to date on all the happenings.
Trish Hunter
Sonoma
County workers seeking support
Editor: Have you ever paid property taxes? Have you ever been to the Sonoma County Animal Shelter? Have you ever obtained a building permit? Have you ever been married or had a child in Sonoma County? If you have answered yes to any of these questions, you have been directly served by a Sonoma County employee. Your civil servants in Sonoma County are working without a contract. The County is negotiating our new contract, but they are trying to take away what attracted us to our jobs in the first place – our affordable health care. They are proposing to reduce the employer contribution to our health care from a percentage to a flat rate. For those with children, this could make our cost go from $200 per month, to over $1,400. I realize many citizens don’t care about our benefits, but you should. The county managers have recently received substantial raises while the county wants to take from the workers. Call the Board of Supervisors and tell them you want us to have a fair and equitable contract and that you aren’t happy with them giving themselves thousands of dollars in raises! Help us so we can help you.
Tina Barry
Santa Rosa
