ONEIDA, N.Y. -- Oneida's Common Council voted to approve changes to a local law regulating the harboring of hens within the inside district.
Robert Eaton, an advocate for allowing hens on private residences, said the amendment will allow residents to house a number of hens on their property within a month's time. The next council meeting in two weeks will establish a permit fee and the following meeting two weeks later will allow the placement of hens in residences.
"This has been a long time coming, but it's been worth it," Eaton said.
The council voted 5-1 to approve the change. Mayor Rick Rossi was the lone dissenting vote and Fourth Ward Councilman Rob Winchell was absent from the meeting.
The council hosted a public hearing before the vote. Former First Ward Councilman Brian Zogby said the law would favor single-family households. "You're playing favorites so that a number of residents can indulge in a hobby," he said.
Rob Fuller said the city should limit hens to their appropriate places in the city.
"Our city has areas zoned residential, commercial, and agricultural. The hens belong in the agricultural areas," Fuller said.
Eaton spoke for the amended law.
"People are concerned about predators, the foxes, and raccoons, increasing because there will be more hens in the city. I can tell you these animals are already here," he said.
Eaton spoke about what he considered the benefits of chickens housed in the inner district.
"Between gardening and raising chickens, you can meet your grocery needs," he said. "Food prices are very high. If your neighbor needs food, you can take them eggs."
Aszaria Cooper, who graduated from Oneida High School on June 29, shared her research favoring hen ownership with the council.
"People are concerned with chicken waste," she said. "It is actually 75 percent water and 25 percent feces. Chickens also know how to avoid predators. They know enough to sit on high bars and protect themselves."
Cooper spoke about what she called the perceived threat of diseases like salmonella and Avian Bird Flu.
"These diseases are not fatal, although their symptoms can include headaches and diarrhea," she said. "They are not transmittable from human to human. You can avoid these illnesses by simply washing your hands."
On March 19, the Common Council authorized the creation of a special committee to determine what changes, if any, should be made to a local law that was introduced on Feb. 6, amending Section 17-1 of the Code of the City of Oneida and creating a new chapter regulating the harboring of hens within the City of Oneida.
The Common Council selected the committee members.
The group prepared a plan on Friday, April 5, and presented the plan to the city's Common Council on Monday, April 8.
The Oneida Common Council delayed a vote on June 4 on whether to allow private ownership of hens after questions arose over fee schedules and also permits for those already owning hens arose in pre-vote discussions.
Oneida City Attorney Nadine Bell said on June 4 that the amended law would address private hen ownership in both the city's inside and outside districts. A permit would be mandatory under the amended law.
"The permit would be needed both for the inside district and for those living on the outside district whose property is not zoned as agricultural," she said.
New York City has more liberal laws regarding chicken ownership in private residences compared to other large cities like Philadelphia.
Hens, or female chickens, are allowed in several towns and villages around Oneida, although no laws currently exist allowing or regulating their ownership in the city. Roosters are not allowed because of what many authorities consider nuisance behavior like morning crowing.
Before World War II, most American households had a couple of chickens for their eggs. Chicken breeder My Pet Chicken said ownership increased 260% nationwide after the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020.
According to writer Sophie McIntosh, hens can lay an egg every 26 hours, depending on weather and other conditions. They lay more eggs in warm weather. Research shows that chickens are comparable to dogs in intelligence. This includes social interactions so chicken coops should allow for adequate room for their hens.
Hens should have four square feet apiece in their coops to reduce stress. Coops should also be built sturdy enough to keep predators like foxes, cats, and raccoons from attacking the chickens. When roaming space is limited chickens should have 10 square feet apiece for optimum health.
McIntosh also said chickens are useful for cleaning out gardens. They will eat seeds, grasshoppers, snails, and ticks. Sometimes they will eat lizards, small snakes, and small mice. They do best when given commercial chicken feed.
Janet Garman of Timber Creek Farm says chicken breeds best known for even temperament and consistent egg laying include Buff Orpingtons, speckled Sussexes, Wyandottes, and Rhode Island Reds.
Chickens originated in Southeast Asia and spread to India and later westward to Africa and Europe then the Americas. Chickens number 23.7 billion worldwide as of 2018 and are bred as broilers for their meat or layers for their eggs. They live between five and 10 years. Roosters have a distinctive red comb.
When ready to mate a rooster will approach a hen and do a mating waltz. If the hen is not interested it will run away.