GREENFIELD — Bryce Miller, a father of five, hoped that raising chickens at home would help teach his children about the responsibilities of caring for animals and the importance of sustainable food sources.
“My older boys were actually looking forward to showing their chickens in the 4-H (fair) next year,” he said.
However, Miller ran into an obstacle after bringing the birds home. His family lives in Greenfield, where keeping farm animals on personal property is against city ordinance. Though he believed that his neighbors were supportive, Greenfield-Hancock County Animal Management informed him that there had been a complaint about the birds. The family’s chickens would have to go.
Now, Miller is hoping the Greenfield City Council will consider changing city code to allow keeping chickens.
Speaking at a recent city council meeting, Miller said he knows the topic of changing the farm animal ordinance in Greenfield has come up several times in the past but has never come up for a vote.
“I, along with many others in the community, believe that now is the time to make that change,” he said. “In light of what has taken place in regards to COVID-19, now is the time for families to have a stable food source at home.”
Miller, an ER nurse, said the effects of the novel coronavirus highlight the importance of having food sources at home in the event of unexpected shortages.
To demonstrate community support for the idea of changing the ordinance, Miller started a petition asking local officials to allow chicken ownership in the city limits.
As of Tuesday, Aug. 25, the petition had garnered 548 signatures on the popular website change.org. Miller estimated that about 75% of the signatures came from people in Greenfield, although petitions on the site can be signed from anywhere in the world.
Miller’s petition can be found at chng.it/g2tNC4wG.
Urban and suburban chicken ownership has become popular over the past few years. In April, a report on NPR said hatcheries had seen a substantial increase in customers interested in raising chickens for eggs during the COVID-19 quarantine.
When he became interested in raising chickens, Miller said, he consulted with Greenfield-Hancock County Animal Management about the idea and was told that he could keep the birds on his property as long as his neighbors did not complain.
“I received an uproar of support from my neighbors,” Miller said, with some even interested in getting chickens of their own.
Miller said that the city council seemed very receptive of the idea of changing the ordinance, although he knows it has been unsuccessfully brought up before.
The chickens are now residing with Miller’s father, but he hopes he will be able to bring them home if the ordinance is changed. He said he understands that some people who are not familiar with chickens may be worried about the effect they will have on quality of life and property values, but he argues chickens are no more disruptive than domesticated pets.
“A well-kept coop is no different than having a dog or a cat,” Miller said. “Hens are extremely quiet. The birds that have found homes in my trees are louder than my chickens.”
Miller also noted that many nearby cities, including Cumberland, Fishers and Indianapolis, allow chickens.
At the recent meeting, Greenfield Mayor Chuck Fewell asked Miller to compile more extensive information on the issue and said city government would look into it.
“We will put a committee together to review it,” he said. “…You gave a good presentation, and I think we owe it to you to review it.”
Amanda Dehoney, director of animal management, said the city’s ordinances forbid keeping any farm animals, including poultry, on personal property. When the department learns of violations, she said, it typically gives owners about a month to find new locations for their animals.
Dehoney said Animal Management does not have a stance on whether changing the ordinance is a good idea.
“We will do whatever the council deems necessary,” she said.
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Greenfield’s code of ordinances regulating animal management contains a section on keeping domestic farm animals. Section 90:11 says: “It shall be unlawful for any person to own, keep, or have custody of on his or her property within the city limits any bovine, porcine, equine, gallus gallus, or other domestic farm animal.” (“Gallus gallus” refers to chickens.) Violations carry a fine of $100.
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