I’ve wanted to have a few chickens since I started the ever-expanding vegetable garden in our SE side Cedar Rapids back yard. It just seemed to make sense. The hens would eat the kitchen scraps, consume the bad bugs, and give us a few eggs for breakfast every day. Perfect sustainability achieved. I started complaining outloud about it, and then came upon a blog written by a fellow chicken lover and Cedar Rapidian. I contacted her and so did some other folks who were bent on the idea. We didn’t want to have to hide our hens. A few short conversations later, CLUC was born. Citizens for the Legalization of Urban Chickens has jelled into a headline generating machine of local chicken friendly folks who really want to come out of the coop with our odd ideas about keeping chickens as pets. I think it’s safe to say we’re out.

Todd Dorman couldn’t resist talking about us in his column last Sunday. Dave Parsons chatted about the chicken movement in the Press Citizen last Saturday. Chicago, Omaha, Kansas City, and Des Moines are picking up our story and keeping tabs on our progress. KUNI did a segment on their show, “The Exchange” last week and CLUC was the topic of conversation on WMT600 during their talk about local government issues. We even have tee shirts. And yes, you can get one. Our facebook fan base grows every day. The page has been up only one week and we are rolling towards 400 “fans.” People love the chickens.

People actually love the eggs. For those of you who have not experienced eggs from happy chickens first hand, I have to tell you that once you go free range, you’ll never go back to the grocery store. The yolks are dark orange. The taste is eggy-er. The eggs themselves are just more interesting. Heirloom chickens lay eggs that are brown, spotted, green, blue, and tan colored. They are huge, hard-shelled wonders. Talk about a recycling miracle; you toss the hens your kitchen scraps and they turn them into the best breakfast on the planet. Actually, we eat them for supper sometimes, too.

Dave Parsons noted in his column that he performed a ten minute research project using the Google search engine and managed to gather enough information to convince him that his neighbors could have a few hens without bothering him. CLUC appreciates that, Dave.

Ya know, anyone could perform a simple ten minute Google search and gather for themselves the information needed to decide if they are for or against legalizing chickens in the city limits. In fact, if you are even remotely inclined to do so, I’d like to personally urge you to Google us chicken keepers and see what we’re up to. You may learn that hens don’t crow, their poop goes into the compost pile to enrich our gardens (5 hens generate as much as one medium sized dog), hens don’t bark or bite or kill baby birds and leave them in your driveway for your kids to find. They don’t spread disease, and they earn their keep in eggs.

For those of us who want to keep chickens, it’s about sustainability. The green movement takes many forms. Some of us drive the Smartcar, or grow our own lettuce in window boxes. Some of us recycle more than we send to the landfill. Some of us want to feed our families and neighbors the best eggs on earth from our own backyards. We all have the same goal of creating a community that is doing more good than harm. I can’t imagine who would be against sustainability. Who is pushing back against the Green Movement? Who would be opposed to my urge to slave over my little plot of dirt ten months a year to squeeze out organic produce to feed my family? I can’t imagine.

CLUC has the research to support our claims that chickens in the city don’t pose any threat to the safety or sanity of its residents. In fact, having a neighbor with a few hens pretty much guarantees you the opportunity to taste those fabulous eggs from happy chickens.

You can find us on facebook. Become a fan, or just snoop around.

– RACHEL