Which came first, the chicken or the city ordinance.
The Troy Planning and Zoning Department has cited a Race Street couple for raising a pair of chickens in their backyard, saying it violates a section of the city zoning code prohibiting "animal husbandry" in a residential district.
But Robert and Heather Dorsten say their two 8-month-old hens, Lucy, a New Hampshire Red, and Dottie, a black-feathered Bard Rock, are pets. And because they've already given away their rooster, the hens can't reproduce, and thus are not in violation of the code.
"The city says the definition of animal husbandry is the production and care of domestic animals. But now that we don't have the rooster, they're not producing, so they don't meet the definition (of animal husbandry)," Robert Dorsten said Wednesday.
Besides, having the chickens is a "green" approach to urban self-sustainability, say the Dorstens, who moved into their circa-1886 wooden frame house about 18 months ago after living in a downtown Dayton loft.
The hens eat almost anything but citrus, which has reduced the Dorsten's garbage output from one bag a week to one bag about every two-and-a-half weeks.
"They've drastically reduced our trash. All our organic waste goes directly into the pen," Robert said, adding that the hens also eat backyard grass. "I've only had to mow once or twice in the past month or so," he said.
"They eat our pests. We hardly have any spiders around anymore. And they're just fun," said Heather, 23, who works for a local attorney.
But planning and zoning director Mark Cundiff said the hens "are an agricultural use, and as such, they are not permitted in the R-6 residential district." Agricultural uses are permitted in A, AR, M1, M2 and M3 districts.
Cundiff said as the result of a complaint, the city investigated and issued a Sept. 5 notice of violation, saying the Dorsten's hens and the pen constitute animal husbandry. In the letter, the city defines animal husbandry as "a branch of agriculture concerned with the production and care of domestic animals. Animal husbandry, including structures necessary to carry out such operations, are considered agricultural uses according to Section 1000.00310.3 and are not a permitted use in residential districts."
Cundiff said an exception to the code can be made for so-called exotic pets, but that would require a bill of sale from an exotic pet store. "And as far as I can tell, they don't have a bill of sale from an exotic pet store, so (the hens) qualify as an agricultural use," Cundiff said.
Crowing
The Dorsten's said they adopted four hens from a friend's farm early this year after reading about the environmental benefits of backyard chickens and deciding they would also make good pets. They kept them inside the house until mid-May, when they got too big, so Robert constructed an outdoor pen from plastic wire wrapped around an old doghouse.
Everything was fine until about a month ago, when one of the "hens" suddenly let out a crow one morning.
"All of a sudden we found out we had a rooster," Robert, 25, said with a laugh Wednesday, as Lucy and Dottie roamed the backyard.
"He was one of our favorite chicks. But we knew we didn't want to bother our neighbors with the sound of a crowing rooster, so we gave him and one of the other hens away," Heather said.
"And even with his crowing, he still wasn't as noisy as most of the dogs around the neighborhood," Robert added. Besides, the neighbors on one side of their house liked the sound of the rooster - "they said it reminded them of living on a farm," Heather said - while the neighbor children in the house on the other side of the Dorsten's often come over to play with the hens.
But a week later, the Dorsten's received the notice of violation from the city, requesting they remove the chickens and the coop immediately or face possible legal action.
Cundiff said the city also is concerned the chickens will attract predators, such as raccoons, foxes and badgers, to the neighborhood, a charge the Dorsten's reject.
The Dorsten's said they intend to file an appeal of the city's decision through the Troy Board of Zoning Appeals, and the case could be heard as early as Oct. 28. The Dorsten's say they have received an outpouring of support for their cause and Robert, an information technology specialist, has established a Web site - www.saveourchickens.com - to help supporters keep tabs on the situation.
The couple said they consider the whole affair a poor use of tax dollars in a down economy. Besides, they've grown attached to Dottie and Lucy.
"It's hard when you see something grow from two days old and then you might have to give it up," Heather said.
