Part 2: Mid-County Chicken Owners Emphasize Cleanliness, Courtesy

As the Richmond Heights City Council prepares to , Clayton-Richmond Heights Patch visited two people who raise the fowl in neighboring cities to gain some insight into what it takes to maintain chickens and the issues they have encountered.

Anne Martin of Clayton and Jeri Villarreal of University City are not scientists, researchers or medical professionals. They're just chicken owners involved in several local backyard chicken groups.

Their conclusions: While chicken ownership requires cleanliness and courtesy to neighbors, it's also educational and rewarding.

Jeri Villarreal, an information technology specialist, has been raising chickens for two years in University City, where up to seven chickens are allowed. She also sells fresh eggs, whole chickens ready for roasting, giblet packages and chicken stock makings through her Villarreal Family Farm website.

We first wanted to know if she thinks eggs produced by backyard chickens are more nutritious than those bought at a store.

“They're definitely more nutritious,” Villarreal said. “You can see it in the yolks. They're a bright yellow.”

Anne Martin is a teacher at , a member of the Clayton Board of Adjustment and an animal sculptor. Clayton has no ordinance or permit regarding chickens. She said Clayton uses its sound and smell ordinances to regulate chicken ownership.

Martin has eight adult chickens, four young chickens and two roosters.

Villarreal said only one of her neighbors has complained about her chickens. But she added: “The city has never contacted me regarding complaints regarding chickens or anything else.”

While no one has complained to Martin, some neighbors brought to her attention the fact that during nice weather, they like to sleep with the windows open. The roosters—which begin crowing as early as 3 a.m.—kept them up. Now, the neighbors call when they're leaving the windows open, and Martin moves the roosters into the garage.

Roosters are not being considered in Richmond Heights.

Neither owner said she has any knowledge of the chickens' effect on property values. Villarreal said her property received a higher assessment the year after she put in her chicken coop, though she admits she added a large garden at the same time that might have positively affected her property value.

Predators have not been a problem for either owner, though Martin thinks she might have lost a chicken to a hawk. Now, she never lets her chickens out of the coop without supervision.

Villarreal said many owners decide to butcher their chickens or give them away after they reach age 2. That's when the number of eggs a chicken lays drops significantly and the chicken begins to eat more.

A St. Louis County ordinance prohibits butchering chickens within view of neighbors, Villarreal said, so she butchers hers in the garage.

Martin gives her older chickens away.

“I find a new place for them to go,” Martin said. “Of course, that place may be on a bed of rice.”

The women said other concerns about chicken ownership—the birds' smell, the potential for attracting rodents, county ordinances against broadcasting seed and table scraps and the risk of salmonella—come down to responsible ownership.

“It's about keeping it clean,” Villarreal said. “We clean the coop once a week and compost the waste.”

Both owners restrict feed to their coops. Table scraps are set in a container and anything left uneaten is promptly removed.

Neither owner was aware of salmonella cases involving backyard flocks. Villarreal's husband, Carlos, said salmonella results from cross-contamination.

“It gets on the shells when the coop is not clean,” Carlos Villarreal said. “Then, when the egg is cracked, the egg inside can become contaminated.”

Martin said: “It's more of a factor in factory situations where they walk in their own feces. If I don't collect the eggs that day, I throw them out.”

Martin said she also takes the precaution of washing her eggs before eating them. She also writes down the dates on which she gathered the eggs.

While salmonella can become an issue in chicken flocks, cleanliness and nutrition greatly reduce the threat of disease, an article published by the University of Missouri Extension states.

Safety precautions include wearing plastic shoe covers when entering chicken coops and washing hands thoroughly after handling chickens and their eggs.

Whether home-raised eggs are more economical depends on many factors. Villarreal makes her own feed at a cost of $13 per month for her flock. Each chicken lays one egg per day with an occasional day off, meaning she gets about 45 eggs each week. Assuming a four-week month, that works out to approximately 7 cents per egg. But Villarreal admits she's never figured in what she has spent setting up her coop, purchasing the chickens originally, or other expenses.

Martin doubts her eggs are more economical. She buys expensive feed, built a fancy coop and treats her chickens more as pets than a food source. Occasionally, she even allows one or two to strut around the house.

Still, both owners think the positive aspects of raising backyard chickens far outweigh the work involved, and both take their chickens to schools and camps to teach children about raising them.

“I want to be a good steward about this whole thing,” Martin said. “I love landscaping and making things pretty. If there's something wrong—if there's a smell or a chicken is sick—I want to take care of it.”

Villareal said: “I can't put a price on what I've learned or what my kids have learned. The children love the chickens.”

The Richmond Heights City Council is expected to discuss the creation of an ordinance on backyard chickens at its Monday meeting. The meeting is set to begin at 7:30 p.m. at , 1330 S. Big Bend Blvd. The final details of the ordinance are expected to determined in August.