Next CLUCK meeting Weds. April 25th

The next CLUCK meeting will be held Wednesday April 25, 2012 at 6:30 p.m. The location is the Florida House, 4454 Beneva Road, Sarasota FL 34233 (north of Proctor and SCTI on the west side of Beneva),Sarasota, FL.

We are picking up steam (and more supporters) in our efforts to legalize backyard hens in unincorporated Sarasota County. Right now we are living in a strange chicken sandwich -- they're legal in the rural, agricultural open use zones of the county and in the urban City of Sarasota, but not in-between! Please join us, we can do this!

In addition to getting to know each other, networking, and strategizing, there may a special surprise presentation. 

Florida House on the West Side of Beneva Road, north of Proctor

CLUCK Advertising ?!#@*

Sarasota CLUCK Blog is rapidly approaching its 50,000th page view. We haven't had a month with less than 1,000 page views in more than a year and last month was over 2,500.

It is clear that readership has extended far beyond Sarasota (over 10,000 pageviews from outside the US!) and many of our pages (the constant offerings at the top, not the everchanging posts) are getting lots of views. Consider some of these pageview numbers:

• Annotated City Ordinance: 1,737 pageviews
• Quiz to see if people are ready for backyard chickens: 720 pageviews
• Coop design tips for Southwest Florida: 652 pageviews
• One Dozen Tips to Legalize Chickens in Your Community: 324 pageviews
      (this was first posted 41 days ago, so we are getting 8 pageviews a day)
• Our 25 Funky Chicken Facts, which appears as both a post and a page has received 2,789 pageviews!

Governor Scott Approves Dyeing Chickens!

Governor Rick Scott, shortly after repealing statute that prohibited dyeing of baby animals

According to Channel 10 News, Governor Rick Scott has signed the bill allowing the dyeing of animals, including baby chicks, despite over 4,000 emails asking him not to. The explanation is that the dye job language was tacked on to a major agricultural bill that had other provisions the Governor wanted to implement.

The bill the Governor signed CS/HB 1197 simply repeals Florida Statute 828.161, which read

828.161 Prohibiting artificial coloring and sale of certain animals and fowls; construction.—

(1) It is unlawful for any person to dye or color artificially any animal or fowl, including but not limited to rabbits, baby chickens, and ducklings, or to bring any dyed or colored animal or fowl into this state.

(2) It is unlawful for any person to sell, offer for sale, or give away as merchandising premiums, baby chickens, ducklings, or other fowl under 4 weeks of age or rabbits under 2 months of age to be used as pets, toys or retail premiums.

(3) This section shall not be construed to apply to any animal or fowl, including but not limited to rabbits, baby chickens, and ducklings to be used or raised for agricultural purposes by persons with proper facilities to care for them or for poultry or livestock exhibitions.

(4) Any person violating the provisions of this section shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.

History.—s. 1, ch. 67-177; s. 953, ch. 71-136.

So Much Backyard Chicken News!

A Chris Hinyub posting in the US Independent Voter Network Backyard Chickens Take Off With Small Scale Poultry Operations covers both backyard chicken campaigns in Florida and the general phenomenon.

National Public Radio broke a story about Williams Sonoma is starting a product line that will include a chicken tractor. The line will be called Agrarian.

And the  Wednesday DINING section of the New York Times led with Straight From the Home Coop, a multi-page story that not only covers ways to cook "home coop" eggs, but also points out that store-bought eggs can be up to six weeks old.

CLUCK SQUAWK: Urinary Tract Infections May be Linked to Store-Bought Chicken!

In another case of the fox reporting on the henhouse, FOX News has reported that "Chickens may ultimately be to blame for the majority of urinary tract infection in the U.S." This sensational claim is based on a Center for Disease Control (CDC) study that found that that strains of E. coli believed to cause UTIs in women matched the strains of E. coli found in retail chicken meat. The most noteworthy aspect of this linkage is that "the bacteria did not come from any contamination during the preparation process, but from the chicken itself."

But don't take FOX News word for it. Here's a link to the actual CDC report: 

Tell the Governor: Just Say NO to Dyeing Baby Chicks

According to a story in the Orlando Sentinel, one dog groomer in Broward County convinced Ellen Bogdanoff (R. Ft Lauderdale) to introduce legislation that would allowing dyeing dogs for show. The result is a bill on the Governor's desk that would also allow dyeing of baby chicks and rabbits. 


UPDATE APRIL 6, ACCORDING TO A MIAMI NEWS BLOG, THE GOVERNOR HAD ALREADY SIGNED IT INTO LAW -- BUT that was WRONG. He has until Saturday the 7th to veto, otherwise it becomes law without his signature. 

Backyard Chicken Keeping @ Ecofest April 14th 2012

Are you planning to go to Ecofest, this April 14th? If so, consider checking out a 45 minute presentation that starts at 2:00 p.m.  Poultry breeder, Glenna Roberts, Urban Chicken Tractor Builder, Ira Kleinschmidt and County Extension Agent Rob Kluson will be talking about backyard chicken keeping. Look for them close to Five Points Park.