Spotlight Shifts to North Port Chicken Ordinance

As you may recall, North Port planning staff has been working since January 14th on an ordinance to make it possible to have chickens in the city -- that's when four commissioners discussed the possibility at a workshop. The idea was to have an ordinance similar to the one in the City of Sarasota. If you would like to know their thoughts at the time, (which seemed split two-to-two) click on this text. 

Now the North Port Chicken Ordinance is taking shape and is about to begin its public journey -- hopefully to adoption. Here is the current schedule, but check back, because things can change.

Local Chicken News

• Still time to Volunteer at the Sarasota County Fair Friday March 15 through Sunday March 24th. Some volunteer slots may already be filled, so contact Janie at 941-907-0011 to see what is still available.

• TAMPA BAY TIMES Hernando County okays chickens in residential neighborhoods

• Manatee County Commission will be considering chickens on March 19th at 9:00 am. 

CLUCK Volunteers Needed for the County Fair

For the third year, CLUCK volunteers (that may include you) will be helping out at the Small Animal Tent at the 2013 Sarasota County Fair, which includes feature chickens and also includes rabbits and cavies (AKA Guinea Pigs). The Fair runs March 15th through the 24th, so there are lots of opportunities to participate.

Why would you want to do this? There are at least four reasons. First this a great opportunity for education -- both your own and the education of fairgoers. For volunteers, it is a great chance to see different breeds and gain insight into their temperament and the size and color of their eggs. In addition, your participation assisting the organizers helps both educate fairgoers regarding 4H and FFA (Future Farmers of America) and manage the excitement that is generated by cotton candy-fueled kids, curious teens, crowing roosters, and baby chicks. It's also an opportunity to promote CLUCK at our CLUCK OUTREACH TABLE. Finally, volunteers serving at least a two hour shift will be given free fair entry on the day of their service. What I like to do is help out for a two hour shift, then enjoy the fair, and come back later to see if they need any help.

It's easy to sign up. Just contact Janie Besselman at jbesselm@scgov.net.

Some volunteer slots may already be filled, so contact Janie

at 941-232-8420 to see what is still available.

 

This is just another way local CLUCK can promote successful, responsible chicken ownership in Sarasota County. 

Glenda "Janie" Besselman

Administrative Specialist

Sarasota Soil & Water Conservation District

University of Florida/IFAS Sarasota County Extension Services

Sarasota County Community Services

USDA-NRCS Manasota Service Center

6942 Professional Parkway, East

Sarasota, FL 34240

941.907.0011 (office)

941.907.0015 (fax)

jbesselm@scgov.net

http://sarasota.ifas.ufl.edu/

CLUCK NEWS: National, Regional, and Local

NATIONAL NEWS

What are chickens doing inside WIRED magazine? Here's their lead paragraph:

"In the past months, there have been several troubling research reports, from different parts of the world, exploring aspects of the same problem: Multi-drug resistant bacteria are present in chicken, apparently because of the use of antibiotics in poultry production, and are passing to people who work with, prepare or eat chicken, at some risk to their health."

The article goes on cite five different sources. Read the article here.

More evidence that crowded factory conditions are dangerous and inferior to backyard hens.

REGIONAL NEWS

As reported earlier, the Hernando County Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously to recommend allowing chickens in residential areas. The final public hearing will be February 26th.

It's not too late to catch the chickens at the Florida State Fair. Fast forward to the end to see some chick pics from this year's fair. 

Tampa is rumored to have considered chickens on February 7th, but we've seen no press on the matter. if you have, please let us know. 

LOCAL NEWS

Manatee CLUCK is reporting that Manatee County is scheduling public meeting and work session regarding chickens on March 19th with a tentative starting time of 1:30 pm.

CLUCK is looking for a volunteer to update and organize our email contact list. Please write to sarasotacluck@gmail.com if you might be interested.

Five more locales approve backyard hens

What do Rockford MI, Canon City CO, South Bend IN, San Marino CA, and Upper Dublin PA all have in common? 

They are all places that approved the keeping of backyard hens in January of 2013.

Another CHICKENS '101' Workshop

Success with chickens starts with a realistic understanding of what is involved. If you didn't grow up with chickens, one of the best ways to get started is a workshop that covers the basics.

CLUCK's "Fried Egg" Tee-Shirt Now Available

Responding to pent-up demand, and just in time for the two-year anniversary of the City's revised chicken ordinance, Sarasota CLUCK announces the "Fried Egg" Sarasota CLUCK Tee-Shirt from Zazzle. 

This is the back of the shirt.