CLUCK NEWS: Antibiotic chicken food in Netherlands linked to drug-resistant E. coli in humans

Next to Salmonella, probably the biggest health risk associated with chickens is the bacterium E. coli. Some people are probably tempted to assume that backyard hens might be more likely to cause problems related to E. coli because they are less likely to be medicated. Now a report from the CDC that appears in their Emerging Infectious Diseases journal suggests that the genetic makeup of E. coli found in some Netherlands hospital patients is so similar to that found associated with chicken meat sold there that the chickens are likely the source of the strain and, moreover, the strain is drug-resistant probably as a result of emerging in chickens fed anti-microbial agents.

CLUCK CITIES: # 28-- MILWAUKEE

On July 28th, 2011, it will become legal to keep chickens in Milwaukee, the 28th largest city in the US. Most large cities in the U.S. allow chickens. The ordinance allowing them is provisional and will sunset in one year unless renewed. CLUCK is not prone to simply forwarding readers to another source, but for a concise article about backyard chickens, it is hard to beat Michael Timm's How to keep urban chickens happy, which appeared in the Bay View Compass.

Squozi the bantam cochin.
Photo by Jim Klousia for the BayView Compass

And, for the record, chickens are now allowed in our nation's twentififth through thirtieth largest cities:

Nashville TN, Denver CO, Louisville  KY, Milwaukee Wi, Portland OR, and Las Vegas NV.

CLUCK THEORY: The Six Stages of Residential Chickens In America

This is conceptual model that attempts to explain the various stages of residential chicken relationships every community in the US experiences. Not all communities experience all stages, and some stages may be leapfrogged or skipped.

Sarasota Blogger Weighs In on Hot Chicks

It seems entirely fitting that the posting taking this blog to 30,000 pageviews is about another local blog: true green bliss. Blogger and green lifestyle coach, Elsie Gilmore, recently posted her reflections in the wake of the most recent Chickens 101 workshop. Her posting "hot chicks" explains her interest in backyard chickens even though she currently eats neither chicken nor eggs. It's a thoughtful excursion into the local world of backyard chickens and you'll even find a couple of links to this blog. What goes around, etc. 

CLUCK NEWS: Port St. Lucie Says No to Backyard Hens

After a whirlwind three month campaign, an east coast CLUCK group was handed a 4-0 defeat when the Port St. Lucie city commission voted to not change the city's laws regarding backyard chickens. Many of the arguments used against chickens were the same tired assumptions and sketchy accusations that were heard in Sarasota, among them that a few hens would cause a perceptible rise in backyard predators. 

CLUCK NEWS: Paula Deen Joins Ranks of High-Profile Women Crazy About Chickens

It started with Martha Stewart, then came Susan Orlean, and Alice Walker. Now Food Network Star/Host Paula Deen is hooked on chickens and, like so many, was willing to flout local zoning laws to keep her pets, which were rescue chickens. Now when someone complained about other chickens in Deen's Savannah neighborhood, the Zoning folks took notice and Deen's hens are now threatened.

CLUCK OPINION: Chickens Don't Always Come Home to Roost

One common chicken-inspired phrase "when the chickens come home to roost" suggests that, at the end of the day (eventually) one has to face the consequences of their actions. It is comfort to think that misbehavior will eventually be accounted for. But a June 25, 2011 James B. Stewart New York Times story in the Business Section makes it clear that all of them don't always come home to roost.