Let's see what the visionaries do with this one? lol I know, blame Barrett for not thinking of it.

This all sounds good until someone decides they need to have a rooster. I'm thinking that the neighbors might be a bit uptight about that.

They forgot to add a restriction against piano playing chickens.

whats bangor comming to, you want a new chicken law, no you want the best darn chicken law? what about roosters, better make the best darn rooster law to with it, or people feathers will start to fly, especially say 5 in the morning.

Can turkeys be far behind?

“If we’re going to do it, Bangor should have the best chicken ordinance around,” he said. I AM SICK TO MY STOMACH! GREAT VISION!

Can the City tax these Chickens, ? If eggs are sold out of the residence, will there be tax on that, snack tax apply ? Ordinary income taxes apply on profits from egg sales ? When the chickens pass away, can the City or State collect estate or death taxes ?

What's the law on wandering chickens? Can I grab a young fryer if it strays into my yard? Hey, this could get interesting! Do they need to be leashed if I walk them in Bangor City Forest? Does this mean they can reopen that Chicken Ranch they busted at Union and Hammond? Don't leave me scratching around for answers or I may fly the coop! Ba-dum-tssssshhh! I'll be here all week. Is this thing on?

For more on this topic, check out=> www.backyardchickens.com

Chickens should be elected to serve on the Bangor City Council. They are less self serving and more intelligent than the present members.

what a free country we live in when permission is needed from the kings and queens to own a chicken...

Although Roosters are loud, and vocal, let's consider the dog. Especially the owner who has not trained it manners very well and lets the dog run outside free will and bark at every snowflake hitting the ground, at that point listening to a rooster declare his territory might be a different noise to welcome.

" . . . the best chicken ordinance around."

I assume we won't be allowed to smoke in the car if there are baby chicks present.

No "poultry" amount of great humor going around this morning! You guys are way too funny!! Thanks for a great start to the day :-)

Good point Harry - it wasn't that long ago that the BDN ran a story about some lunatic that was trapping his neighbors cats when they wandered onto his property.

I have chickens, hens and roosters.

It seems that roosters have a much greater reputation for being loud, than what really happens in reality. Dogs can be much louder, than roosters.

If I were to live in a city, I could raise chickens [including roosters] in a garage, and neighbors would never know about it. I have seen this done in previous places where I have lived.

Smell? If you have hundreds of chickens the poop will get deep and it will smell; but if you only have a dozen or less, and if you clean the coop twice a year, there will not be any noticeable smells.

Automobiles are far worse in terms of disturbing neighbors; automobiles are louder and have much stronger smells.

Yeah what about turkeys? I have like 7 wild ones wandering through my yard all the time. Here turkey, turkey, turkey it's dinner time! :-)

Now I'm in a fowl mood. No chickens in residential neighborhoods!!!

These are great comments. You folks made my morning!

On we go....straight to the greatest depression....it'll take some time....get ready with your chickens!!

I thought maybe this bit of urban reversal would pass Bangor by, ( seems to be all the rage in other parts of the country for a few years now). I am not all that interested in raising chickens but it does have me thinking!!!!! "note to self".........{next visit to Van Raymonds, see if they sell such a thing as chicken calls}. Till then..... Here chicky chicky chicky.....

It was cold last night. How cold was it? It was so cold, I saw a chicken with a capon!

What say everybody, lets have a Joint Chicken Task Force. Brewer and Bangor..We here in Brewer, certainly don't want to let down councilor, and good Dr. Gratwick, as he says: "“If we’re going to do it, Bangor should have the best chicken ordinance around,”. Larry T. Doughty, South Brewer, larrytdoughty@yahoo.com, www.ourstory.com/larrytdoughty/

Y'all have to get government approval to raise a few chickens up there?

If they decide to let you do it, will each one of them have to be licensed, get tested, be tagged, have shots, and be subject to federal approval?

Have a few chickens myself. They keep the snails out and the roosters chase the raccoons, possums, and other fish eating varmits away from my Koi pond. http://bit.ly/Fvcrk

Kid next door had a pet chicken named Peeps that used to set on her shoulder. Peeps pecked out a diamond earring that her boyfriend bought her for Christmas one year. She grew more and more neurotic and finally found a place to X-ray the chicken about 75 miles away for $125. The diamond showed up in Peeps liver. The thought of a rock in Peep's liver bothered her even more and she had it taken out for $1200. Beaming, she brought Peeps over, but Peeps jumped off her shoulder and somehow got chased into the fish pond. Peeps got sick and died a week later.

Layoffs at KFC and the city has to pay cops overtime so they can get the training they need to enforce the new chicken law. Maybe they can get a homeland security grant to help. Don't forget the special equipment costs for SWAT, EMT and fire department.

Having grown up a farm, I'm a bit peeved by this. For years, farmers had to deal with the encroachment of residential housing towards our farmland. Inevitably, these people who moved next to the farm would start complaining about the farm operations. The smell from the animals and manure, the sound of the tractor at 5 am, the racket of the irrigation pump going all day, the dirt tacked into the road, the chemical spraying on fields, and on and on. Now, people are asking to bring farm animals into the city? Unbelievable.

On a serious note.... will those raising backyard chickens have to get a license to sell eggs and/or chickens? Will they need to invest in special facilities to slaughter the birds? What about USDA inspection? Will the city accept entrails from slaughtered chickens in the trash? What about the straw and chicken droppings? Will city workers have to wear masks to protect them from inhaling hen poop? What about the bodies of the many chicks and chickens that will be lost, is it OK to throw them in the trash? What about the raccoons and other predators that will be attracted to the coops? Can I complain that the neighbor's coop is causing there to be more raccoons in my yard? Who's liable in the case of salmonella poisoning or avian flu? Does the city become liable for allowing farm animals in the city?

I'm glad they finally revealed their vision. A chicken ordinance...I told you not to expect too much when your city is being run by Looney Tunes characters. Th.th.th.th.th.th.that's all folks!

Of course questions remain, like: does this fit with their vision (which, of course, none of us know because they have yet to tell us exactly what they see AND will they be able to make a decision here independently, or will we need to call in an outside consultant to make recommendations or facilitate.

If you tax them high enough for the chickens they won't have chickens. Isn't that what maine does best.

I'm pretty sure what they mean by backyard chickens is having enough chickens for your own use. Selling eggs or chickens isn't what they are addressing here. Six chickens, six eggs a day, that really doesn't provide enough to be a money maker! You would have to charge a fortune for a dozen eggs to make any money. New York restaurants will pay $8 a dozen for organic eggs, but this isn't New York City! We have 20 hens and 2 roosters, even 20 eggs a day is not going to make enough to pay for feed and lighting, heating their water in the winter, crushed oyster shells for digestion. I am enjoying the jokes, quite a few chuckles in there. But boy it sure is nice to have fresh eggs anytime I need them - what a difference from store bought eggs. I can't even imagine how old the eggs in the store are, they are so watery. Happy Holidays everyone!

Chickens and their feed also bring rodents, some not very pleasant. If your neighbor has them make sure you tell your young kids that if it doesn't have a furry tail it isn't a kitten, no matter how big it is.

Most people will not be responsible enough to care for them properly.

There is problems with this type of home grown chickens all across the country FLA, NY, IL, and other cities (Just do a search online) wait till the neighbors complain of the smell in the summer heat! It's worse than the crowing rooster!(lol)

You want chickens move to the country! It;s also cheaper to buy a roaster than to raise one.

Fresh eggs is the best part yet again I don't think this should FLY?

Just got a chance to read this tonight but have to say the comments are the best Christmas present I got, and I got some good ones,hahaha, back to the story though,a city with a possible six chickens per household, and illegal to own a rooster with in the city limits, I think the roosters might have something to sat about THAT!

"what a free country we live in when permission is needed from the kings and queens to own a chicken... "

I second FreeRadical's point here!

START A PETITION AND GET RID OF YOUR CODE INFORCEMENT OFFICIALS AND MAYBE YOU CAN HAVE A FREE CITY AGAIN. THEN YOU CAN HAVE A ROOSTER ALONG WITH YOUR NINE CHICKENS.

FYI all....NYC has no restrictions on living livestock, they seem to do alright. No roosters as they cause the noise along with other restrictions. I for one am looking forward to this.

Any word on the recall?