Our yard does not smell

Initially, the city received a long list of complaints from one of our neighbors.  Concerns of health risks and rodent infestation were at the forefront.  After we proved that we don’t have a rodent problem and found excellent evidence that backyard hens do not pose a public health risk, the current loudest complaint is that our yard stinks.  That’s just not true.  We are upset that this falsehood seemed to negatively influence the outcome of our appeal to the zoning board. (Speaking personally as someone who sticks his head in the coop every day, these claims don’t have much merit.)

On the subject of smells:

• Several neighbors who came out on our behalf to the zoning board meeting attested that they have never smelled an offensive odor from our yard.
• The duck pool has been removed.  We are aware that if it isn’t drained or covered every day it can develop a smell.  Claims that we have not consistently drained the pool to prevent smell are untrue.  In the future, if the pool returns, it will certainly be drained or covered at night and it will be kept at least 20 feet from any property line.
• Despite the fact that the duck pool has been absent for months, two of our neighbors claimed that it was still in our yard at the Board of Zoning Appeal hearing on February 11th.
• We change the birds’ straw frequently and use hydrated lime to control smell.
• We agree wholeheartedly that if a horrible stench were really the necessary byproduct of a small backyard henhouse, it would be unacceptable to keep them in Cambridge.  The fact is that ducks and chickens when properly maintained don’t create a strong smell.

Some comments from other bird owners who commented on this site:

I have 5 laying hens and they don’t smell or attract rodents and they make less noise than the local sparrow mob. My neighbors love getting the surplus eggs too! – Charlotte

I love these birds. They’re happy, well cared for, and friendly, and their accomodations are well built and well-kept. There was no smell, and no obnoxious noise when I visited. I grew up on a farm with 50-60 head of chickens and turkeys of various varieties (including roosters and toms), and even that amount of poultry did not smell nor was there much noise aside from a gentle clucking and the occasional over-zealous rooster.  – Krystle

i volunteer in the poultry barn at nevins farm — a branch of the mspca. the chickens and ducks are delightful animals. they are less work to keep clean and odorless than dogs and cats (which the mspca also keeps, as i assume do many cantabrigians). one of my favorite tasks is “socializing the chickens”, which means i get to cuddle and scritch them, so that they will make better and more adoptable pets. – Vicka

I currently keep 27 chickens, 12 turkeys, and 7 ducks. (No longer a city dweller.) There is no smell. Really, NO SMELL. Even though they are cooped up excessively because of the deep snow this winter. – H Houlahan