What’s Going On Here?
Since March 2009, we have been keeping three Cayuga ducks and two Wyandotte chickens in the backyard of our Cambridge, MA residence. You can see them in the photo below. The ducks are named Potassium, Ferdinand, and Penelope, and the chickens are Henrietta and Frances. We really like them.
We put this site together because the city of Cambridge is in the process of determining whether to allow us (and all Cambridge residents) to keep birds in a safe and regulated manner—or make the whole thing illegal. Obviously we would like it to be legal and regulated—as it is in many Massachusetts communities, including Arlington, Belmont, Brockton, Concord, Lexington, Northampton, and in many cities around the country such as Baltimore, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, San Francisco, Denver, etc. We think we have a strong case and some good allies, but some of our neighbors allege that it is impossible to keep birds without attracting rats, causing the area to smell bad, and increasing our risk of contracting bird flu. (Our pages - Our birds are clean-There are no rats- Our yard does not smell - should allay these concerns.)
Take a look around our site. If you want to support what we’re doing—and urban agriculture in general—send an email to Cambridge’s Board of Zoning Appeal or sign our online petition.
Who We Are
- Eight residents co-own the house
- We are working professionals, teachers, artists, entrepreneurs, and students.
- Community involvement: We teach at the 263 Gallery and local schools, read to elementary school students, volunteer at Land’s Sake farm, participate in the MidCambridge Gardener’s group, belong to the Cambridge Time Trade Circle, and run small businesses.
Though we hope that you WIN your battle. But if you don’t we will take all of the ducks and chickens.
My name is Liz from Smith and Agli’s Potbelly Manor, please feel free to go on our website,
http://www.potbellymanor.org
Blessings,
Liz Smith
We hope you win the right to keep hens –for you and for all Cambridge residents. Very best wishes!
I had very recently been thinking about getting some Wyandotte chickens for my own back yard in Somerville! I hope very much that they let you keep these lovely ladies, and I’ll be pointing everyone I know at this petition.
good luck – you seem very sincere and the animals are well cared for.
Liv!
Go get ‘em! Everyone should be allowed to keep urban chickens and ducks, even in the genteel community of Cambridge. Out here in Oregon I am a part of a chicken co-operative and can attest to the fact that well-cared for chickens are clean, don’t smell, and provide nutritious and delicious eggs. And they don’t have to be shipped in to the city from who knows where!
I hope you get to keep your wonderful pet ducks and chickens.
I have owned a flock of back yard birds in Hyannis MA for about 4 years. (4 ducks 6 chickens)
I find them great pets . They go pecking around my yard all day and then bed them selves down
in thier coop at night….
My neighbors wern’t so keen of me having chickens at first for the same reason your neighbor had. To quell the situation I just showed them how my yard and coop was set up to minimize smell… I showed them why rats would not be a problem and how the bird flu has never come around this part of the country.
A rooster will likely be a problem in small communities. so instead I got a small banty rooster who
crows a lot quiter and not as much…
Lastly the best advice to deal with your neibors is to give them eggs…. the duck eggs are rare to find and they are wonderfull for cooking as they give alot of rise to cakes and bread.
Back yard birds are the best of all pets as they don’t cost much, they give you eggs, their easy to care for, they are very expressive and if you ever get tired of them you can just eat them………. Joke…..
You or anyone are welcome to email me back if you want to know how to minimize smell, keep rats a wy, keep them protected…
leevaughn63@gmail.com
I found your site after reading the Boston Globe story on 2/13/10, and I agree with you: your animals are clean and that there is longstanding legal precident for having a small flock of ducks, chickens and geese on your property. Even the most urbanized places in the country recognize this right, and legislate only the number of animals and the cleanliness of the property. Although your neighbor, Ms. Hamilton, alleges that your property is so filthy that she is denied the use of her yard, I do not believe it. The City of Cambridge would have removed the animals immediately if they had any chance at all of calling this a health or safety issue.
It’s a pity that the City of Cambridge is allowing itself to be used as a weapon in what is really a neighbor dispute, likely over the fact that you have eight co-owners of your property. The Powers that Be in your city should have recognized this and refused to become involved. Unfortunately, now that they have become entrenched in this dispute, they are not likely to step back and do the sensible thing: admit that they were wrong and step away from the issue.
When one lives in a city, one has to recognize that all the people living around you don’t have to obey you. Oddly enough, we once lived in a similar situation. Our neighbors once had a flock of ten or so Muscovy ducks, which are huge and look like geese. Despite the fact that the neighbors made no effort whatsoever to clean after the animals, there was no stench, and certainly no rat problem. We were able to use our property as we wished and we never noticed any smell at all from the ducks. We heard an occasional quack and that was it. We minded our own business and remained friendly with our neighbors, who did not replace the ducks when they went on to their reward.
Best of luck when you meet with the City Council. I’m afraid you’re going to need it.
Just an FYI: I live in Denver. While technically chickens are ‘legal’ here, it costs $150 in initial fees and $70 annually to have a permit and if someone in the neighborhood decides they don’t like them, you lose your permit and your pets. I’d recommend replacing Denver with Colorado Springs in your example of a chicken-friendly city.
Good luck, I hope you succeed here.
–Pam