The Chicken Manifesto

As of late my brother, Daniel, has been planning to build a chicken coop in his backyard in Mercer Island, Washington primarily to teach his three boys about hard work and caring for animals and secondly, as a continuous source of organic eggs.  Recently, Daniel petitioned his landlord hoping she would permit the construction.

His request was denied on the grounds that chickens would most surely attract mice and other pests.

This may not come as a surprise to some of you, but we Rawsons seldom take "no" for an answer.  The following email (aka Chicken Manifesto) demonstrates that resolve.  We are hardcore, my friends.

I don't know if this is a sign that I need to get out more or what, but I think this is the best dang argument for chickens I've ever read!  Chickens for everyone!  Not once in my life have I ever felt that I needed or wanted chickens, but I suddenly find myself with chickens on the brain.  How wonderful and even more, how possible!  If Daniel's landlord is in the least human, there is no way she can say anything but YES!  Can I get an amen?

For your reading pleasure:

Dear Neighbor and Landlord,

Lisa was kind enough to share your concerns with me regarding my request to have backyard chickens. She also graciously agreed to deliver this note to you at my request.

Lisa communicated that your primary concerns are mice and pests. These are valid concerns, and I understand why you would have them. Certainly, an infestation of this kind is undesirable.

If you’ll allow me, I’d like to share the concrete actions I will take to ensure that no such problem with mice or pests, of any kind, occurs.

•             Location: I will not put the coop adjacent to the home. Below the backyard grass there is a trail that is now overgrown with blackberries and bamboo that leads to a flat, unused, unkempt portion of the grounds. I will happily clean up that space to place the coop. This puts the coop over 20 yards from your rental property and in a spot far from any neighbor.

•             Coop build: I will construct the coop myself from two key materials: red cedar and hardware cloth. Red cedar contains oils that are detested by all sorts of vermin, including rats, mice, roaches, fleas, spiders, and mites. This acts as a passive, natural deterrent to pests. ¼ inch Hardware Cloth is small enough to prevent even mice from gaining entry. Unlike the hexagonal chicken wire that may have openings as large as 2 inches, ¼ inch Hardware Cloth prevents even the smallest rodents from gaining entry to the coop. This is important, as you do not want the coop (and the chicken feed within it) to become a food source for vermin. I can and will take the additional step of burying the hardware cloth along the edges of the coop to prevent any burrowing animals from gaining entry.

o             In addition to these build materials, I will put the chicken feed in a suspended steel bucket within the hardware cloth protected coop. This measure prevents insects (ants, roaches, etc.) from gaining access to the food source (and even if they do gain access, these types of insects are a favorite food of chickens!). I will keep any spare food in a sealed steel can with a locking lid.

•             In addition to constructing the coop with red cedar, which deters insects, I will provide the chickens with dust baths containing diatomaceous earth. Chickens love dust baths! In fact, they instinctually use dust baths to keep clean. I can take advantage of this instinct by including diatomaceous earth in their baths. Diatomaceous earth, sometimes called diatom powder, is a food grade, non-toxic, powder that is deadly to anything with an exoskeleton, especially insects. Diatoms work by dehydrating the waxy-exoskeletons of insects. By including this in their cedar coop, I provide another strong preventative measure.

•             In the very unlikely event that the diatoms and cedar fail to prevent mice, ticks, or other insects, I can and will take very specific actions. Chickens, like dogs, can be dusted with Sevin Dust or shampooed with Flea and Tick Shampoo. Both of these medicinal interventions will kill any potential problem insect on contact and keep them from reappearing for up to three months.

•             Cleanliness: It takes five chickens to equal the manure output of one medium-sized dog! Keeping up with just a couple of backyard chickens is really easy. Regularly changing the straw and/or pine shavings is the easiest way to keep the chickens healthy and pest-free. Completing this chore is actually one reason I want to have the birds—I feel strongly that my three young boys should learn to care for animals. Chickens are less troublesome than dogs and they have an additional benefit of providing eggs.

o             Instead of an open water container I will use poultry nipple waterers (PNWs). Similar in design to a watering nipple like you may have seen in a gerbil cage, PNWs allow you to keep the pet’s water source completely closed, making it impossible for mosquitos to take advantage of it.

•             Active measures: You probably don’t realize it, but I already actively bait and trap for rodents around the house. Because I will keep the chickens caged, I can continue these active control measures around the house.

If you’ve read this far, thank you! I hope this information and my commitment to completing the measures described above provide you sufficient confidence to permit the pet inclusion. I believe in leaving things better than I found them. I hope you’ll view the improved condition of the grass (which I’ve fertilized and seeded), the flowers I’ve planted (the tulip beds in the back at the sliding glass doors), and the timeliness and record of our rental payments as evidence of that principle.

In conclusion, I appreciate your consideration of this request. I’m happy to walk you through my plans in person if you prefer it. Fundamentally, these animals are for my kids and I'll insist that they are clean and healthy--I believe my interests are aligned with yours. Should you agree to permit the chicken coop, my three boys (Kaleb, Isaac, and Eli) will be ever so grateful and we would love to share a basket of fresh, organic eggs with you when the chickens begin to produce.

Thank you,

Dan Rawson

P.S. If I could encourage you to reply with your answer by Monday, April 29th, I will still have adequate time to order and prepare for chickens this year. Thanks again.            

          Here's a picture of the chicken Isaac wants (a Golden Laced Wyandotte):

             And here's a picture of what Kaleb wants (a Rhode Island Red): 

              And here's the coop design I'll build: