Missouri bill aims to legalize backyard chicken ownership
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Chicken enthusiasts in Missouri may have something to crow about soon.
Many Missourians have sought to raise backyard chickens in recent years, citing higher egg prices and health-related concerns.
Now, a bill that’s passed the Missouri House in Jefferson City aims to legalize backyard chicken ownership, regardless of what a homeowner’s association agreement might say. That’s provide local municipal rules approve of the chickens.
The backyard birds are a small slice of a bigger piece of legislation that focuses on property rights. Regarding chickens, the bill would allow six of the birds on lots that are two-tenths of an acre or larger.
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“I just hope people start to change their idea of what a chicken is,” Chris Tittle said on Friday.
Tittle, who hails from Cass County, has owned chickens for two years. He’s also lobbying city leaders in Peculiar, Missouri to permit them within the city limits. He said he plans to address Peculiar’s Board of Aldermen on May 20.
Tittle said he loves chickens because their manure enriches the soil, and they’re known to eat bugs. He laughs that he doesn’t know what eggs cost nowadays, because he hasn’t needed to purchase them for years.
“I really believe it’s beneficial for Americans to have the ability to have some of their food sources in their own backyard. How many things are we dealing with that are processed?” Tittle said.
Critics of keeping chickens complain about noise and cleanliness. City ordinances in Kansas City, Independence and Lee’s Summit already permit chicken ownership in varying capacities.
Closer to Kansas City, Nora Sjue and her parents keep 10 cluckers in this backyard pen near Brookside,. The birds give her family eggs and an ecological means of minimizing food waste.
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“Any scraps that come out of our kitchen, pretty much, we can feed to them, so rather than throwing it all in the garbage, we have a good place to put it. It helps supplement the chicken feed we buy at the store,” Sjue said.
Some backyard chicken owners found the hobby during the pandemic as a means of saving money. The bill needs Governor Mike Parson’s signature to become law.
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