Urban chickens are a divisive issue

The debate about urban chickens is a hot one. Chicken cheerleaders have been pushing their cause to the Oklahoma City Council recently. They want legalization of their backyard bird buddies. Ward 2 Councilman Ed Shadid is their main ally. Urban chicken proponents would like to see Oklahoma City join the ranks of Bethany and Midwest City as places that allow the birds.

For now, local urban chickens are living the renegade lifestyle, hopping around their yards in fear that they may be confiscated at any moment by authorities. Honestly, they probably aren't all that worried. They're chickens.

But their owners are worried. Owning chickens is a balancing act.

Chicken owners want to live in town so they can be close to all the conveniences — like the grocery store, where you most certainly will not be buying eggs unless your chicken gets sick or a fox gets into the henhouse or something — but they don't want to leave Henrietta or Chickadee or Attila the Hen behind.

Chickens are a divisive issue.

If only the issue were over less controversial meats, like herring. You never hear an argument about urban herring.