To the editor:

Have you seen the cost of eggs? Why not have chickens in your backyard? What about the cost of beef, pork and lamb?

The City of Piqua is evaluating a resolution to allow backyard chickens in the City of Piqua. Currently, the City Ordinances do not allow chickens closer than 1,000 feet to a neighboring residence. The City is proposing to reduce the distance from chickens to neighboring residences to no closer than 25 feet – a reduction of over 3 football fields. Wow! That is quite a change. The neighboring residence receives no consideration for this change which results in odor, waste, noise, reduced property values and health concerns.

Chickens make noise 24/7. Listen to a “cluck, cluck” tape on the internet. Very annoying.

Chickens will negatively affect your property values. Would you buy a house with a smelly chicken coop in the neighbor’s yard?

Chickens attract nuisance animals (for example: coyote, rats, and hawks).

Chickens may cause health issues. Chicken feather and mite allergies are common. If your neighbor does not handle the chickens correctly, salmonella illness is a likely outcome. Google “Salmonella Outbreaks Linked to Backyard Poultry.” In 2022, the Center for Disease Control documented 1,230 illnesses/225 hospitalizations/2 deaths linked to backyard poultry. Additionally, histoplasmosis is a disease caused by airborne fungal spores often found in chicken and other bird droppings. If untreated, disseminated histoplasmosis is usually fatal. The citizens most at risk to salmonella and histoplasmosis illness/hospitalization/death are children under 2 and adults age 55 and older. The only way to prevent the health risks from backyard chickens is to prohibit them in the City of Piqua.

Backyard chickens being allowed in the City of Piqua is a bad idea. Please email your City Commissioner, “No Backyard Chickens.”

Gary M. Koenig

Piqua