More and more people all over Dallas are raising chickens in their back yards. It’s a trend we’ve covered here and here in Preston Hollow, here in Far North Dallas, and here in East Dallas and Lake Highlands.
But apparently, this trend has hatched a new issue: Where can live chickens be sold? It’s a question that the city will try to answer this Tuesday.
The question came about after chicken breeder Dan Probst wanted to start selling chickens at North Haven Gardens, where he was already hosting workshops on how to raise the birds.
“Back in March, I checked with the city and made sure it was OK for me to start selling chickens,” he told me this morning.
Probst says animal control, code compliance, special events and the health department all gave him the green light. But former city councilman Mitchell Rasansky put the nix on that plan after a neighbor complained.
“The details of that complaint are still quite a mystery to quite a few people,” he said. “I spoke to Mitchell Rasansky before he left office and he characterized the unnamed person as a chronic complainer who called regularly about things like weeds in other people’s yards, and dog poop someone didn’t pick up.”
More on our conversation here after the jump.
Probst went on to say he’s not exactly sure why this unnamed neighbor—or anyone for that matter—would take issue with the sale of chickens in their neighborhood.
“As far as birds carrying diseases, they are no more a threat than cats and dogs carrying diseases. And as far as them being loud, hens may cackle a bit when they lay eggs but it’s no louder than a radio and mid-volume, and it only lasts a few minutes. So far we’ve had a very positive response, so I get the feeling that this one complaint isn’t how most people feel.”
Probst and North Haven Gardens general manager Leslie Halleck will meet with the city’s chief zoning planner Jennifer Hiromoto Tuesday to try and sort out the issue.
I’ll be following up with Probst after his Tuesday meeting to find out what was resolved, so I’ll keep you posted.
