Sometimes in W.Va., urban agriculture can be a game of chicken

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — High school senior Emilee Ryan ran afoul of the law when she began keeping 20 chickens in a coop outside her home in Ridgeley, Mineral County.

Emilee, 18, found herself called before her town council earlier this fall.

Emilee Ryan's chicken saga made front page news in her home town.
Emilee Ryan’s chicken saga made front page news in her home town.

“The town is trying to take them away from me. It hurts that the town is trying to take away my pets,” Emilee said as the news hit the local Mineral Daily News Tribune. “I want to love them. They’re my babies.”

But she had broken the law in Ridgeley, a town of about 675 people — specifically, Ordinance No. 530 “Animals and Fowl Generally,” and its subsection “530-1. Keeping Livestock.” 

“I feel for you Emilee,” said mayor Lynn Carr, adding that everyone who has a pet understands.

Emilee sought a variance and also found new homes for all of her chickens but six: Nugget, Baboo, Matilda, Peanut and two with a shared designation, the Golden Girls. Those she has kept.

But she was still considered out of bounds with the local ordinance and was told to appear in court on Nov. 15. This time, she was told to lower her number to two.

“I truly do not understand why or where the town finds issues with my chickens,” Emilee, a Frankfort High School student wrote in an outline of the chicken saga that she provided to MetroNews.

“I understand why ordinances are made — in order to maintain the town and preserve order and cleanliness — so I do not claim ignorance on that issues. But those ordinances were made for issues that truly affect the town in a negative way. My pet chickens pose no threat to any of the town of Ridgeley’s ideals.”

These are Emilee Ryan's chickens from back when she had a full crew. Pictured from left to right" Mean, Pepper, L.F., Golden Girls, Peanut, Nugget, Henri, Malloy, Black Beauty, Twopeck, Matilda, and Popcorn.
These are Emilee Ryan’s chickens from back when she had a full crew. Pictured from left to right” Mean, Pepper, L.F., Golden Girls, Peanut, Nugget, Henri, Malloy, Black Beauty, Twopeck, Matilda, and Popcorn.

More West Virginians might be wanting to keep chickens coops for eggs or even companionship. But as Emilee’s situation illustrates, it’s important to know what your local laws are.

“The first bit of advice is to make sure it’s allowed where you live,” said John Porter, an agent with West Virginia University extension service. “Charleston has a very progressive urban agriculture ordinance. A lot of other towns and cities in the state do not. If they do not I would suggest people work with their mayor or city council to draft such rules.”

Porter has organized an urban agriculture conference several years in a row. It’s popular, he said, as city dwellers seek to keep chickens, rabbits or goats.

“It seems to be driven quite a bit by a younger generation so lots of people getting into it,” Porter said. “Urban agriculture is something that attracts lots of young professionals to areas. Lots of big cities across the country have actually done it.”

“People have to really just keep after their mayors and town councils and hopefully work with them to fix it. It’s such a positive thing to have those abilities. The communities are much more attractive if they have urban agriculture.”

Morgantown considered an urban agriculture ordinance in 2015 but wound up tabling the notion as council members became concerned with issues such as wildlife and rodents attracted to coops, odors and runoff.

Charleston passed its urban agriculture ordinance in 2013 and has experienced modest success, said Lori Brannon, neighborhood planner for the City of Charleston.

“We haven’t had a huge influx of people who pulled permits to do urban agriculture,” Brannon said. “The good news is there are several properties on the East end that are keeping chickens. Never a complaint about the circumstances there.”

MORE See Charleston’s urban agriculture ordinance

Charleston’s ordinance allows people to keep up to six hens — no roosters. The chickens have to be confined to your own property. The coop has to respect local regulations for accessory structures. The coop needs to be back from the road.

“Nationwide, people are talking about local food,” Brannon said. “A lot of people had come in talking about ‘I just want to keep a few chickens at home for eggs for myself.’ Or ‘I just want constant access to fresh eggs.’ That’s the big thing that started it.”

One of those keeping chickens in Charleston is East End resident Cindy Majestro. She was going through a divorce three years ago, and her coop helped her cope.

“It was something I read about, and the city had allowed it. It got me through my divorce,” Majestro said.

She was moving into a new house, and a local handyman helped her construct a sturdy coop out of wood, metal fencing and a plastic roof. She initially bought some fancy British chickens. They were well-behaved but didn’t lay eggs. She found a new home for those guys and bought new chickens from Green’s Feed and Seed. They’re a cross between Rhode Island Red and Barred Rocks, and they like to lay eggs.

Majestro doesn’t save too many of the eggs for herself, but she is quick to give them out to friends and neighbors.She gathers about a half-dozen eggs each day.

What the hens would like in return is food, and they’ll eat almost anything. They liked the pieces of pumpkin left over from Halloween. They like bits of eggplant. They like crackers. They’ll dig in the yard for bugs and worms.

Nugget curls up with Emilee, who said this picture was taken the day a police officer ordered by the town came to visit. "Nugget sat on my lap like the well-behaved girl she is. The officer petted her."
Nugget curls up with Emilee, who said this picture was taken the day a police officer ordered by the town came to visit. “Nugget sat on my lap like the well-behaved girl she is. The officer petted her.”

In the Eastern Panhandle, Emilee Ryan is still trying to keep her chickens. She has those that remain in a long coop on the hill outside her home, pretty far from the street.

Emilee is glad to get the eggs from her hens, but more than that she considers them pets.

“I originally bought them for no other purpose than pets,” she said in a telephone interview. “Of course the eggs come along with them.”

She feeds them in the morning before school, visits them again after school and checks on them again before bed.

“They run to the end of the coop to say hi to me,” she said. “They follow me along the expanse of their coop. They come to me by name. They’re pets.”

Sometimes she’ll take a chicken for a walk around town. There’s no leash because the chickens don’t like that kind of confinement.

“They like to be held and walk around the town with me,” she said. “They just get attention because people like to come up and pet them. They’re basically feathered dogs.”

Emilee faces a fine if she keeps all her remaining chickens, but she says she can’t bear to part with them.

“I don’t want to get rid of my pets,” she said. “Everyone with a pet understands they’re part of the family. I know it sounds absurd to get that attached to a chicken. But what can I say? They’re my babies.”





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