It is a quiet summer evening. Dusk is settling onto the city. Children are called indoors for baths and bedtime snacks. Outside, you hear the neighbor’s AC unit whir on-a comforting sound. You climb into bed; switch out the light and wriggle snugly beneath your blanket of false security. There is a new wave of crime trending in our communities. It might be occurring just beyond that tall wooden fence at the end of your street, feeding on backyard bugs, uneaten salads and American justice. Sometimes, at night, if you listen closely, you can hear it. Faint at first then picking up in intensity until it reaches full fever pitch: Cock-a-doodle-doo!Yes, my friends. I’m talking chickens. Most Chattanoogans are aware of the recent flap over backyard chickens. Last July, city council voted down an ordinance that would allow chickens within Chattanooga city limits, turning formerly upright citizens into common criminals.
Do you know a person with a penchant for locally-grown produce? A commitment to compost? Do you know somebody who regularly bestows upon you baskets of fresh eggs? Then you might know a person harboring illegal fowl.
As it turns out, many of these outlaws are eager to discuss their flocks. In fact, I started hearing from chicken-keepers around the city, legitimate or otherwise, willing to discuss their broods. But only their broods.
When it comes to urban fowl, Red Bank chicken farmer, Bill Tracy has one rule, “I don’t talk about other people’s chickens,” he says.
Red Bank however, has a few more rules. According to its city charter, backyard chickens are permitted but must be kept in a cage if the property is less than one acre. So, Bill keeps his legal hens in a 4-by-10 moveable cage attached to a large wooden coop. He has a total of six, a mix of Rhode Island reds, Andalusians and Wyandottes. Names?