Keeping chickens is now legal in Belleville but — beware — they’re not too bright

It is interesting to see that Belleville is going to allow backyard chickens.

I have some experience with chickens. Not here of course, because that would have been illegal a couple years ago. But let me tell you about a “friend” who was willing to be a scofflaw to have fresh eggs.

This friend cobbled together a rough A-frame wooden coop inside a wire fence in his backyard. He got three hens and launched his adventure. Many dead chickens later he ended his adventure and again became a law-abiding citizen who buys his eggs.

There were so many problems. His chickens were not good about going into the secure coop at night. They preferred to roost on the six-foot tall wire fence. Chickens are none too bright.

Although he lived in town, he knew there were several predatory animals that came through the neighborhood at night. Groundhogs, raccoons, opossums, owls and even a fox or two were regular visitors.

Consequently, he had to restock his chicken flock a few times until his son built him a larger, more secure coop inside a large wire dog kennel. Now what could go wrong, he thought?

Well, predators can get through tiny openings, as he discovered after cleaning up the remains of several more chicken carcasses.

He thought he had fixed any openings until the morning he came out and discovered a young raccoon clinging to the inside of the wire kennel. Amazingly, the chickens were fine, confused but huddled in a far corner. The raccoon was so confused that it wouldn’t come out of the open cage door. It took a stream of water from a hose to get him out.

But the worst part of the ordeal was cleaning up pieces of the dead chickens that were dragged partially through the wire and eaten little pieces at a time. Apparently those chickens wouldn’t stay in their coop and strayed too close to the fence.

Did I mention chickens are not too bright?

Particularly galling was that his chickens were incapable of not pooping in their drinking water. No matter what watering system he used, they quickly fouled it.

Anyway, between the irritation of having to clean up tons of chicken droppings, the fear of being cited for having illegal chickens and the expense of constantly replacing chickens, he gave up .

Now he buys the few eggs he uses a half-dozen at a time at a store. But he hopes others will have a better experience than he did. At least it now is legal.