Council chickens out on ordinance idea

While some officials promise a chicken in every pot, Muskego officials would rather chickens aren't found anywhere else in the typical residential neighborhood.

The Muskego Common Council Committee of the Whole on Tuesday night decided against allowing chickens at homes on less than 2.57 acres.

It's already acceptable for residents with bigger lots to have chickens and every year the city gets more than a dozen calls from people wondering if they can have chickens, too. So, aldermen considered an ordinance that would allow chickens on smaller lots as long as the coops are 25 feet from neighboring houses and at least 5 feet from property lines.

But Aldermen Keith Werner said he could think of an example in his own neighborhood where that mean a coop right near the patio of another neighbor who likes to entertain.

And when Alderman Neil Borgman told a story about a chick that was given as a gift and grew into a rooster which would awaken the neighborhood at 5:30 a.m., the consensus of the council was to leave well enough alone.