Last year, an ordinance came before the city council of Concord to approve the keeping of chickens within the city limits, and Jemi Broussard was there to speak in favor. Her daughter, Elizabeth Broussard, had come home from college two summers prior and had suggested the family keep some chickens. Elizabeth's major at the Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa, is in environmental studies with a focus on food production. Elizabeth wanted to keep some chickens as a college project.
At first, Jemi Broussard met her daughter's suggestion with skepticism. But Elizabeth and her father, Rick Broussard, got busy building a chicken coop in their side yard and they soon had some chickens. Jemi found herself standing before the Concord City Council, singing the praises of raising chickens. Over the course of several months, she moved from being a reluctant chicken farmer to being a champion spokeswoman for having chickens within the city.
Charles Darwin believed that the modern-day chickens descended from the red jungle fowl in Southeast Asia some 3,000 years ago. In “Poultry Breeds,” Carol Ekarius wrote, “There are over a dozen species, hundreds of breeds and thousands of varieties of chickens around the world.” She continued, “Chickens have played a spiritual role for many cultures and attracted us with their beauty and interesting character.”
Domestic fowl have been our partners for many centuries of interdependence. Both chickens and eggs are an important source of high-quality proteins, vitamins and minerals.
They supply us with feathers to use as ornaments and for fluffy down beds and clothes. Ancient Egyptian Pharaohs used artificial incubation to rear their own chickens. Columbus brought chickens with him on his second voyage to the new world in 1493. The state bird of Delaware is the Blue Hen.
Jeanifer Megyesi wrote in “The Joy of Keeping Chickens,” “Keeping chickens is as rewarding as growing sun-ripened tomatoes.” She added, “The birds are fun and supply real value from eating pesky bugs to supplying a family with eggs.”
On Dec. 12, 2011, the Concord City Council approved the ordinance that chickens can be kept within the city limits, with some limits. A family can have no more than five chickens and they must be female. Henhouses and fenced areas are required and the eggs are not to be sold and are for personal use only. Jemi Broussard is pleased that the ordinance passed, and, along with her daughter, Elizabeth, she continues to sing the praises of keeping chickens.
