Maggie Redmond holds Penelope, one of the chickens that her family has in the backyard coop on Thursday, Aug 18, 2022. Some Lehigh Valley communities, including Emmaus with its tight neighborhoods, allow chickens in backyards while Bethlehem and Easton are considering ordinances that would allow the same. About a decade after both cities banned chickens in backyards, some penned-up residents are looking to bring back the unconventional pets. (Monica Cabrera / The Morning Call)

Chickpea and Penelope, recent additions to the Redmond-Richardson household in Emmaus, are curious and cute, mostly quiet and full of bright, colorful feathers. Soon, the young hens will be steadily producing eggs, according to their owners.

Their chickens raised in a backyard on a street where homes abut each other, Luke Redmond and Jennifer Richardson say they are responsible handlers who used to raised poultry in a large city, Portland, Oregon, before moving to the Lehigh Valley.

“They’re easier to care for than dogs,” Richardson said.

Richardson said the family decided to resume raising chickens earlier this summer after seeing them in backyards around their Emmaus neighborhood. “I looked at the ordinance,” she said, “and I knew this was a norm in Emmaus. We finally decided to take the plunge.”

Richardson estimated initial start-up costs at $300 for materials for a bright blue coop, which her husband built, a fenced-in area known as a run, to roam, and feed and pine shavings for the animals’ waste.

Emmaus, a borough with a mixed housing stock, might not qualify as a strict urban setting, at least in parts. But the borough allows chickens throughout — up to two in small lots, with more birds permitted on larger ones.

In their neighborhood of larger homes with yards and fencing that do bump up against neighbors’ properties, Redmond and Richardson say the birds and the residents can coexist. Borough officials have agreed. In his 10 years as borough manager, Shane Pepe said there have been perhaps a handful of complaints.

“This isn’t like Purdue, where chickens are everywhere,” Pepe said.

Emmaus and Hellertown are among communities with a mix of housing that allow chickens. But can chickens living in more intensely urban areas, their caretakers and neighbors, coexist? Bethlehem and Easton residents might soon find out.

About a decade after Bethlehem and Easton banned chickens in backyards, some penned-up residents are looking to bring back the unconventional pets in both cities. Bethlehem has an ordinance in the planning stages, while Easton City Council has been asked to bring back a law allowing for backyard poultry. Allentown, where fowl is still prohibited, has no plans to change that.

Advocates cite concerns over the pandemic and the source of the quality of their food. Opponents argue that the chickens can bring noise, smells and vermin, not to mention the potential for neighbors with unsightly coops left to deteriorate.

This particular urban farming trend became more popular during the pandemic, as penned-up residents looked to the unconventional pets as a diversion during the lockdown, and by concerns among increasingly health-conscious consumers about the source and quality of their food.

On Aug. 16, Bethlehem City Council voted unanimously to refer a proposed chicken ordinance to its public safety committee for further discussion.

The ordinance, sponsored by council members Paige Van Wirt and Hillary Kwiatek, would allow Bethlehem residents to keep up to six chickens in their backyard, with some limitations. The proposal would begin as a pilot program with up to 40 residences allowed to house chickens.

Advocates argue backyard chickens empower their owners with a reliable, affordable source of food and is minimally bothersome to neighbors.

But several city officials, including Mayor J. William Reynolds, oppose the law. The city health department says risks of disease like avian flu are too high to responsibly allow backyard chickens in Bethlehem. A case of avian flu, which is not contagious to humans, was detected recently among a backyard flock of ducks and chickens in Upper Mount Bethel Township, Northampton County.

For a fee proposed at $25, residents could apply for a permit to keep up to six hens (or 10 if at least half the flock comprises smaller bantam chickens) inside a coop in the rear yard of a single family home or side-by-side home at least 20 feet from habitable structures, 25 feet from any street and at least 5 feet from any property line.

No slaughtering of chickens would be permitted. Additional regulations include ensuring the chickens always have access to feed and clean water while prohibiting nuisance conditions like foul odors, flies, vermin and excessive noise. Violations could result in fines or forfeiture of the chickens.

“People have had a relationship with livestock, particularly chickens, as long as they have been domesticated, said Kelly Allen, a food studies professor at Northampton Community College. “It’s part of the food relationship we have built.”

Opponents’ fear of having urbanized poultry, Allen said, has included having cock fights and concerns over chickens escaping their homes or being killed by other animals. It happened in 2015 in Bethlehem, according to one write-up in The Morning Call.

“Yes chickens can escape; so do dogs and cats,” he said. “I would be more afraid of a loose dog or cat than chickens.”

In Easton, which has been hearing since last year from some residents about bringing back chickens, Carol Free is among citizens pushing for change. Free moved back to Easton last year from northern California, where she raised chickens.

She started a social media post, “Yes! Allow backyard Easton chickens,” and has asked City Council to revisit allowing chickens, something that ended during the mid 200s.

Some Easton leaders are wary but willing to listen.

“There’s a real dichotomy, said Council member David O’Connell who oversaw the council committee the last time the issue arose. “There’s nobody who’s on the fence. Everybody is either opposed to it or in favor of it.”

Like Bethlehem’s proposal, O’Connell said trying a pilot program that’s monitored could be a way to proceed.

Easton Mayor Sal Panto Jr. does not favor allowing chickens but said he is keeping an open mind. He also said if the city favors allowing chickens, it would have to be open to any resident. “Equity is important to the city,” he said.

“I understand the benefits, but I also think there are some negatives that aren’t being presented,” Panto said.

Penn State associate professor Phillip Clauer said before municipal officials enact poultry laws, “they need to think it through and think it right.”

Ordinances should have specific guidelines that incorporate the birds’ care and respecting the caretakers and neighbors.

Penelope and Chickpea, hang out under the chicken coop on Thursday, Aug 18, 2022, in Jennifer Richardson and Luke Redmond’s backyard. Some Lehigh Valley communities, including Emmaus with its tight neighborhoods, allow chickens in backyards while Bethlehem and Easton are considering ordinances that would allow the same. About a decade after both cities banned chickens in backyards, some penned-up residents are looking to bring back the unconventional pets. (Monica Cabrera / The Morning Call)

“That’s what you need to make sure everybody’s needs are met,” he said. “I’ve had probably 10 municipalities that have gone back on their initial ordinances, because they did it haphazardly and generally, and they became a problem.”

A checklist of items for proper governance seemingly matches the litany of guidelines for properly raising chickens. Clauer, a poultry extension specialist, has written articles, including “Raising Fowl in Urban Areas.” One example from his work includes a timeline for a property owner to remove the coop and run if the owner chooses not to keep birds.

He said “nuisance things” residents crow about when neighbors bring backyard chickens are noise, proper maintenance and management, including dealing with manure, flies or rodents if chickens are poorly maintained.

People also should carefully study whether it’s worth raising chickens, Clauer said, taking into account the costs versus the egg production and chickens’ help with illnesses such as the avian flu, which has been detected in Northampton County and elsewhere in Pennsylvania.

Though avian flu is dangerous for birds, humans are not at risk and poultry or eggs are safe to eat. Avian flu doesn’t present an immediate public health concern, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Clauer noted during tumultuous period, such as the pandemic, people unable to travel or who have more time will seek to raise chickens, in part for their egg production. But he said efficient commercial operators have made it easier for consumers to buy eggs, though the price for them has risen substantially in recent months.

Still, people like Richardson and Redmond, the Emmaus couple who decided to return to raising chickens, see the positives and cost outweighing the drawbacks to raising the birds.

“I feel strongly about not having eggs from caged hens,” Richardson said. “Maybe people would be less likely about buying eggs and not thinking about where they came from.”

For people concerned about what goes into raising chickens, Redmond said, “Don’t get overwhelmed by it. They are capable of doing a lot of the work themselves.

“You give them food, water, a safe place to stay at night.”

Morning Call reporter Lindsay Weber contributed to this report.

Contact Morning Call journalist Anthony Salamone at asalamone@mcall.com.

Penn State Extension’s Phillip Clauer has several articles on chickens, including “Raising Fowl in Urban Areas.” It covers several aspects: health and safety, keeping chickens confined, property setbacks, waste and more. You can view it at extension.psu.edu/raising-fowl-in-urban-areas online.