An information session for residents who are considering raising chickens in their back yard has been set for Oct. 5 at 10:30 a.m. in the Community Room at the Princeton Public Library on Witherspoon Street.
The session, which is the second installment in the education campaign geared toward non-farmers who want to raise chickens, is being sponsored by the Princeton Environmental Commission and the Princeton Public Library.
The education campaign grew out of a resolution adopted by the Princeton Environmental Commission in December 2018 in support of Princeton residents who already keep hens and other poultry in their back yards for personal egg production.
The session features several speakers who include Princeton Environmental Commission Chairman Sophie Glovier and commission member Karen Zemble, who raises chickens in her back yard, to Jenny Ludmer, who will discuss how much food waste her chickens consume while providing a solution to composting.
Milo Molina, an 11-year-old who is who is a chicken enthusiast, also will speak, as will Karla Cook.
Cook is going to talk about the sustainable management of food and food waste, and the food hierarchy. She is a veteran food journalist and a co-founder of the Princeton School Gardens Cooperative, which teaches food literacy to school children.
Gwenne Baile, who owns therapy chickens and is the founder of Camden County Chickens, will explain how hens are used in therapy – to help children learn to read and to help children on the autism spectrum.
There are many reasons for raising chickens in the back yard, Zemble said. They provide pest control by eating ticks and bugs, and the provide weed control by eating weeds. And, of course, hens provide a continuous source of fresh eggs.
Although Princeton residents have been raising chickens in their back yards for years, the new Municipality of Princeton – created when the former Princeton Borough and former Princeton Township consolidated – does not have an ordinance that addresses the issue, she said. An ordinance is in the works.
The former Princeton Township’s ordinances addresses commercial farming, but they do not define the practice of keeping backyard chickens. Similarly, the former Princeton Borough’s ordinances address domestic animals, but do not define the process of keeping backyard poultry.
However, a task force that includes Princeton Council member Eve Niedergang, Health Officer Jeff Grosser, Animal Control Officer James Ferry and Zemble is preparing an ordinance that focuses on raising chickens in the back yard.
