1110 Rhoton Ct NW Johnson response 080814August 8, 2014
City of Yelm
Community Development Department
105 Yelm Avenue West
Yelm, WA 98597
Re: Chickens
Gary Carlson and whom it may concern,
We have received notice that the City of Yelm has received complaints about smell from
our chickens. We have serious doubts that our chickens have created either an offensive or
unsanitary situation and request that the city investigate these claims and provide proof of such
before we will remove our hens. The complaints may have been due to the pile of potatoes the
neighbor has in his yard near the back fences, or even as a result of a composting mishap that
was quickly resolved. We also smelled the strong, unpleasant smells from both of these, but we
know they did not come from our chickens. We use many practices to keep our chickens in
sanitary and non - offensive conditions including daily clean up practices and the use of pine
shavings. We've owned chickens since we purchased the property in 2012 and hadn't had a
single notice or complaint until one of our hens unfortunately escaped into a neighbor's yard who
were fearful of the hen. I believe that the complaints received have more to do with a fear that
this may happen again, though we've since clipped the hens' wings to keep them from flying, and
less to do with legitimate issues.
Our hens serve as both companion and utilitarian animals. While chickens may seem an
unconventional pet to many, they provide us with many services beyond being pets. Weed
mitigation, chemical free pest control, and organic and sustainable non - polluting garden fertilizer
are a few of the uses our chickens provide. Our hens are also a great teaching tool and helping
our children learn about animal care, responsibility and husbandry.
We will not take further action to remove our hens without a full investigation by an
authorized city official and discussion with such person about this concern.
Sincerely,
Benjamin and Tamara Johnson
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AUG 0 8 2014