About a month ago, the Virginia Supreme Court decided there was nothing for me to appeal civilly and the Rutherford Institute said there was nothing more for them to do. Okay. Thank you Doug Mckusic and the Rutherford Institute!

Gary Byler is representing me on my criminal charges. I am most grateful to him as well for his stellar representation of me, my rights, and the rights of all Virginia Beach citizens. Thank you so much Gary Byler! By the way folks, he is running for Delegate. It is my opinion he will represent us most excellently. He is a local boy, Bayside High School graduate and a brilliant attorney with tons of experience standing up for the underdog!

A big fat thank you goes out to Kevin Gilkes who created this site in support of backyard hens which gave me an avenue to keep folks apprised of the chicken saga happenings! Thank you so much Kevin!!

And a special thanks to Christine Ross who tirelessly and selflessly recruited both, The Rutherford Institute and Gary Byler, to represent me with my various legal issues regarding backyard chickens as pets! Thank you very much!

Some of you have asked does this mean we get to have and keep backyard hens now? I do not have the answer to that question. The way the zoning ordinance is written, it covers poultry. In the city definitions of what poultry is defined as, one is domestic fowl, ducks, geese…blah blah blah…the other is commercially raised birds for meat and or eggs for profit. So…with that said…AGAIN…I DO NOT have POULTRY! If you want backyard chickens as pets…do what you’ve gotta do for you and your family. All the cities around us either allow backyard HENS (no roosters) or are in the process of changing to allow them. Why is Virginia Beach mayor, Will Sessoms, so against backyard hens? I have no real idea because he only gives the exact same generic form response when I email him. It is the same exact form response he gives to everybody else….I guess I could post it again if you all would like to email him, yet again, and see the same response verbatim…

We supposedly live in the greatest city in the country. What is the city’s plan for sustainability? What is VB’s plan for citizen’s self-reliance? Is it my property or not? Good luck getting a response from our mayor other than NO.

Thank you all so much for your continued support and interest in backyard hens! Power to the peeps!!

My first hearing with the Virginia Supreme Court was last Tuesday. I know nothing of their decisions yet. I will let you know asap.

There is an organized bunch of fabulous folks working to get backyard chickens legal in Virginia Beach. They are hoping for an approved ordinance much like the one Chesapeake passed a few months ago. Chesapeake now allows six hens in a single family home back yard. While I am thrilled folks can keep chickens without fear of losing them, state law requires anyone selling chickens must sell a minimum of six. So, when four of your flock members die, you are left with two…(basic math…LOL) All chicken experts I know, spoke with, read their books, online searched, talked to people with much experience on the matter…ALL OVERWHELMINGLY AGREE…for the health of the chickens and how social they are…you must have a minimum of three hens. So, again, I just want to point out…a law will be broken somewhere OR one will have socially awkward unhealthy chickens. Is there a fix for this issue? In my opinion…YES…allow a reasonable amount of birds. There should be at least two birds per household member to supply the home with eggs. If you have a family of six, that’s twelve birds…(again basic math…heheh) Having a flock of twelve allows for natural attrition and legal replacement of the birds while not endangering the mental/social well being of the current flock. Just a thought! Feel free to comment on any thoughts you may have. Pat Foreman, author of several books, including City Chicks and Chicken Tractor, is a nearby chicken expert willing to help in any way she can. She recently had an intensive informative chicken workshop here in Virginia Beach.

My criminal chicken case has been continued several times. The city wasn’t ready, one of their witnesses had a family emergency, Gary Byler had a conflict, I had jury duty, and my VA Supreme Court date conflicted one day. It has been a most fascinating ride.

Please continue to call and email your council person for your district and others!!

Go out and get your chickens is what I say. You have the right to companion animals and to feed your family! GO FOR IT!!

Chicky Luna has molted again and now she is back to being a fluffy soft beauty with curled out feathers instead of looking like a crazy skeletor demon chicken with sticks for feathers! Some of my other girls are molting. They look so weird when they go through a molt…but when all their feathers come back in…they are beautiful.

I spoke at city council meeting AGAIN last Tuesday. I asked the city council to commission a study of backyard hens to see if it would benefit the city. Of course…there was no comment. Sessoms called me up to the mike as Tracy Okra…like he’s never heard MY name…well, I quickly corrected him saying okra was a vegetable and I am Tracy Okroy. It was at least entertaining…some other council members grinned ear to ear and snickered.

I really miss posting everything that is going on with my chickens in Virginia Beach endeavor. My girls are molting, you know…shorter days, less light…they go into a molt. They are still bright spots of joy in my life! I don’t get to see them quite as much as I used to since starting this new job, but…I get to see them plenty.

I had another court date yesterday for my appeal of the zoning board of appeals decision to uphold the reading of the ordinance in no chickens unless zoned for agriculture. The Rutherford Institue is involved now…special thanks to Christine Ross for making that happen! The Rutherford Institute is trying to find me an attorney locally to represent me in my next appeal which, I believe, goes to the Virginia Supreme Court.

I missed speaking at the council meeting in August and September but I made it out in October, much to the dismay of some of the members of city council. There were a couple that were excited to see me step up AGAIN. It was also a pleasure to hear that there were some speaking on backyard chickens in my absence. That is most awesome and appreciated as this is not only about me but your rights as well. I am asking again to get your selves down to the city council meetings and speak up. I AM the crazy chicken lady in Virginia Beach…I will own that title…it works for me…BUT…if you desire to have your own micro flock…go speak up! Don’t be shy or scared! They turn the cameras off for the general comments and questions from the public portion of the council meeting. I like to think it is because of the ridiculously UNCOOL emotional reactions spurned by comments from people like me…(like Will Sessoms outburst in July when he wouldn’t let Andy Schneider, the Chicken Whisperer, speak because of my mistake on the dates, when I asked to allow him three minutes anyways!) Will Sessoms acted like a spoiled child, in my opinion, and wouldn’t let Andy speak because backyard hens isn’t something he supports…I say…let’s vote him out! I did my absentee ballot yesterday….I surely DID NOT vote for Sessoms and his “tax and spend regardless of what the citizens of Virginia Beach want” attitude!

okay…off my soap box and back to my hens…

For those who got a chance to go to Chesapeake’s event with Pat Foreman, a chicken expert and Andy Schneider’s co-host of the Chicken Whisperer radio talk show…GOOD! She is awesomely entertaining and informative. I was at our city council meeting and did not get to attend. If you get a chance to see her…go! If you get an opportunity to take one of her seminars on backyard hens…please do…you will learn LOTS!!! Lots and lots of valuable information.

Remember a few months ago when I told you about the truck load of wood chips that was delivered to me but a kind fellow who has a tree service? Well…my girls have scratched and composted the heck outta those wood chips. They are breaking down into the most dark and nutrient dense earthy compost for my garden! I cannot wait to shovel it into my garden and plant in the spring!!

Happy joy! It is good to be back on here! Keep up the support and good energy!

Oh…and how cool is this????? One of my friend’s and personal client’s wrote a WONDERFUL article on backyard chickens….featuring my girls….in the Hampton Roads magazine October issue. I had a really hard time finding it but I finally got it! Beth did a great job informing about backyard hens, their benefits, and bees! THANK YOU BETH FOR YOUR CREATIVE WRITING AND INFORMATION!!!!!

Much love to you all!! BAWK BAWK!!

I have been in and out of court so much over the past six weeks, the guys at the courthouse check in know me by name…HA HA HA!!

My court date for the ticket I received is October 2nd. That will most likely be continued until after my zoning board decision appeal in circuit court on October 31st. I have friends searching for an attorney for me as I need legal help and advice for this to continue. I am not an attorney and am uncertain of legal jargon, language, and procedures in court. I have already received quite the education on that front…

My girls are doing great. They are happy and enjoying life. They make me laugh every day. Their comical antics are oh so entertaining!

I haven’t heard anything from Bill Desteph on his end of talking to council members. Glenn Davis seems to be sitting on the fence as does Rosemary Wilson….politics….

Will Sessoms still won’t say why he won’t support backyard hens…only that he doesn’t support backyard hens.

I was interviewed for the Hampton Roads magazine. The article will focus on sustainability and education on backyard hens.

Pat Foreman will be coming to Chesapeake to give an educational seminar on everything you wanted to know about backyard hens. The date for that is October 9th at the Chesapeake central library. Get your copy of City Chicks through Amazon.com. Thank you Mary Lou Burke for having that happen!!! Go 4 Chesapeake Hens!!

We are working on a date for that same seminar here in Virginia Beach! Hopefully sometime in November! Pat Foreman is informative and entertaining! I went to her seminar in January up in Richmond! She is the co-host of the Chicken Whisperer Radio talk show. I appreciate all Andy Schneider and Pat Foreman do for the backyard chicken movement!! Thanks all!

My neighbors think I am a little obsessive about my chickens…I want to make sure they don’t get bored with their diet. Who wants to eat the same pellets every single day? I highly recommend a backyard flock for entertainment value as well as insect control. Don’t forget they cut down on the amount of yard debris that goes into the trash receptacles and at your curb on trash day. Don’t forget to mention that in your letters to the council members.

Has anybody received a reply from Louis Jones, our vice-mayor? I have never received a reply from him and I haven’t heard from anyone who has….hmmmmm….so much for being a good elected public servant….just sayin’!

We elect these people into office to represent our best interests and they do not reply…..what is wrong with that scenario?

Or how about with Will Sessoms? He yelled at me and refused to allow my chicken expert the courtesy of three minutes to address council because I made a mistake? We elect these people into office to serve us? Well…who is getting served here? I lost respect for Will Sessoms after the last council meeting. Just because he doesn’t want chickens….well…he could just get over it!

Our votes are what counts when it comes time to elections. We could just vote in those who are in favor of backyard chickens and who are willing to serve the people of Virginia Beach instead of their own agendas….just sayin’…

Here is Ms. Henley’s information.

This action is making progress. There is a council member working with me now. He said I need 6 votes to get this passed. He is checking on the ordinances and seeing where the other members sit with this. I have emailed them all again requesting their support and presence at my home to see my set up. This is not about animal rights or my desires to keep chickens. This is about my civil liberties. This is my property and what I am doing on MY property is hurting no one. Not only that, it is my basic rights to life, liberty and my pursuit of my own happiness. Why do I need permission to do that on MY property?

The thing is, I still think the easier less messy way around this is to get the ordinance changed to allow a few backyard laying hens. Let Barbara Henley know how you feel. Please and thank you. If you haven’t already done so, email our previous council members of the week…Will Sessoms, Louis Jones, and Bill Desteph. The council members are on a council vacation next week, so get in your two cents this week!

Thank you all for your support. Keep up the positive energy. Keep on cluckin’…

He would not allow CW to speak. I was unaware of the change in open mike speaking for the months of July and December. I made a mistake! The mayor could have allowed him to speak but opted against it. I am very grateful for the opportunity to meet Andy, the Chicken Whisperer….but….I would have been thrilled at him educating our council members. He is, after all, an EXPERT on backyard flocks!

On a positive note, we did get to hang out with Andy and his wife, Jen, and son Caleb. Thank you Jen and Caleb for letting us monopolize his time! I appreciate it! The locals really enjoyed getting to pick Andy’s brain while we dined at Croc’s and talked chickens. I have decided, chicken people are some of the best folks around!

We have some direction on where to head for more public support in the future….we are on it! I am looking forward to showing up at the old beach farmer’s market in Croc’s parking lot. Perhaps some public education will occur???

I will see you there!

I sent Andy Schneider, the Chicken Whisperer’s, press release to Joe Flanagan yesterday to let him know what is going on here with my girls and that Andy is coming to help. He came out again this morning to get the latest news on my backyard chicken status with what is going on with the city. I let him know the city council is not going to allow him to speak and that we are having an event at Croc’s on Tuesday after the council meeting. The camera guy took more footage of my girls. As they were finishing up some last minute questions, the camera guy (I forgot his name…nice guy though!) commented that when he got the call to come to my house about the chickens, he said something along the lines of how bad it would smell….BUT he was pleasantly surprised there was NO SMELL! He was used to the way those commercial chicken farms smell and how disgusting they are. Well…my girls are very well cared for, with lots of love and attention….and NO SMELL!!!

News channel 13 tonight at 6pm and 11pm!!

I am grateful for the positive news coverage and the support. I am also grateful for the opportunity to educate and sway the public, one person at a time, if necessary, just like the camera guy and Joe Flanagan, to demonstrate the positive aspects of backyard chickens! I would love for our city council members to see…for themselves…what my set up could potentially do for many members of our city and how it could have such a POSITIVE POWERFUL impact on our environment.

On to our next city council member of the week….Bill DeSteph is our next city council member. I chose him because of his positive response to my father’s email and his agreement on backyard hens in the city limits not zoned agricultural!!

Here is Bill DeSteph’s information.

Please email him and let him know you either want backyard chickens OR support those who do. Thank you all so much for your continued support on the chicken issue!

Don’t forget to post whatever responses you get so we can all compare notes!!

Our next council member of the week is our Vice-Mayor, Louis Jones. Here is his information.

Work: (757) 583-0177
Home: (757) 464-2151
lrjones@VBgov.com

Please be ever so kind as to email him with whatever it is you would like him to know about your thoughts and feelings on the subject of backyard chickens!

Please post whatever comments and feedback you may receive from him so we may all compare notes! Thank you for your support in this very important chicken matter!!

I emailed the mayor, Will Sessoms, a couple times last week. While I did NOT receive an email response this time….I did get a phone call. I will copy/paste the email I sent him.

Dear Mayor Sessoms,