A few good eggs in Haddon Township?

Haddon Township may soon find out whether chickens make good neighbors.

The densely developed Camden County suburb is considering a pilot program to allow up to 25 households to each raise up to four hens (no roosters allowed).

Participants would have to obtain a $10 license and attend a chicken-raising class. Those who violate sanitary or other township regulations would risk fines of up to $1,250.

An advisory board of five members, to be appointed by the township commission, would oversee the yearlong test; an ordinance to launch the program is set for a public hearing and a final vote Aug. 25.

"The pilot is our chance to show the town their fears are unwarranted," says Gwenne Baile, a retired nurse and longtime advocate of backyard chickens.

"We will make this work," adds Baile, 66, who enjoys being called the "Mother Hen" of the backyard chicken movement in the township. "Thirteen households have signed up so far."

The birds' popularity is growing along with public demand for fresh, healthful local food. Barrington recently approved a pilot program, and grassroots advocacy efforts have begun in Cherry Hill, Merchantville, and other municipalities.

"There's definitely a movement toward [non-rural] agriculture," says Joseph Heckman, a soil specialist with the Rutgers Cooperative Extension service.

"It's about getting a better egg," adds Heckman, who lives on a Hunterdon County farm and has done research into backyard chickens. "Eggs from chickens who go out and graze are more nutritious and better-tasting."

Hens lay six eggs a week in the warm months, with production slowing down in cold weather and as the birds age.

Baile is enthusiastic about the prospect of tending her own little flock of Buff Orpingtons, a popular breed.

"They're pets," she says. "Pets who provide breakfast."

Young females typically "cost a couple bucks apiece" and are available at garden centers such as Popes' in Waterford Township and Primex in Glenside, Montgomery County, Baile says.

Coops run anywhere from $200 to $1,500. Feed for a half-dozen chickens generally costs about $450 a year, says Maureen Breen, who heads the advocacy group Philadelphia Backyard Chickens.

"You get eggs, and you get fertilizer, and you can enjoy having these delightful animals around you," Breen notes.

Residents of Haddon Township and nearby communities cited these sorts of benefits at the township commission's July 28 meeting, at which Mayor Randy Teague and the two other members of the governing body voted for the pilot.

Public opinion around town is far from unanimous.

"It's not 3,000 years ago, and we're not a Third World country," says banker Ned Donaway, a township resident since 1972. Chickens, he adds, "belong in a specific place. It's called a farm."

Most residential lots in the township are small, and houses often are set close together, notes Bernice Novicki, who moved to the Westmont section from Philadelphia 65 years ago. She's worried about chicken waste.

"Chickens are livestock," Novicki says. "What will come next? Maybe more problems."

She and other opponents believed the issue was settled in 2014 after the township's zoning and planning board recommended against backyard chickens, citing small lot sizes and other concerns.

But the recommendation was advisory, leaving the commission free to make its own decision.

"There are residents who don't want this, and who have [expressed] what in some cases are very legitimate concerns," Commissioner John Foley says.

The pilot "will see if these issues really happen, and [how] we can react appropriately," he adds.

"We want to see it succeed," says Melissa Knoerzer, who hopes to serve on the advisory board.

"We're going to be one of the pilot families," Knoerzer, a lawyer who is the mother of a 2-year-old son, adds.

She and other supporters say the township will become more attractive to young families if it embraces an environmentally friendly, sustainable program such as backyard chickens.

However, the Sustainable Haddon Township organization "hasn't reached a consensus" on the pilot project, Chairwoman Barbara Prince says.

She cited concerns about the fate of older hens who stop laying eggs, and that of otherwise unwanted birds - noting that many animal shelters don't accept chickens.

Prince adds, "We're neither for nor against" the pilot.

I'm all for the pilot. I'm in favor of responsible adults being allowed to keep a few chickens. And I applaud Haddon Township's willingness to try something new, yet old-fashioned.

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