“Special” chickens district, anyone?
Missoula prides itself on an outdoorsy aesthetic and gorgeous mountain views, and maybe it’s time the urban chickens establish themselves as part of the local beauty scene.
The chickens, important little buggers both making and becoming food, have the right to look as sharp as anyone else in this town. My editor left a copy of the July 8 Wall Street Journal on my desk and it’s been sitting here ever since, crying out with a story about a woman in Arkansas who sews chicken diapers.
Missoula must meet the chicken diaper, the paper seemed to say from the clutter on the desk. Finally, here you go, if you haven’t seen it yet.
That picture above is from the company website, chickendiapers.com. Ruth Haldeman sews diapers for indoor chickens, and she creates complete outfits, too. Check out the Journal story for some pictures of a summer dress and a patriotic one.
I’ve got to say that all the chickens I’ve seen around town have been sadly under-dressed and fashion-formulaic. Feathers, feathers and more feathers.
So these new special districts? Maybe we can have one that helps clothe the hens roaming about au naturel. It’d be cheaper than the road district if that one does go toward right-of-way acquisition later on.
Chicken diapers run $9 to $14, depending on the size, per the WSJ. And per Animal Control’s last report, we don’t have tons of hens in Missoula.
Want to learn more about the special districts? Check out the Q&A available on the city website. Honest Abe — and someone has already made fun of me for using that phrase so don’t bother going there — the site talks about the council having the power to raise or lower the charge.
Lowering? Long shot. There might be a better chance of setting up that chickens district.
We’ll hear more tonight at the meeting of the Missoula City Council. Just heard from the City Clerk on the comments that have come in so far about the districts. More in another post.
– Keila Szpaller
