CNHI News Service

CARTHAGE, Mo. — Two long-standing ordinances that run “afowl” of each other have a local family wondering if it can “raise a few chickens” so they’ll have access to homegrown eggs.

One provision in the Carthage city code allows chickens to be kept as long as they are enclosed and at least 250 feet away from the nearest dwelling.

But another allows chickens and other fowl in the city as long as they are not allowed to run at large or bother neighbors.

Eli Bruton said he and his family would like to raise a small number of chickens in order to have their own homegrown eggs.

He said his family prefers locally originated food.

Councilman Dan Rife, who is the public safety committee chairman, said the panel has heard residents’ comments on which set of restrictions to enforce.

“The split has been fairly equal,” Rife said.

An increasing interest in locally grown food has prompted more Missouri cities to allow small numbers of chickens to be raised inside city limits. In Joplin, for instance, residents can keep up to 12 chickens.

Owners must get a permit and meet setback requirements that would essentially ban such operations from densely populated areas, said Dan Pekarek, director of the Joplin Health Department.

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Details for this story were provided by The Joplin (Mo.) Globe.