Urban Survival: Battle Creek Considers Allowing Beekeeping and Duck/Quail Ownership Within City Limits
As family finances continue to swirl in the commode of national economics, more and more people are investigating the various avenues of urban survival. Country folk have the luxury of the space for vegetable gardens and farm critters to weaken the blow of supermarket prices. But the city dwellers need to deal with city ordinances that inhibit what can exist on their piece of the homeland.
The City of Battle Creek seems to be sensing the woes of residents who may be strapped for cash. In the past couple of weeks, the Planning Division has created two online surveys that seek the input of community members on the possibility of allowing certain critters to be allowed within the city limits.
Just What Kind Of Critters?
The first survey that surfaced was whether beekeeping should be allowed within city limits. A Battle Creek neighbor, interested in beekeeping, prompted the Planning staff to research beekeeping in the city. As a result, a survey was placed on the city website.
The city points out that,
Honeybees already exist in the community and are not hostile or threatening unless disturbed. They provide an important service to the environment by pollinating plants, which allows the plants to flower and produce seeds. The process of pollinating plants allows the bees to produce honey.
The city also directed anybody who would like more information on beekeeping to the Michigan State University Extension website for a deeper look into the venture. The deadline for completing the beekeeping survey is July 31, 2023.
BeeKeeping Can Be A Sticky Situation
What Other Critters Are Now Being Considered?
This brings us to survey #2. The world of ducks and quail. The city is thinking about allowing residents the joy of harboring both domestic ducks and quail inside their homes. A press release states,
We are considering amending the city code to allow neighbors in the city limits to keep both domestic ducks and quail inside their homes or outside on their property to harvest their eggs.
The idea of having ducks and quail in your backyard sounds fine, but perhaps I’ve led a sheltered life. Is it kosher to have these critters wandering in the house? An adult female duck can produce four to five jumbo sized eggs per week. A female quail lays between 150 to 300 small eggs per year. The deadline for the duck and quail survey is August 4, 2023.