What comes first, the chicken or the ordinance? In this case, it’s the ordinance.

The Troy City Council has been discussing a chicken ordinance for homeowners in the city limits for several months.

The ordinance has not been drawn up yet, but the council has been researching other cities’ and towns’ ordinances and has come up with a few ideas.

The board members seem to be in agreement in a few areas: roosters would be off-limits, the chickens would be in pens, the number of chickens a person could own would depend on the square footage of their yard, the pens must be cleaned, homeowners would only be able to have a certain number of chickens and if the chicken owners don’t follow these rules, they can be fined.

Mayor Darren Coldwell and some of the council members said they’ve discussed the ordinance with people around town to gain some insight on public opinion. While they’ve only heard a few people say ‘no’ to the ordinance, they encourage the public to voice their concerns and thoughts.