After spending a good deal of time talking about it and reviewing a survey, the Mancos Town Board recently voted to leave the chickens, roosters and other birds in town alone.
Right now, there is now regulation on the raising of hens or other poultry in town and the Town Board wants to keep it that way.
They said that yes, the sounds of roosters can be annoying, especially at 2 a.m., but that it wasn't the town's place to regulate the issue. Besides, the sound of roosters is far less annoying than say, a car alarm from the big city.
The town set out to see how the public felt regarding the issue of birds in town and received an overwhelming response. The town got 103 responses to the survey, the most ever to a survey sent out by the town.
The majority of people, 87 percent, said keep the birds in town. Everyone loves fresh eggs, there is nothing better. Hens are great at controlling pests and many people responded in the survey that the birds were part of a "greener" lifestyle, something we all strive for.
But, a majority of people that answered the survey said they would like to see restrictions on poultry in town. Some said they would like to see restrictions on noise. Others said there should be fencing requirements and property setbacks.
As far as concerns regarding poultry, the survey results showed that Mancos residents were evenly divided. Of the people that responded, 43 of them said they had no concern, while 42 of those that responded said noise was a big concern.
Some towns have enacted chicken ordinances, many of which ban roosters in town. While a rooster may sound nice on a farm, when the coop is far away from the farm house, a rooster crowing near your window, because your neighbor's backyard is right next to your bedroom, well that is not so nice.
Other towns have banned roosters because of their tendency to be territorial.
But for now, Mancos will continue to live up to its reputation, "Where the West Lives."