Baldwin Borough residents get a lesson in owning chickens

Luke Fitzgerald smiled as Pot Pie — a two-and-a-half-year-old Buff Orpington chicken — climbed onto his lap inside Baldwin Borough Public Library’s program room.

“What are you doing there?” he asked, while telling his dad that he would like to get a chicken for a pet.

Less than three months after Baldwin Borough leaders passed an ordinance setting parameters for chickens in the municipality, the library on Dec. 5 hosted Backyard Chickens 101, at which West Mifflin resident Leslie Morgans taught a handful of attendees everything they need to know if they want to own their own bird.

“There’s a lot to think about,” said Morgans, who has five chickens. Each has a chicken-themed name. There’s Patty, Noodle, Terry (for teriyaki), Lemon and Pot Pie.

Morgans walked attendees through everything from how and when chickens lay their eggs — which is based on the sun — to how to design a coop. She talked about the pellets they eat and the colored eggs some lay.

In Baldwin Borough, the ordinance limits residents to no more than four chickens on their residential property. Those wanting chickens must have a minimum lot size of half an acre, keep their chicken coop 30 feet from any building on an adjacent lot and provide three square feet of living space for each chicken in their coop.

Since the borough’s passage of the ordinance, no one has applied for the keeping of chickens, according to borough Manager Bob Firek. They also sent a letter to one person, informing them that their lot size does not meet the requirements for owning chickens in the municipality, he said. Borough leaders now are discussing broadening the ordinance to include all hooved animals.

As Pot Pie walked around and greeted guests in the library’s program room, Morgans talked about the need to protect chickens from predators.

She got her first chicken when someone dumped a rooster in her yard. He showed up every day at her door, until one day, he didn’t.

Roosters are not allowed in Baldwin Borough, according to the ordinance.

Morgans said there are many benefits to having chickens, especially the fresh eggs. “There’s nothing better than fresh eggs in the morning,” she said.

She keeps them on her counter because they have a seal on them prior to washing and don’t need to be refrigerated because they’re so fresh, she said.

But having chickens is work. “You have to like them,” she said.

Whether it’s raining, snowing or sleeting, you have to be willing to go outside and care for them.

And they won’t save you money. While the chicken’s themselves might be cheap, everything you need to care for them — like the coop — won’t make this a money-saving venture. She warned attendees to think of everything, down to the exit plan if their chickens get sick.

While she talked, Pot Pie wowed the audience with her charming personality.

“She’s the perfect chicken. She’s so pretty,” said Tracy Bakowski, the library’s public service assistant.

If you want your chicken to be friendly, like Pot Pie, Morgans knows the secret.

“The best thing to do if you want a friendly chicken is you pick them up every day. You hug them. You love them,” she said.

Karl Crevar, 44, recently purchased seven acres in north Baldwin where he is building a home this spring.

He attended the program because he hopes to someday have chickens at his home and wanted to know about the zoning rules in Baldwin.

“It would be primarily for eggs,” he said.

His father-in-law, Gregory Baker, 74, who has lived in Baldwin since the 1950s, grew up on a farm and enjoyed seeing the chickens. While he doesn’t plan to get any of his own, he would help Crevar with his.

Michael Fitzgerald, 51, a member of the library board, attended the program with his son. He was interested in learning more.

Luke thinks it would be fun to have chickens as pets. “They’re fun,” he said.