Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Timeline Update: Advisory Board Meeting

So I attended the Ingham County Animal Control Shelter Advisory board meeting last night. I was surprised because they actually put me on the agenda (so I had more time than a normal public comment). I  handed out my information packets, gave my presentation, and then the board asked me some questions and we had some discussion. It was very informal (plus there were only 6 board members) and they were very nice and enthusiastic.

Overall, I think it went really well! They said that my info packet was really good and thorough (and joked that they should have me write proposals for them in the future). They mentioned that I might have to give my presentation again in the future (I'm assuming they are referring to a county comission meeting).  A representative from the county is on this advisory board and he said that he would be happy to bring this up with the county commission. However, since we're getting towards the end of the year (and a lot of people either switch or end positions around this time of year), he said that he probably wouldn't be able to do anything until January.

I was really pleased with how it went. However, I'm not really sure what to expect at this point. I don't know if I should be expecting someone to contact me or if I will have to keep in touch with them. The next full board county commission meeting is December 13. I guess I'll probably wait until after that before contacting anyone asking for an estimate timeline.

Monday, November 28, 2011

Tonight's the Night

I'll be speaking to the Animal Control Shelter Advisory Board in approximately 30 minutes! Hopefully I'll have some news to report tomorrow morning.  I'm not expecting them to come to an agreement tonight (it's way too early for that), but at least I'll know what the next step is.

Sunday, November 27, 2011

My Amendment Proposal

Here's my proposed amendment to the Animal Control Ordinance. I've looked at similar ordinances from other cities and tried to incorporate all the important parts into the template that was used for the Ingham chicken ordinance.

INGHAM COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
ORDINANCE AMENDING THE INGHAM COUNTY ANIMAL CONTROL ORDINANCE TO PERMIT KEEPING MINIATURE GOATS IN NON-AGRICULTURAL AREAS

ORDINANCE NO._____

An Ordinance to amend the Ingham County Animal Control Ordinance to permit the keeping of miniature goats in non-agricultural areas of the County.

            Section 2.  Amendment.  Article VIII of the Ingham County Animal Control Ordinance, entitled Prohibition of Livestock or Poultry in Non-Agricultural Areas, is amended to read as follows:
(a)        No livestock or poultry shall be owned, kept, possessed, harbored or kept charge of within the boundaries or any non-agricultural area within Ingham County except as such places are provided for shipping said livestock or poultry.

(b)        ** Section (b), which discusses the keeping of chickens on non-agricultural land has been omitted.

(c)        Notwithstanding paragraph (a), and unless expressly prohibited or regulated by a city, village or township ordinance, or private property restriction, miniature goats may be owned, kept, possessed, harbored, and kept charge of within the boundaries of any non-agricultural area within Ingham County, under the following conditions:

            (i)         No more than three (3) miniature (not more than 100 pounds) goats may be kept at the same time on any one- or two-family residential property, except that nursing offspring may be kept on the property until the age of twelve (12) weeks, and shall not be included in the number of goats allowed;

(ii) All male goats must be neutered;
    (iii) Goats must be kept in an enclosure so constructed or repaired as to keep the goats confined on the owner’s property;

(iv) There must be at least one hundred and thirty (130) square feet of land space for each miniature goat as well as adequate shelter space for each goat.
(v)       All feed and other items associated with the keeping of goats that are likely to attract or to become infested with or infected by rats, mice, or other rodents, shall be protected so as to prevent rats, mice, or other rodents from gaining access to or coming into contract with them.




 P.S. sorry the alignment is all over the place! Can't figure out how to fix it in Blogger.

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Getting Ready!

This coming Monday night I will be speaking to the Ingham County Animal Control Shelter Advisory Board about the possibility of amending the Animal Control Ordinance to allow for miniature dairy goats on non-agricultural land.

I have made a 10-page handout to distribute to each board member and I will also be giving a short presentation. I'll be posting the handout as soon as I get the formatting finalized.

I posted the table of contents a week ago, if you are interested.

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Dehorning and Disbudding

Disbudding/dehorning is a common topic of debate among goat owners. Disbudding involves using a very hot iron to burn the horn buds off the skull of a baby goat (often less than a week old). Dehorning is the process of cutting off horns that have already grown to significant size. Both processes can be a dangerous, even life-threatening, medical procedures that can cause tetanus, brain damage, infection, or death from shock. Many goat owners consider the practice of disbudding/dehorning inhumane and unnecessary.

So why would a goat owner want to disbud their goat? First, if a goat is to be shown in a competition, or if they are to be a project for 4-H, it must be disbudded/dehorned to qualify. Second, while goats are docile animals, their horns could cause accidental bumps or bruises. This may be especially important if small children will be interacting with the goat on a regular basis.

Obviously there are good arguments both for and against disbudding/dehorning. The goat owner should take their individual situation and desires into consideration before deciding to keep goats with horns or without horns. If an urban goat ordinance is added in Ingham County, I would suggest that disbudding/dehorning is neither required or prohibited, but rather left to the discretion of the owner.

If you would like to view a video of the disbudding process, the following video is available on www.youtube.com. Please be warned that it may be graphic/disturbing to some individuals.


Monday, November 21, 2011

How to Navigate Zoning Laws and Other Ordinances

Here's an example of how to decipher the laws in your area based on my experience with the Ingham County backyard chicken amendmentThe same information should hold for dairy goats since both chickens and goats are considered as “livestock”.

Ingham County recently made an amendment to the Animal Control Ordinance legalizing the keeping of backyard poultry on non-agricultural land within the county. However, the ordinance is still somewhat confusing because there is a “small catch” that I have bolded below. The ordinance reads as follows:

(a)        No livestock or poultry shall be owned, kept, possessed, harbored or kept charge of within the boundaries or any non-agricultural area within Ingham County except as such places are provided for shipping said livestock or poultry.
(b)        Notwithstanding paragraph (a), and unless expressly prohibited or regulated by a city, village or township ordinance, or private property restriction, chickens may be owned, kept, possessed, harbored, and kept charge of within the boundaries of any non-agricultural area within Ingham County...”

So basically, paragraph (a) states the original ordinance. Part (b) was added later to make an exception to part (a) and allow backyard chickens. However, the part about being “expressly prohibited by a city” means that you still can't have chickens in Ingham county if your city prohibits them. Keep in mind that the word “expressly” is defined as “specifically”, “explicitly”, or “with specific intentions”.

To check if your city allows livestock, you can look up the municipal code. Under the zoning section, you will likely see a list of “permitted uses” for each zoning type. For example, the Lansing municipal code lists the following permitted uses for residential zones:
a) A one-family dwelling;
b) A public park and playground;
c) A family day care home.

...And that's it! Can you believe the list is so short?

As you can see, any permutation of “the keeping of livestock” is not listed under the permitted uses. And in theory, you are not allowed to do anything that is not specifically permitted! Of course, you'll also notice that the permitted uses does not mention the keeping of dogs, cats, goldfish, or vegetable gardens either, and obviously those things are not illegal! 

Getting back to my point...to my knowledge there is nowhere in the Lansing municipal code that expressly (there's that word again) prohibits the keeping of chickens (or goats). In fact, the word "chicken" (or "goat") is not found anywhere in the municipal code. Since Lansing does not have a specific chicken-prohibition ordinance, I'm assuming that citizens can defer to the Ingham County ordinance. 

But there's still another catch! If the city of Lansing chooses to create a specific ordinance outlawing urban chickens sometime in the future, the Lansing ordinance will trump the Ingham County ordinance. So at the moment, chicken keeping is legal in Lansing, but this could change in the future. That would really stink if you spent a lot of money on a chicken coop, enclosure, feed, and animals, only to have it outlawed a little ways down the road. However, I can't imagine that outlawing chickens is high on the priority list down at city hall!

If you are completely confused at this point, here's a quick summary:
  • Keeping chickens in the city of Lansing is not allowed because keeping livestock is not a permitted use of residential land.
  • Ingham County made an ordinance to allow backyard chickens in all of Ingham county, unless a city has a specific ordinance against chickens.
  • Since Lansing does not have a specific ordinance set in place to prohibit chickens, we can defer to the country ordinance, which says chickens are legal.
  • If the city of Lansing wishes to outlaw chickens, they may do so at any point by creating a specific ordinance. Why would they go to the bother of doing this? I don't know, but it could happen!

P.S. I'm not a lawyer and I may have misinterpreted some of the details, so don't bet your life on what I'm saying!

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Milk Misconception

I'm not sure how common this misconception is, but many people assume that female cows and goats produce milk all the time, automatically.

The truth is, that in order to produce milk, a dairy animal must first become pregnant and give birth. Therefore, in order to produce milk, female goats (does) must be bred regularly. Since keeping un-castrated male goats (bucks) in the city would be inappropriate (they can be very smelly), urban goat owners will need to take their does to a breeder who provides this type of service (for a fee, of course).

After a 5-month gestation period, the mother goat will give birth to 1 to 4 offspring (called kids). Goats can generally give birth unassisted just fine, but it's a good idea to be prepared to assist or call for help. To avoid overcrowding (especially important in the urban setting), you will have to find homes for most, if not all, of the kids. The baby goats can be retained by the owner (all male kids will need to be castrated), sold to another dairy farmer, sold or retained for meat (yes, you can eat goats), or sold as pets.  

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Top Five Anti-Goat Arguments

Just to show that I'm not completely biased, I did a lot of research to determine the most common concerns and misconceptions about keeping goats in the city. As you'll see, most of these anti-goat arguments simply aren't true, or they have very simple solutions.

  • Goats are smelly
Un-castrated billy goats are well known for being smelly, therefore they are not appropriate for the urban setting. However, female goats, baby goats, and castrated male goats are not smelly. In addition, goat droppings are very dry and do not smell, unlike dog and cat feces.

  • Goats are noisy
Most goats are no louder than neighborhood dogs or children.



  • Goats carry and transmit disease
Goats have no more potential to negatively impact human health than dogs and cats. Serious illnesses in people due to infections from goats are rare and disease risk can be reduced through proper sanitation and good husbandry. Dogs and cats can also transmit disease to humans (e.g. rabies, toxoplasmosis, salmonella, cat scratch fever, lyme disease, fleas, worms, etc.), but for all animals, proper care and common sense go a long way towards preventing disease.

  • Goats are escape artists
Goats are very curious and nimble, making them capable of escaping when improper and/or insufficient fencing is used. For example, poultry netting (a.k.a. chicken wire) is fairly flexible and lacks the strength required to safely contain goats. Therefore, strong and resilient fencing intended for livestock, chain-link fencing, or solid wood fencing should be used.

  • Goats are dangerous
Goats are common fixtures at children's petting zoos because they are such docile and friendly animals. They pose very little threat to children, certainly no more than a dog or cat. As with any animal, young children should be supervised when interacting with goats (more for the goat's safety than the child's). To prevent accidental bumps and bruises, goats can be dehorned or disbudded.


    Friday, November 18, 2011

    Timeline Update: Lots of Researching and Writing

    I have started drafting an information packet to give to the members of the Ingham County Animal Control Advisory Board at their next meeting (the Monday after Thanksgiving). I haven't decided what kind of presentation I want to give yet. Here are my two options: 1) Lead them all through the information packet, page by page, while they follow along in their own copy, or  2) Give a generalized introduction and proposal, briefly explain the contents of the information packet, and then let them digest all the material on their own.


    Here's the current table of contents (but keep in mind that each of these sections will have many subsections):

    Contents:

    Introduction and Proposal

    About Miniature Dairy Goats
    Why Would Anyone Want a Goat?
    Common Concerns and Misconceptions About Goats
    Requirements and Suggested Regulations for Urban Goat Keeping

    Other Cities with Urban Goat Ordinances
    Seattle, WA
    Charlottesville, VA
    Denver, CO

    Amendment Proposal

    Pro-Goat Argument 19: We should be tolerant of each other's hobbies

    Here's a quote from Jennie Grant on her Goat Justice League website.

    Jennie asks "why should cities have rules on their books that keep people from doing what they like when it doesn’t bother anyone, even if it what they want to do may seem strange?" 

    I think this is one of the best arguments out there for legalizing urban goats! If they don't hurt or bother anybody, then what is the big deal? Even if someone's hobby seems quirky, why needlessly keep them from doing the things they enjoy?

    Thursday, November 17, 2011

    Pro-Goat Argument 18: Goats are cute, smart, and interactive

    Let's face it. Goats are pretty darn cute. You can even train them to do tricks. You can even teach them to walk on a leash, just like a dog. Wouldn't it be fun to take your goat for a walk around the neighborhood?


    Here's a great quote from Little Homestead in the City's blog:

    "Why do you have goats?  They are great companions (cleaner, quieter and more "useful" than dogs - they sleep all night!) and are a valuable addition to the homestead. Why? Well, we like to refer to them as natural composters and fertilizer machines. Sure beats an nondescript compost bin - these cute gals are fun and functional.   Such animals have their function and place in such urban eco-system (or "urban permaculture" enviroment)"

    Pro-Goat Argument 7 through 17!

    I copied a section of an amendment made to the Seattle, WA municipal code that was added to legalize miniature dairy goats. Some of the Pro-Goat Arguments that I have already mentioned are repeated here, but it's great to see how they are presented in a legally binding document.

    "AN ORDINANCE relating to land use and zoning and the keeping of small
    animals, amending Sections 23.42.052, 9.25.022, 9.25.030, 9.25.050,
    9.25.052, 9.25.080, 9.25.084, 9.25.100; and 9.26.020 to allow the
    keeping of miniature goats and providing for the licensing and
    licensing fees therefore.

    WHEREAS, goats, along with dogs are the earliest animals domesticated
    by humans, roughly 10,000 years ago; and

    WHEREAS, numerous cultures worldwide keep goats and more people
    worldwide drink goat milk than any other animal's; and

    WHEREAS, many immigrants from all over the world are familiar with
    keeping goats; and

    WHEREAS, miniature goats are considered excellent pets due to their
    good-natured personalities, friendliness, faithfulness, and hardy
    constitution; and

    WHEREAS, miniature goats are no bigger than a number of species of
    large domestic dogs; miniature goats average around 24" tall and 50-
    100 pounds, compared to some large dogs that average around 30" tall
    and can weigh up to 200 pounds; and

    WHEREAS, miniature goats can be a sound way to provide milk and
    cheese to families if the milk is properly pasteurized prior to
    consumption or cheese production; and

    WHEREAS, there are numerous benefits for urban sustainability that
    goats provide including that their manure is an excellent source of
    garden compost provided it is properly composted to reach
    temperatures that will destroy potentially harmful pathogens, their
    hair is a renewable source of fiber, and goats can provide an
    alternative to lawn mowers; and

    WHEREAS, goats are valuable for controlling noxious weeds and
    clearing brush and undergrowth; and

    WHEREAS, serious illnesses in people due to infections from goats are
    rare and disease risk can be reduced through proper sanitation and
    good husbandry; and

    WHEREAS, female and neutered male goats do not generate significant
    odors, and

    WHEREAS, municipalities including Portland, Oregon and Everett,
    Washington have codes that permit miniature goats to be kept..."

    Wednesday, November 16, 2011

    Timeline Update: Progress!

    Nov 16: I left a voice mail with with the director of Ingham County Animal Control.

    Nov 16: Progress! The Animal Control director called me back and she was great! She said that the best place to start the process of legalization would be with the Animal Control Advisory Board, not the County Commission. She said that an advisory board member was the one to introduce the chicken amendment and the chicken amendment went though pretty easily! However goats might be a more difficult "sell" since they are so much bigger. She said that chickens were legalized by making an "exception" to the Animal Control Ordinance, that goats could also be written as an "exception".

    She told me who to contact on the the Animal Control Advisory Board and she even offered to call ahead and introduce me! Unfortunately, the Advisory Board only meets ever other month, but the next meeting happens to be November 28! 

    She said that I should make handouts of my proposal to give to the board members at the meeting. I should include as much information as possible about keeping goats and explain how urban goats will improve my (and others) quality of life. I should be prepared to discuss the number, size, breed, and gender of goats appropriate for backyard keeping, as well as shelter size, fencing, and sanitation issues. She said I need to be prepared to answer any questions and dispel any fears that the board members may have. She commented that their main concern may likely be sanitation issues and smell. She also said that I should be prepared to mention other cities that have legalized goats and what kinds of regulations they have imposed.

    I was excited to hear all the stuff she wants me to discuss, because I have already researched nearly all of it and/or written about it! I've even spent some time re-writing the Animal Control Ordinance to include a goat exception (using the chicken exception as a template).


    Nov 16: called my new contact on the Animal Control Advisory Board. She didn't really have any new information for me, but sounded very welcoming and receptive! She said that I can take up to 7 minutes to present my proposal.

    After I give my presentation, the board will discuss privately. I may not hear back until the next Advisory Board meeting in January. I'm not sure if the Advisory Board has direct control over the Animal Control Ordinance or if they will have to submit a proposal to the County Commission. It would be really exciting (and potentially a quick process) if the Advisory Board's decision directly led to an amendment of the Animal Control Ordinance!

    Pro-Goat Argument 6: Make your own dairy products

    With access to fresh creamy milk, you will be able to make butter, cheese, yogurt, and ice cream whenever you want. In addition to the milk itself, you now have 5 things you can cross off your grocery list!

    Tuesday, November 15, 2011

    Timeline Update

    Nov 15: It has been at least 6 days (and as many as 10 days) since I emailed certain city/county officials and other important persons. I have still not heard back from any of the nine people I have contacted regarding legalizing goats in Lansing. NINE people, and not a single response! I guess I'll have to start calling these people up!

    Nov 15: called Ingham County Commission trying to contact the board coordinator, but got someone else instead. She took down my contact information, the names of the 3 commission members I had emailed (and not heard back from), and the basic gist of what I'm trying to do. She said she would relay the information to the board coordinator and have her call me back. She also said that the full board meetings are open to the public and there is time for public comment (3 minutes per person) at the end of the meeting (and possibly also at the beginning of the meeting). The next full board meeting is a week from today, on November 22.

    Nov 15: The board coordinator emailed me back quite soon after speaking with the person I talked to on the phone. She suggested that I contact the Animal Control Director and discuss the issue with her first, before speaking at a board meeting. This particular email was CC'd to the Animal Control Director (so hopefully she'll see me coming) and the Ingham County Deputy Controller (I'm not sure why). 

    Pro-Goat Argument 5: Goat poop has great potential

    Goat feces are dry, and do not smell. Unlike dog or cat feces, goat feces are safe to compost and can be used directly in the garden. Therefore, goats don't add to the municipal garbage stream as do most household pets.

    Due to all the roughage they consume, goat droppings are full of plant material and make great compost. As an avid gardener, I would welcome an added source of manure for my garden! Why go to Home Depot and buy bagged manure shipped across the country when a backyard goat herd could provide you with "locally grown" manure?

    Monday, November 14, 2011

    Pro-Goat Argument 4: Goats are space-efficient food producers

    Goats do not require much space, so they can be kept even on small properties. 

    After gathering information from a pile of books on goat keeping, I average all their numbers and found that each goat needs 10 to 25 square feet per goat (depending on size) of sheltered area. In addition, an outdoor exercise area of at least 130 to 200 square feet should be provided.  200 square feet is about the size of two regular parking spaces. As you can see, goats are quite "compact" animals.

    The smallest lots in the Lansing area usually at least one tenth of an acre or ~4,356 square feet. Of course, some of this square-footage is taken up by the house, garage, driveway, front yard, etc. After taking into account any setback guidelines that may be imposed (guidelines to regulate how close the goats can be kept to neighboring property lines and homes), there still may be plenty of space leftover in a small backyard to keep a few goats (and plenty of space if you have a larger backyard).

    Sunday, November 13, 2011

    Pro-Goat Argument 3: Goats are just as quiet and gentle as dogs

    So you're saying I can't have a miniature goat, but my neighbors can have a backyard full of aggressive, snarling, barking rottweilers?  I'm not saying all dogs are dangerous, but you sure never hear news reports about goats attacking toddlers or postal workers.

    Goats are just as quiet and gentle as dogs. Miniature goats weigh about the same (or less than) a labrador retriever. And since goats live outdoors, you don't have to worry about them peeing on your carpet or shredding your couch cushions.

    Saturday, November 12, 2011

    Pro-Goat Argument 2: Save money on your grocery bills

    So lets say you read my last post about factory-farmed cow's milk, and you decide you don't want to buy it any more. What are your other options?

    Organic and/or Hormone-free cow's milk or goat's milk is much more expensive to purchase than regular cow's milk, if it can be found at all. Keeping your own dairy goat is more economical in the long run.

    According to Story's Guide to Raising Dairy Goats (2010), a gallon of store-bought goat's milk costs at least $11 (although I've heard prices much higher than this). On the other hand, after factoring in feeding costs, goat's milk can be produced at home for approximately $2.25 per gallon (which is also less than regular store-bought cow's milk, not to mention organic cow's milk).

    Friday, November 11, 2011

    Introducing: The Lansing Urban Goat Movement!



    I thought I'd share a post I wrote today for my other blog, Green Zebra Market Garden, to advertise the Lansing Urban Goat Movement:

    "To some of my readers, this might sound a little out-there, but I've become quite interested in the possibility of raising miniature dairy goats in my backyard. However, it's currently not legal to do so in my city and county. So I'm here to introduce the Lansing Urban Goat MovementI decided to start a blog about my path to goat legalization (assuming I'm successful). For all I know, I'll meet a lot of resistance and the "movement" may fizzle out pretty quickly, but it's worth a shot! More than anything, this blog will be a place to keep my thoughts organized and a place to document all the steps I take towards my goal.





    Here's a little bit of background about why I'm doing what I'm doing:
 In 2009, my county amended its Animal Control Ordinance to allow for the keeping of backyard chickens on residential-zoned land (hence, the backyard flock you've heard me blog about). As a strong supporter of the local/slow food movement, I'd like to continue the process of legalization of miniature dairy goats. I feel that miniature dairy goats have just as much right in the urban backyard as chickens (or dogs and cats, for that matter) and would make an excellent addition to any urban garden or homestead. The Lansing Urban Goat Movement site will attempt to cover as many pro-urban-goat arguments as possible, as well as dispel the common anti-urban-goat arguments. 


    

Access to unadulterated, humanely-produced, and reasonably-priced milk is limited for most Lansing residents. Backyard dairy goats take up very little space, are just a quiet and gentle as dogs, and are a logical and economical source of milk for citizens who care where and how their food is produced!"

    P.S. I think this post serves as a good summary of the Lansing Urban Goat Movement, so I'm planning on sharing this announcement on several community websites and Facebook groups.

    Waiting Game

    I'm really tempted to start calling up some of the people who haven't responded to my emails after a whole week. But then I remembered its Veteran's Day, and as city/county officials, these folks probably have the day off from work. I guess I'll wait until Monday before trying to get a hold of them on the phone.

    I don't know about the rest of the world, but I always try my best to respond to emails within a couple of days. I understand and respect that the folks I'm contacting are busy people, but I assume that helping and interacting with concerned citizens is part of their job description. Even if they can't (or don't want to) help me, they could at least send a response acknowledging that they received my message.

    Plan of Attack

    I've been debating whether it is more advantageous to focus my efforts toward the city of Lansing or towards Ingham County. 

    To adopt an ordinance for the city of Lansing, I would possibly have to gain the approval of the city council, city commissioners, and the zoning board. However, to get Ingham County to create an ordinance, I think I would only have to get the approval of the Ingham County commissioners. And since there is already a county amendment in place (the 2009 chicken amendment) that could be used as a model for a goat amendment, I think focusing on the county may be the way to go.

    Thursday, November 10, 2011

    Timeline Update

    Nov 10: After running into a bunch of weird glitches on the Ingham County website (I swear that half of the stuff I was able to find today, wasn't there yesterday), I found out that the next full board meeting for the Ingham County Commission is on November 22nd. Assuming they allow public comment, I plan on attending the meeting and proposing my miniature goat amendment to the Animal Control Ordinance. 

    Hopefully some of the people I have contacted will respond by then (it has been almost a week for some of them with no reply) and be able to give me some suggestions.

    Pro-Goat Argument 1: Support ethically produced milk

    I'm generally not one to preach about the moral and ethical issues behind commercial food production, but I would be missing a huge pro-goat argument if I didn't mention the problems with factory-farmed milk.

    Lansing residents have few options when it comes to purchasing milk. We are basically forced to buy factory-farmed milk at the grocery store.
    • This factory-farmed milk generally has hormones, antibiotics, and other unnecessary additives in it that may cause human health effects.
    • This milk is either pasteurized or ultra-pasteurized. The choice to drink raw milk has been taken away from the modern consumer even though raw milk has been consumed for thousands of years.
    • The living conditions for cows on factory-farms vary widely and are generally not nearly as good as what could be achieved in a backyard dairy goat herd. Factory-farm cows may never set foot on grass or see natural sunlight.
    • Store-bought milk is a mixture of milk from thousands of individual cows, therefore monitoring for quality and disease is much more difficult than if your milk came from just a couple backyard animals.
    In addition, hormone-free cow's milk or goat's milk is much more expensive to purchase, if it can be found at all. Keeping your own dairy goat is more economical in the long run. According to Story's Guide to Raising Dairy Goats (2010), a gallon of store-bought goat's milk costs at least $11 (although I've heard prices much higher and much lower than this). On the other hand, after factoring in feeding costs, goat's milk can be produced at home for approximately $2.25 per gallon (which is also less than store-bought cow's milk).

    Wednesday, November 9, 2011

    Current Timeline

    2011

    Nov 4: emailed the
 Director of Ingham County Animal Control. I remember contacting someone from Ingham county Animal Control with questions about the legality of backyard chickens and they were helpful and willing to took things up for me. Maybe she will be willing to answer some questions?

    Nov 4: emailed a member of the Ingham County Animal Control Shelter Advisory Board. I contacted her back when the chicken amendment was going through and she was helpful.

    Nov 6: emailed Jennie Grant, creator of the Goat Justice League based in Seattle. Hopefully she can give me some advice.

    Nov 6: emailed the vice-president of the Lansing City Council. I have personally met this person and she should recognize my name. I know she is a supporter of the local food movement because she is also involved in a community farmer's market and other nutrition and gardening education efforts.

     Nov 6: emailed another Lansing City Council member who (according to the Lansing Backyard Poultry Meetup Group) was a supporter of the Lansing backyard chicken ordinance passed in 2009.

    Nov 7: I decided to re-write the Ingham County chicken ordinance for miniature goats as I would eventually like to see it. I added a few things important to goat-keeping that didn't apply to chicken-keeping (such as castration of males, and dehorning).

    Nov 7: emailed the County Commissioner for my district. This is the first person on the Ingham county commission I have contacted. Since changing the Ingham county ordinance may be simpler than changing the city of Lansing ordinance, I thought it would be a good idea to contact someone form the county. Since I don't personally know any of the commissioners (or know of them), I just choose the commissioner from my district.

    Nov 9: I'm getting frustrated because I have yet to hear back from a single person (and I've emailed 6 people so far). I realize it has only been a few days and these are all busy people, but I would at least like somebody to acknowledge that they received my email.

    Nov 9: emailed the chairperson of the Ingham County Commissioners.

    Nov 9: emailed the vice-chairperson of the Ingham County Commissioners.

    Nov 9: emailed the coordinator for the Ingham County Board of Commissioners to ask if county commission meetings are open to the public and if community members are allowed to speak in front of the board. I told her about my proposed amendment to the Animal Control Ordinance and asked if she knew what I should do?



    Welcome!

    Hello all,

    If you've found your way to this site, hopefully you are as excited as me about possibility of legalizing goats in the city of Lansing, MI. As some of you may know, in 2009, Ingham county amended the Animal Control Ordinance to allow for the keeping of backyard chickens. I feel that miniature dairy goats have just as much right in the urban backyard as chickens (or dogs and cats, for that matter). Although keeping goats in the backyard may sound like a strange concept, there are many benefits to be gain (I'll get to those soon).

    On this site, I hope to chronicle the path to legalization, present convincing arguments for why urban goats should be allowed, and offer resources for those interested in urban goat keeping. The legalization process may take a long time (or be outright unsuccessful) but it's worth out best efforts!

    P.S. I should mention that I am a novice. I have never owned a goat, mostly because it hasn't been legal anywhere I've lived, but I have done extensive research on the topic. I realize nothing can substitute for first-hand knowledge, but I will do my best to keep my information accurate.