Q:  Why did the chicken cross the road, in Harrisonburg?

A:  To get to a 2 acre lot.

Back in 2009, City Council approved an ordinance that prohibited property owners from raising chicken in their backyard unless they had a 2 acre lot.  There were also quite a few other limitations, all of which can be found in the entire current ordinance here.

Now, per today's Daily News Record article....

"City officials are exploring whether the lot-size threshold should be reduced; if there should be a neighbor approval process; whether a certain number of permits should be issued within a trial period; and any other issues, according to the release."

Do you have an opinion? You can sound off on the issue at BeHeardHarrisonburg.org.

Oh, also -- before you try to get creative and consider another backyard bird, you should know that the ordinance in question also limits your ability to keep all of the following foul in your yard: chickens, roosters, ducks, geese, turkeys, guinea fowl, emus, rheas, ostriches and pigeons.....