Family, Cobb County At Odds Over Backyard Chicken Coop: Report

EAST COBB, GA — A local family has brought a piece of life on the farm to their subdivision of single-family homes, and Cobb County officials are not thrilled, according to a media report.

Chris Disser and her family have converted a children's playhouse in their backyard into a coop that houses four chickens and four ducks. In pursuing an organic lifestyle, they're raising the birds to provide farm-fresh eggs.

The chickens and ducks have become part of the family, even appearing on the Dissers' Christmas cards, WSB-TV Channel 2 reported.

But the birds may have to fly the coop. Disser told WSB-TV that in March, Cobb County officials told her that she needs to get a temporary land use permit to keep the chickens and ducks at a residence of less than 2 acres.

Several county officials have expressed concern about the impact the chickens and ducks could have on nearby property values, according to WSB-TV.

Disser said the Cobb County Planning Commission has approved her application for the land use permit. But the family must go before the county commission later this month to win final approval, WSB-TV reported.

Image: Wikimedia Commons (Andrei Niemimäki from Turku, Finland)