Chicken Coop

so nobody should have a cat or a dog either?

btw, I love a good chicken thread. Nothing gets this board as wound up.

build a good coop, buy good feed, by some split purpose birds and enjoy them.

FERAL. No, no one should have feral dogs and cats.

And if you want to get us wound up, let's talk jet skis...

Maybe I'll get one of Alana's traps and ship all the suckers to your house, Jamison! 😉

The Feral chickens here have very little meat and what is there is very tough. They also aren't very reliable layers either. About the only use for the feral birds is chicken stock. The fryers we order from the states grow quickly and in 10 weeks you have 6-8 lbs of meat once fully dressed. The cost per bird from shipping to feeding, through slaughter is less than $2.50 per bird so you can do the math and see how cheap it actually is to raise chickens for both meat and eggs. What is the "fresh" chicken in the grocery selling for right now? Last I bought was about $4.99/ lb.

I am, myself, surprised at the negativity of many of posters who are not aware of the law and decide to interpret it how they see fit.
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So many laws here are interpreted as people see fit. There doesn't seem to be any enforcement. Window tint, cell phone while driving, DUI, smoking in public places, reckless driving, running stop signs and lights, and Chickens everywhere.... It seems to be anything goes. DPNR officials running a smuggling ring, elected officials that are felons,....Why would people obey the "chicken law"? Ha ha

I think I'll build a chicken coop myself for a few laying hens. I'll call them Laverne and Shirley. LOL Maybe a few goats too.
I say go for it Theresa!!!! If they wander over to my place I might keep them though. Fair warning 😉

Maybe I'll get one of Alana's traps and ship all the suckers to your house, Jamison! 😉

Bring em to me!

I've got 4 kids, I won't turn down free food.... especially with this government shut down

so nobody should have a cat or a dog either?

btw, I love a good chicken thread. Nothing gets this board as wound up.

build a good coop, buy good feed, by some split purpose birds and enjoy them.

FERAL. No, no one should have feral dogs and cats.

And if you want to get us wound up, let's talk jet skis...

Maybe I'll get one of Alana's traps and ship all the suckers to your house, Jamison! 😉

the feral animals got their start somehow.

bring me the chickens and ill pay you $2 a bird.

...bring me the chickens and ill pay you $2 a bird.

Sounds like Jabba the Hut ordering bounty hunters...

Jamison...u can go mongoose hunting too an geh a quart.

12 V.I.C. § 36 (2013)

§ 36. Hunting mongooses; bounties

(a) Mongooses may be hunted at any time of the year.

(b) The Commissioner shall pay the sum of 25 cents for each mongoose delivered, dead or alive.

(c) Whoever breeds the mongoose for the purpose of obtaining the bounty prescribed by this section shall be fined not more than $25, and all the mongooses in his possession shall be confiscated and destroyed by the Commissioner.

We have corn fed mongooses from all the cat food they eat. They are quite plump.

Btw, I never heard anything from the DPNR contact Alana posted. I did email him at that address to ask about neighborhood chickens.

That law on the books for the mongoose is pretty old. I think it dates pretty far back.
Don't know about STX but rarely see mongoose in STT anymore due to a virus that wiped a large majority of them out.

At least they eat chickens and the eggs they lay!

Yea Alana it's a 1922 law, we have quite a few mongoose/mongeese here, but still no reason for a bounty to be on them. It will be repealed soon, probably next year sometime.

I raise chickens and im not too happy about mongoose eating them. Pigs sure love to eat mongoose

You can drive down the highway and see cages of fighting chickens behind government housing. We have a cock fighting stadium. That is embarrassing. Wild chickens are hardly a real problem.

Yea bro that cock-fighting thing is distressing....but just like same-sex marriage and riding in the back of trucks....don't see any senator touching those

Maybe it's time to ban cock-fighting!
Roosters kept in yards for this barbaric sport are a problem when all their neighbors must listen and endure the constant crowing.
The license fee for this inhumane and cruel sport is minimal for the amount of gambling that goes on at these disgusting displays
and am sure that no taxes are paid on any of those earnings. What's up with that?

Sorry, cockfighting is not part of our cultural heritage.
Most states now make this illegal as well as being in possession of any related cock fighting paraphernalia. So why not the VI?
Maybe it's time for them to start adressing this.*-)

I agree with you for the most part Alana...I think its barbaric and inhumane....dog fighting is illegal but cock-fighting is...why? because it is a big part of the island cultural heritage. So much so that during the VIPR festivities this weekend there was supposedly a cock-fighting demonstration.

If you want it banned try doing it with an initiative, because I dont see it being banned any other way right now.

Fun fact: A group of mongooses (and it is mongooses) is called a "business."

And a group of egrets is called a "congregation." Whenever we go by a field of them I'll say, "they're holding church!"

(Yes I am an animal nerd, enough that I earned a degree in it - don't mock me!) 😀

A police officer in Tide Village has a yard full of cages with rosters. I'm sure his neighbors are reluctant to complain.

How do you 'Initiate" a proposal to ban cock fighting? Where and how to start?

I beg to differ with you on it being a big part of the Cultural Heritage, here.
I have lived here all my life, am a 12th generation Virgin Islander and it was not until we had a large influx of Haitians and Santo Dominicans that you now see such an abundance of roosters being raised for this barbaric "sport."

Is it a cultural thing to have such cruelty on display for individuals profit? I think not.
It was a long and hard fight just to get dog fighting banned and those particular anti cruelty laws passed but it still goes on.
Why must the VI always be so lacking because our senators don't want to ruffle the "feathers" of a small minority of voters (most of which either don't vote or are here illegally?) It boggles the mind.

You can get all the laws you want passed, but if no one enforcing them, are they really laws?

Here ya go Alana...

V.I.C. Rev. Org. Act of 1954 § 12 (2011)

§ 12. [Government Secretary; appointment; custody of seal; powers and duties]

(a) The people of the Virgin Islands shall have the rights of initiative and recall to be exercised as provided in subsection (b) and subsection (c), respectively.

(b)(1) An initiative may enact, amend, or repeal any law, except that an initiative shall not be used to repeal a law declared by the legislature at the time of passage to be an emergency law necessary for the preservation of the public health, safety, or peace.

(2) An initiative that proposes a reduction of taxes shall also provide for an equivalent reduction of expenditures or an equivalent increase in revenues from other sources.

(3) An initiative shall address one subject only and matters reasonably related to that subject.

(4) The ballot question shall be in such form that a "yes" vote is a vote in favor of the proposal and a "no" vote is a vote against the proposal.

(5) A copy of the proposed initiative petition, including a complete text of the proposed law and containing signatures equal to at least 1 percent of the voters of each legislative district or 4 percent of all voters of the Virgin Islands must be submitted to the Supervisor of Elections prior to circulation for ballot qualification. The Supervisor of Elections must determine within 10 days after the submission whether the preliminary signatures are sufficient. If so determined, the Supervisor of Elections shall refer the preliminary petition to an initiative titling board consisting of the Attorney General, the Supervisor of Elections, and the legislative counsel of the legislature. The board shall, in an open hearing, prepare the official ballot title, the submission question, and a summary of the initiative proposal, and this preparation shall be completed within 30 days after the referral.

(6) After the ballot title has been written, proponents of the initiative proposal shall have a maximum of 180 days to circulate the petition. Petitions containing signatures equal to at least 10 percent of the voters of each legislative district or 41 percent of all voters of the Virgin Islands must be submitted to the Supervisor of Elections. The Supervisor shall have 15 days to determine that the minimum number of valid signatures are contained in the petition and he shall forward the certified proposal to the legislature which must accept or reject the measure within 30 days. If approved, the initiative shall take effect in accordance with its terms. If the legislature does not approve, the initiative shall be submitted to the voters at the next general election, unless the legislature approves a special election for this purpose. The legislature may submit its own version of the initiative to the voters. Should both measures be approved by the voters, the measure receiving the higher number of votes shall prevail. The voters shall have a clear alternative of rejecting either version or the entire proposition.

(7) An initiative submitted to the voters shall take effect if the initiative is approved by a majority of persons voting and if a majority of the voters of the Virgin Islands vote on the initiative. An initiative may not be vetoed by the Governor, and when approved by the voters, may not be amended or repealed by the legislature during the 3-year period after its approval unless the legislature acts by a two-thirds majority.

(8) The legislature may provide the manner in which petitions shall be circulated, filed, certified, and the ballot question shall be submitted to the voters.

(c)(1) An elected public official of the Virgin Islands may be removed from office by a recall election carried out under this subsection. The grounds for recall are any of the following: lack of fitness, incompetence, neglect of duty, or corruption.

(2) A recall election may be initiated by a two-thirds vote of the members of the legislature or by a petition under this subsection.

(3) Prior to circulation a recall petition which identifies by name and office the official being recalled and which states the grounds for recall shall be submitted to the Supervisor of Elections. The sponsors of the recall petition shall be allowed a period of 60 days after such submission for filing with the Supervisor of Elections a list of signatures equal in number to at least 50 percent of the whole number of votes cast for that office in the last general election at which that office was filled. The Supervisor of Elections shall have 15 days in which to determine whether the minimum number of valid signatures are contained in the recall petition.

(4) A special recall election shall be held with respect to an elected public official not earlier than 30 days after a vote of the legislature under paragraph (2) or a determination of the board of elections under paragraph (3), as the case may be, and not later than 60 days after such vote or determination.

(5) An official shall be removed from office upon approval of the recall in an election in which at least two-thirds of the number of persons voting for such official in the last preceding general election at which such official was elected vote in favor of recall and in which those so voting constitute a majority of all those participating in such recall election.

(6) No recall election shall be held with respect to an elected public official --

(A) during the first year of the first term of office of the official; or

(B) less than 3 months before a general election for the office.

(d) As used in this section, the term --

(1) "law" means a law of the Virgin Islands; and

(2) "voter" means a registered voter who is eligible to vote on the issue or for the office involved.

Thanks!

If you do it, hit me up...i'll sign it!

if you started an online petition and just circulated it here and on Facebook, I'm sure you would get tons of signatures.

Will work on it and let you know.
Think I will contact all sentators, first, to test the waters and see who would be amiable to the creation of such a ban/law as well as local Humane Societies on all 3 islands to get back up and support as well as thier memebrship support.. It can't hurt! Everyone i know, locally would support such a law. Enforcement of course is the issue once these laws are created.

If it is banned it will be enforced because it will be a felony. Because of manning, quite a bit of misdemeanors arent being prosecuted. The problem would be catching them in the act, similar to what we go through right now with dog fighting.