Melanie Lekocevic is reporting for Capital Region Independent Media Coeymans town officials continue to consider a proposed law that would regulate how chickens and other farm animals can be kept in the hamlet of Coeymans. The Coeymans Town Board held a public hearing on the measure, September 10. In addition to those who spoke at the hearing, six residents emailed their comments directly to board members. Under the proposed law, hamlet residents would be limited to a maximum of four hens, and roosters would be prohibited. The hens must be kept in a clean, covered enclosure or inside a fenced area at all times. The enclosure could be no closer than 25 feet to nearby occupied property. The type of enclosure for housing the animals would be regulated, and a property owner would be required to acquire a permit to build a coop, among other regulations included in the law. Free ranging, the practice of allowing chickens to roam outside of the coop, is prohibited under the proposed law. One resident argued the provision should be changed to permit supervised free ranging. Resident Sara Pruiksma owns chickens and lives in the hamlet. She said the law in general would make it difficult to keep chickens. “I think the law as it currently stands is overly specific and makes it almost impossible to have hens,” she said. Resident Barbara Heinzen, agreed, saying the problem is really about dispute resolution between neighbors that should be handled in other ways. “What you have here is a sledgehammer to crack a nut,” she said. The public hearing was adjourned but will remain open until the board's September 24 meeting. Read the full story in The Ravena News-Herald.