LOVELL (WNE) — The chickens will not be coming to roost in Lovell any time soon with the defeat of an ordinance that would have allowed the barnyard birds to be kept within town limits. 

The council tabled the ordinance on second reading in May after passing it on first reading in April, when a large number of citizens weighed in on the topic, both pro and con. It was also discussed during a May 25 forum hosted by the Lovell Police Department.

But the end came quietly and quickly on June 8, with only a handful of citizens in attendance.

After considering 10 other ordinances on the agenda, the council took up Ordinance 1001 — Allowance of Chickens. After removing the ordinance from the table, town attorney Sandra Kitchen read the title and Councilman Dan Anderson made a motion to approve the ordinance on second reading.

Mayor pro-tem Carol Miller, running the meeting in place of the absent mayor Tom Newman, called for a second. Hearing none from council members Bob Mangus or Ray Messamer, Miller quickly declared that the ordinance had died for lack of a second.

With no second to the motion, there was no further public input taken.

The defeat of the ordinance ends several months of research by the town staff and consideration by the council after the ordinance was requested by a citizen last year as a way to help families during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The City of Powell allows residents to keep up to four chickens in town, but maintains a ban on roosters.