Judging by attendance at most Warrenton Board of Aldermen meetings, residents don’t have much to say about city politics. But mention chickens, and that draws a small crowd.Chickens are not allowed within the city limits. At the Oct. 18 meeting, more than seven people spoke to the board about allowing chickens within city limits.That’s about seven more people than who usually speak.Speakers talked about the benefits of having chickens — fresh eggs; teaching children about farming and animal care; and how chickens provide fertilizer for the garden and keep insects away.City officials heard their pleas. Officials are working on a bill to be considered at a future meeting.One speaker said it didn’t make sense to him that bigger towns in St. Louis County, whose ordinances were being looked at, would allow chickens and Warrenton did not.“Are you saying if you want to have chickens, move to the city?” he asked.Most of the aldermen seemed in favor of allowing chickens, but within reason. They discussed matters like banning roosters, limiting the number of hen ownership by lot size, permit requirements, fencing, lot placement and other matters.One alderman, although she voted to move forward with creating a bill to allow chickens, spoke unfavorably about adding a nuisance to an already overloaded workload for city staff.“I would love to live on a farm where I can have farm animals, but I chose to live in city limits,” said Alderman Karen Casserly, Ward 1.She said she is not speaking about the people in front of her, but other people who might not be responsible. Some residents don’t clean up their trash, their yards, and they would not take proper care of their chickens, she said.“We only have so much staff here to patrol to make sure that code and maintenance is complied with,” Casserly said. “How many more staffers are we going to need?”She said she didn’t see anyone from her ward speak and said they must have answered her on Facebook.“The people in my ward don’t want any more additional things to clean up as a city,” she said. “If we could get this town cleaned up so it doesn’t look like a trash pin every time you drive through town, I’m all game for chickens.“I don’t want to add one more thing that could be a code enforcement issue,” she said.Chickens