Oksana McGettigan pleaded with the Peachtree City Council Thursday night, asking for a city ordinance change so she could keep her hens.

She had multiple reasons for doing so, one being that fresh eggs taste far better than store-bought ones. But in the end, council declined to take action, meaning that McGettigan must find a home outside the city for her beloved birds.

McGettigan admitted that prior to being issued a citation, she had contacted the city to find out the rules for keeping chickens and she was told she couldn’t keep them at her home on Sandalin Lane in the Windalier Ridge subdivision in north central Peachtree City.

“At that point they were baby chicks and were kept in my kitchen in a box,” McGettigan said.

The city’s code enforcement department didn’t get involved until recently when the neighbor behind McGettigan’s house lodged a complaint. That neighbor, John Dietze, said he could smell the chickens while enjoying his backyard pool, and noted that he moved from a rural area to an urban area not expecting to live near livestock.

“Does Peachtree City really want to be known as the place of the chickens?” Dietze said.

Another neighbor complained to the city that sometimes the hens would be found roaming in their yard, having hopped the McGettigans’ fence.

McGettigan said she thought most of the problems were with the rooster which she has since gotten rid of.

McGettigan argued chickens provide excellent fertilizer, in addition to consuming food scraps and eating certain bugs.

“They are cleaner and quieter than dogs and lawnmowers,” McGettigan said.

Plus, raising chickens is “an excellent family activity,” McGettigan said.

In an attempt to show how much better fresh eggs taste, McGettigan placed on the council table a souffle that she had made using the home-laid eggs.

“They are the most alarmingly flavorful eggs you will ever eat,” McGettigan said. The council didn’t bite.

Generally speaking, city ordinances prohibit the keeping of livestock and farm fowl within the city limits.