Chickens banned from L.I. yard fly the coop to historic village

(CBS/AP) GREAT NECK, N.Y. - Pet chickens have their place, and apparently that place is not the yard of a family in tony Great Neck, N.Y. on Long Island, where the birds are banned under a village nuisance ordinance.

In April, the Great Neck board refused to lift a ban on the birds, but now they've found a new home - the Old Bethpage Village restoration historic site, about a half hour away.

Yes, Fluffy the Chicken, along with Cutie and other birds of a feather had to be relocated after squawking by neighbors of the Basal family. Alfred Basal tells the newspaper Newsday that the chickens are still laying eggs, and his kids visit them every week.

Basal bought the birds about a year ago and had kept them in a backyard coop. He was issued a notice of violation in February.

He appealed, claiming the chickens were educational because they produced about six eggs a day - that's not just educational, but procreational as well.

Neighbors had expressed concern about salmonella, avian influenza and noise from the birds' clucking.

And, oh yeah - they don't like the chickens, either.