Panel to Decide Flap Over Hens Next Door

They are just two red hens, but Henny and Penny have ruffled some feathers in a Thousand Oaks neighborhood.

For about a year and a half, the Larijani family has raised the hens at its Hendrix Avenue home near the Moorpark Freeway, setting up a chicken coop in the yard to care for the birds.

“They’re two little red hens, and they’re very sweet,” said Homa Larijani, who received the hens as a birthday present from his family. “They lay eggs, and once in a while we give them to friends.”

But the winged pair’s future is up in the air. Neighbors have objected to their clucking and questioned their cleanliness.

Based on neighbors’ complaints, the city already has denied the Larijanis a permit to raise the hens. The family has appealed to the Thousand Oaks Planning Commission, and will fight to save their birds Monday night.

“These fowl are certainly a nuisance,” wrote neighbor Arlene Bohanon in a letter to the city. “Their crowing and clucking are disruptive, especially in the morning, and there seems to be an increase in the number of flies in our yard.”

“Lo and behold, there is a chicken coop on the south side of our wall,” wrote neighbors Joe, Jo Ann and Julie Birg in another letter. “It can’t be more than 25 feet from our bedroom windows.”

The Larijanis hope the Planning Commission will be more understanding.

In a bid to save Henny and Penny, Homa Larijani’s daughter--18-year-old Leila--has joined the 4-H Club and enrolled in a poultry project. She thinks that might sway commissioners to let her family keep the chickens.

“They don’t hurt anybody, and they just lay eggs,” says Leila, who will graduate from Conejo Valley High School in June and wants to go to Moorpark College, renowned for its animal studies program. “I don’t know why that’s such a big deal.”

Homa Larijani thinks the neighbors are being too harsh.

In his appeal to the city, Homa Larijani writes that the “two little hens in a small protected chicken house in our backyard should not be a bother to anyone. The city’s valuable time, money and resources should not be wasted on such a trivial matter as my daughter’s 4-H project.

“I believe these neighbors . . . do not have much tolerance for anyone new in the neighborhood.”

The Planning Commission meets at 7 p.m. at City Hall, 2100 Thousand Oaks Boulevard.