The group DurhamHENS — Healthy Egg Neighborhood Supporters — has convinced a Durham city council committee to proceed with allowing residents to raise chickens. As a city girl, I confess I have no clue why there’s a question about what makes a “hen” a “hen” but answering that question is part of the assignment given to city planners.

County Animal Control Director Cindy Bailey urged planners to make sure any rules on coops demand robust construction. She warned chickens and their eggs could otherwise fall victim to predators like hawks, foxes and snakes.

For fowl owners, “Nothing’s worse than going out and finding a dead chicken,” she said.

Bailey added that among other things, planners will have to spend time “defining what a hen is.”

It’s your tax dollars at work.