The Burnsville boy whose back-yard chickens have scratched up a controversy said he'll give two of his hens to an Arden Hills girl whose flock was wiped out by a predator. Stefan Remund, 11, and his family will still have five chickens. But they may give up two more, or possibly all of them, said Stefan's mother, Jen Remund. She said more than 70 people have offered refuge for the chickens, some saying they'd let Stefan and his brother visit and even take home the eggs.

"It makes me feel good," Stefan said of all the offers. "It's a lot more comforting."

And he, in turn, hopes that the gift of two hens named Sally and Shakota will help the 7-year-old girl who lost her own chickens, Stefan said, to what her parents figured was a coyote or a dog.

The case of the seven chickens shined a light on Burnsville's pet ordinance, which specifies that a resident may only have two dogs. Council Member Dan Gustafson, who read the terse ordinance for the first time over the weekend, recused himself Tuesday from voting on the Remund chickens. He has three dogs. He's now in violation of the ordinance, too.

City staff members, who this week had recommended that the city keep its ordinance unchanged and disallow the chickens, will do more research on options for handling the pet question, which has grown into a land-use issue. The City Council said Tuesday that Stefan could keep his chickens for now.

Stefan and his brother, Wesley, 11, had been raising their chickens in a back-yard coop without problems until a neighbor complained. The best thing he learned during his fight with City Hall, Stefan said, was of the good nature of chicken owners, who came out in droves to offer support.

"You have to be pretty nice to have chickens," Stefan said.

JOY POWELL