Corrected 3/1/11: One Salem chicken owner was misidentified in the printed version of this story. Jennifer Deegan's first name has been corrected in the online version.

Salem's backyard chickens have gotten a reprieve of sorts from the chopping block. At its meeting Monday night, the city council moved to delay the previously scheduled revision of an ordinance that would restrict poultry from being kept in residential areas.

It was a decision that pleased those who attended the meeting in support of private poultry, about two dozen of whom wore handwritten stickers that read, "I'm for chickens in Salem."

Mayor Randy Foley announced the decision at the beginning of the session and the council approved the motion.

It remains unclear when the matter will return to the agenda. The council rejected a plan to extend it for 60 days and opted instead to put no timetable on it. According to City Manager Kevin Boggess, Salem may consider the matter as it makes revisions to its comprehensive plan.

One of the most vocal advocates of backyard chickens, Carrie Cox, lives two blocks from City Hall and keeps six hens in her back yard. When the birds first came under fire in 2008, she posted an online petition for her cause, which gradually drew about 200 signatures. During the past two days, it has pulled in about 100 more supporters, although it has been signed by some who live outside the city limits.

At least three hand-drawn signs opposing the chicken restriction appeared Monday morning in yards on or near Carrollton Avenue.

Jennifer Deegan of Mount Vernon Avenue said Monday afternoon that she posted one of the signs in her yard. She said that she has been keeping Barred Rock hens since 2002 with no complaints, but the issue persuaded her to "out" herself as a residential chicken owner and face losing the birds.

"We got them as just kind of a science project for my two youngest boys, but we liked them so well we've kept them," Deegan said. "My neighbors like them."

The council had planned to amend Chapter 14 of the city code, which currently allows fowl in residential districts, but which has long conflicted with a zoning ordinance that relegates chickens to agricultural areas only. The city has received complaints regarding three people who keep chickens in various parts of Salem.

During work sessions in November and January, council members were unanimously resigned to disallowing fowl. But as the decision loomed closer and word of the issue spread over the weekend, the council and city staff received public feedback that prompted them to seek more time and more public input before making a decision.