Less than a mile from Oakland's busy Fruitvale District, Malmquist raises raspberries and vegetables along with her 13 hens.

"Our chickens eat all our weeds," said Malmquist, 40. "They also eat snails, slugs and other pests, weed seeds and kitchen scraps. They scratch and till my soil and produce wonderful organic fertilizer."

But those hens may get her in trouble.

A proposed city ordinance would restrict dogs, chickens and other "fowl" -- which apparently could include everything from parakeets to ostriches. If approved, each household would be limited to four dogs and two birds, although Malmquist and other owners could possibly apply for an exemption for her existing flock.

Oakland is one of the few Bay Area cities that do not limit the number of pets residents can own. Most cities -- including Alameda, Fremont, San Leandro, Berkeley and San Francisco -- limit the number of dogs per household, typically two or three with exemptions for litters of puppies under 4 months old, said Glen Howell, director of the Oakland Animal Control Department. And many Bay Area cities prohibit chickens or limit them to homes with lots larger than a half acre.

"We would support having limits -- and four dogs is a generous limit," Howell said.

Dogs are by far the biggest source of animal complaints in Oakland, Howell said, but rooster or chicken problems are also common.

Councilman Larry Reid said he had written the ordinance not to pick on people like Malmquist, who gives her neighbors fresh eggs and fertilizer for their gardens, but because of constituents who suffer the nightmares of constantly barking dogs or crowing roosters.

Michael Hoolihan and Kolleen Pardi live next door to a family that keeps 10 to 16 dogs in their backyard, according to animal control records.

Hoolihan, an airline employee and a nursing student, says he finds it nearly impossible to sleep in his home in East Oakland. When he studies, Hoolihan now wears the large ear protectors worn by ground crews at the airport.

And that's just the noise, he says: The smell of fresh dog feces can be intense.

"On a warm day, watch out,'' he said. "It's toxic."

Hoolihan has a series of complaints going back more than a year, and his neighbors face nuisance charges in Alameda County Superior Court. He insists the system isn't working.

But skeptics said the proposed ordinance may not help him much. "My experience with nuisances is that it is not the number of dogs, but one (barking) dog that is a problem," said Councilwoman Nancy Nadel, who formerly lived next to a loud dog in West Oakland that she said "drove me crazy."

With Councilwomen Jean Quan and Desley Brooks, Nadel said the proposed ordinance might need substantial revisions or exemptions to avoid penalizing responsible pet owners. The council committee will consider amendments next month.

Howell agreed that most barking complaints involved one dog. But he noted that in many cases, such as Hoolihan's, "All of the nuisances with one dog are amplified if you have more than one dog."

The ordinance would be a tool to allow authorities to crack down on the worst pet owners, Howell said.

At Tuesday's meeting of the City Council's Public Safety Committee, more than 20 people criticized the ordinance, while only Hoolihan and a woman angry at her neighbors' roosters supported it.

Critics ranged from a veterinarian who presented the council with a petition signed by 120 people to a 4-H club that raises chickens and goats to several residents who volunteer to foster and train dogs that are placed in permanent homes.

Most critics said Oakland was trying to solve a human problem -- irresponsible behavior -- by legislation to limit animals. Instead, some said the city should come up with stronger penalties for bad pet owners or use existing laws to prosecute them more aggressively.

"Ninety percent of the problems are caused by inhumane treatment of one or two dogs,'' said veterinarian Maureen Dorsey.

Malmquist said she had gotten rid of her rooster when a neighbor complained. If the ordinance forces her to get rid of her hens, the former New Yorker may move elsewhere.

"When my husband and I were ready to buy a home of our own, we chose Oakland in part because of the city's liberal policies on keeping animals,'' Malmquist said.