No chickens allowed....

They have weird ideas of how many rules they set for us don't they? There are sometimes exceptions made for A COUPLE OF CHICKENS AS YOUR PETS! Now this gets better, if you find out that is the case....you can ask a neighbor if you can take care of their "pets" too. Before you know it, you might have your own little co-op that is neighbor approved too with a concealed enclosure to house them, very important. The area where they might have some grassy area to walk in also should be concealed behind a fence in your backyard. The only drawback is you might have to share eggs but it would allow you to get around the no chicken ordinance if you are allowed to have a couple as pets. It would all depend on your neighbors though if you wanted more than that. Roosters would not make the cut in this circumstance...best of luck to you. I don't like anyone telling me what I can and can't do on my personal property. I think any residential area with a safely enclosed back yard should be able to have a little chicken coop if it is maintained....honestly with all the barking dogs in towns! Yes I love my dogs but boy do I not sleep when a dog barks all night. When I stayed with a sister once in her town...the dogs just howled at night..her dog was silent? What possible harm are chickens anyway? I just don't see it... Parrots...yes we had a Cockatoo and she was far noisier than any chicken. Of all the pets the cities allow...they are being pretty picky to not allow a few chickens.

2

__________________
Thank you kindly,

Romy "Island Girl"
[URL="http://www.romysrealm.blogspot.com"]

Yeah someone above commmented that these rules are "wrong" or "bad" but people have to remember that they exist because the vast majority of people are in favor of them, and you agree to them when you buy your property there. Most people (actually I would say the vast, vast majority) are far more concerned with their property values depreciating because of neighbors doing things that look "low class", which is essentially why these rules exist, than the issues being discussed here. The wonderful thing about democracy is you can change the rules if your fellow citizens feel as you do. If not, well again, that's democracy.

I live i n a city where chickens are not allowed, so I got quail instead. The eggs are great! In NY, the DEC issues permits to allow folks to keep quail. The state laws trump the city's law. My neighbors have all traipsed through the yard at some point to get a good look at the quail. My quail live in hutches in the back yard where all of my neighbors can see them. Of course, the neighbors can't quite "see" the chickens that I have, too! My quail are a good cover for the chickens. Most city folks can't tell a bag of gambird crumbles from layer pellets, so they don't think twice when we come home with a big bag of feed!



I do have a backup plan. In the event that the chickens are evicted by the city government, I have a friend with a farm who is willing to keep them for me.

__________________
~TheMartianChick~

My latest novels:
Bystander: A Tale of the End of the World as SHE Knew It!

Christmas in Bystander & Other Village Tales

Coming Soon: A Slice of Heaven

5 birds for home use is not farming..
we have a right to farm act as well but it means nothing when you are talking pets or hobbies.

__________________
Deja Moo; The feeling I've heard this bull before.

don't mention your garden to them..period..if they complain make them prove it is a problem..

__________________
Brenda Groth
http://restfultrailsfoodforestgarden.blogspot.com/

It maybe just a Siloam Springs city law then. All I know is that when Atwoods feed and farms store went in the first year they tried selling chicks and about a week later they posted a sign saying that a city ordinance will not let them sell chicks. When I asked the manager about ordering me a couple of dozen chicks, he said he wasn't even allowed to place large orders for individuals. He said at that time that the local Chicken plants, which have headquarters located in Siloam Springs, had a big influence on the decision since they bring in a lot of money for the local economy. And they do! They are very paranoid of yard flocks bringing diseases and parasites into their highly sophisticated buildings. All the workers have to take showers when entering the buildings and leaving the buildings. And none of them can have chickens at home or live next to a person who has chickens. They actually send out a inspector to make sure their are no chickens surrounding your property.

__________________
r.h. in oklahoma

Raised a country boy, and will die a country boy.

omg, I love it!!

"why no officer, you did NOT just hear my trash can cluck..."

__________________
I am the daughter of Earth and Water,
And the nursling of the Sky;
I pass through the pores of the ocean and shores;
I change, but I cannot die.
The Cloud
Percy Bysshe Shelley

Thank you for posting this I need to look into it!

__________________
" Not all who wander are lost" J.R. Tolkin

The quail eggs are pretty, too.

http://www.thatquailplace.com/quail/coturn1.htm

__________________
Alice
* * *
"No great thing is created suddenly." ~Epictitus

My husband and I like that purepoultry coop. Surely, you'd think people wouldn't make a ruckus over a max of 3 chickens, would you? Our neighbors, what we have met o them, are pretty nice folks. Guess we'll have to wait and see.

__________________
A closed mouth gathers no foot.

I have also read that chickens are legal in New York City...

__________________
~TheMartianChick~

My latest novels:
Bystander: A Tale of the End of the World as SHE Knew It!

Christmas in Bystander & Other Village Tales

Coming Soon: A Slice of Heaven

Hopefully you didn't tell them your name or where you plan to live!!!!!

I'd be more apt to go ahead and get hens (don't have any roosters!) and have them in a coop that looks like a shed or child's play house. Keep the area clean and free of smells and flies.

And IF you ever get caught you can plead "Oh, I didn't KNOW there was such a law or ordinance." OR you can try to fight them by telling them "Oh, these aren't livestock, these are my PETS." (You would have to verify if the ordinance says "livestock" or if it actually says "chickens".

If you can keep them out of sight (as much as possible) - put up a fence or plant evergreens and be friendly to your neighbors - and hopefully you won't have a neighbor that is "mean" and turns you in - you should be able to keep chickens. Eventually you MAY get caught, or maybe you never will.

And what are they going to do to you even if they do catch you? Chances are, you will just have to get rid of them (if the "They are my pets" doesn't work, and in the meantime, you can be gathering fresh eggs!

__________________
Michael W. Smith in North-West Pennsylvania

"Everything happens for a reason."

Ok, talked to the zoning guy today and he cited the actual bylaw:

2412 Animals. Horses and other animals, including pigs, poultry, and other farm animals, used
for non-commercial or non-agricultural purposes, may be kept within Districts B, C, or D,
provided such animals are stabled at least twenty five feet (25’) from all property lines. Keeping
of such animals in District A is prohibited.

I said, "Ok, but what if I have two hens and they are my pets?" He got real quiet then chuckled, "Pets? Ok, well if they are your pets and your neighbors don't complain, that's another thing. I'm not going to come looking for you but if your neighbors complain I have to enforce."

So there's the answer. Guess we'll be proud pet owners of 2 hens for a spell and see how that works out!

__________________
A closed mouth gathers no foot.

I looked into chickens and was told by the lady that NO it did not say that I could not have chickens BUT that the code was written to tel you what you COULD DO and not what you COULD NOT DO.. and sinse the code did no say I could have chickens, that I could not have them? huh???

__________________
Any government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take everything you got.

It's funny that they are allowed in New York City but not here in the suburbs. It's really not that fair. Mabey I will get some quail instead but I just checked Murry McMurrys Catalog and you have to order 35. I don't think that would work lol. I'll need to find a place for a smaller order then.

__________________
" Not all who wander are lost" J.R. Tolkin

See - not ALL code enforcement officers don't have a heart!!!!!! And my guess is, most officers would look the other way (even if they just happened to be driving past your house and saw chickens out in the yard) - well, unless they are the kind that "goes by the rules" with no exception.

So, sounds like things are okay. Now, the thing to do is to make sure your couple chickens don't give the neighbors anything to complain about. Keep their coop neat in appearance, keep smells and flies down, and you might even want to offer your neighbor's some free eggs every now and then as hush money!!!!

__________________
Michael W. Smith in North-West Pennsylvania

"Everything happens for a reason."

I don't know about ALL chickens but ours make quite a ruckus when an egg is laid, or a hawk flies over or the dogs startle them...and that ruckus can go on and on.

Good luck, chickens are great 'pets'.

__________________
"At The Worlds Beginning There Was A Mother"
~ Chinese Tao Te Ching~

I would strongly suggest people check the zoning, regulations and laws anywhere they intend to move. Look at what the neighbors are doing. Is this a place you'll fit into. I watched my brother do the opposite for years, fighting town after town. Waste of time and energy. I picked where we live in part because there is no zoning. Then once you are there, make sure they don't implement things to restrict you and take away your rights. That is also key.

__________________
SugarMtnFarm.com -- Pastured Pigs, Poultry, Sheep, Dogs and Kids

Are there quiet chicken breeds like there are quiet duck breeds?

I'd love to see pictures of the house!