No chickens allowed....
 

:( The county clerk's office and zoning guy told me that the new place we're moving into is not zoned for chickens. Boo :( I was hoping to at least have a few chickens to produce a modest amount of eggs. Kinda down about that but I'm pretty sure you can have a garden no matter how you're zoned...

I don't think I would have known to ask...

This might have been one time where it was better to beg forgiveness rather than ask permission.

Is it in city limits?

Sorry to hear that. Can you move somewhere else?

I agree. Most people would not even know you had them if you didn't keep any roosters.

better to do you own research into the matter then rely on those sources.

they very well may be mistaken,parroting a incorrect answer,not really know and instead of finding out for sure going with the safe answer, which may be where the parrot comment originally came from, or wrongly interpreting the law.

whom ever you asked contact them and ask for the specific citation that backs up the answer given.

here we have "the right to farm act" its a state law and as such the supremacy clause comes into play, meaning state law is precedent and super cedes local ordinance.

If you ask, they'll pretty much always tell you no - but often they don't know. All to often, the codes and zoning book is not only longer then the Constitution but actually thicker then the Bible. You'll just have to dig through it yourself.

Don't assume! If you're moving into a suburban type area.... Charlotte county Fl has a code that says more then 10% of your yard may not have vegetative growth (including trees) more then 4 inches high. If you have professional landscaping done they generally don't enforce but a veggie garden - if they can see into your yard from any angle, including from standing in a neighbor's yard - you'll get cited.

My free advice; If you haven't closed yet, put off the closing for a day so you can look up the codes and spend the whole day reading them. Decide if you can live with it and if not back out of the sale. Some places have insane restrictions and they're not always HOAs. One place I let the tag lapse on my one and only car - parked in my driveway - because I couldn't get the starter fixed till the end of the month and wanted to save the month's worth of insurance money. I got cited for "storing derelict vehicles" because the tag was expired for 2 weeks and the tiny date sticker could be seen from the road.

Do your homework - don't learn the hard way.

I'm often wondering if these law mention any thing about other "birds?" Guinea's and Peacocks come to mind.... I know it's throwing fuel on a fire but the stubbornness in me has to think about it...

"What no (chicken) hens? Well I guess these "pretty" birds will have to lay my eggs then!"

If you love the place, look at it this way....chicken feed has really gone up in price around here...I downsized, have 3 hens left, and don't plan on any more..I buy my eggs off a friend who has 100 hens...or did buy them, right now no one is getting any eggs, so she is losing money....I have to worry at times about stray dogs getting my hens, just lost several chickens last month to a stray dog....Veggies will give and give...plant lots of squash and tomatoes, you will have a smile every day....bloom where you are planted....but be sure you love the place you are buying......

Yes, our town just passed an ordinance allowing a limited number of chickens (no roosters) in town but a number of people have had them for years and most others were none the wiser, no one complained, etc.

We closed on the place a couple of months ago but haven't moved yet. Our lot is fairly small.. .21 and we have houses behind us and on both sides. We plan on fencing in.. but all the houses are 2 story so it's not like I could really hide the view into my backyard. I'm not for going against the law so I would rather find out what the ordinances/laws are rather than be slapped with a fine and acting like I didn't know. We live in town, so I figured it might be strict (limited to X amount of hens and then have to be so many feet from property lines etc.. similar in-town regulations applied in Texas. We live in MA now.)

There are enough folks around that advertise sale of fresh eggs so maybe I'll check out their flocks and buy fresh. Ugh. I'll be extremely aggravated if a modest garden is not allowed. Think that will be my next call...

And yes.. we LOVE this house. Everyone thought we were crazy to buy it.. she's 140 years old and needed nearly a complete overhaul, but I've been renovating my tail off and enjoying the process of learning how to do so! The first time I saw her I could see the fresh paint over the antique wainscoting and could hear the sounds of my children's laughter echoing through the grande place. I was sold. For 45k.. we will most definitely BLOOM WHERE WE ARE PLANTED! That's my new favorite saying!

I got rid of all my chickens last summer cause of the racoons raiding the hen house all the time. So I've been buying my eggs from a lady down the road and she was telling me that Cobb, a local chicken plant industry, has offered to give her up to 15 dozen free flats of eggs per month if she'll quit raising chickens. She turned down the offer "I wouldn't eat those tastless eggs if they was the last thing on earth to eat" was her reply.

15 minutes away right across the Oklahoma/Arkansas state line inside Arkansas, the local feed and farm stores can't even sell chicks due to some law that the Chicken plants nearby got passed. The Chicken plants are probably the leading industries out this way. Without them, there would be a lot of people hurting for jobs, including farmers.

Have to call back tomorrow for an answer on gardening but the secretary seemed to think that was a dumb question lol and that it was permitted.

Hey, if you're in love, I'm happy for you! :D

If you really, really would love fresh eggs you could consider a few Coturnix quail. They start laying between 6 and 8 weeks and lay a proportionately huge egg for their size (about 8 ounces). They are kept in cages or hutches as they have NO survival instinct and are a little louder then a budgie, but not as loud as a cockatiel. My DD looooves quail eggs.

I guess I don't understand what kind of threat a small operation like that has for a big company like that :hrm:

Also.. it really stinks about the chickent plants and jobs.. catch 22.

Check the written law/code, don't go by what someone told you verbally.

That applies to both the garden and the chickens.

Kinda funny right now in my county. My chickens are legal, my garden probably is not. Nor is my pasture. In fact, any woods or meadows are now illegal in my county.

Never had any but I will definitely keep that open as an option!

Well now, do you have a basement or inside room with space for a tiered cage set up?? You can have quail(eggs and meat) and they will never set beak outside and are quiet(no crowing) so NO-ONE will ever know they are there unless you/or your children say they are. Just buy your feed on out of town trips and put your used bedding in the garden at night(you can dig the hole in daylight LOL!).

BTW, all those big chicken places are getting these new regs in on the populace's fear of disease transmission that the big guys SAY can pass from home flocks to their jam crammed egg/broiler houses. I don't think the numbers support their assertions..but put enough fear in the masses and they will pass anything..to feel safer. Look at that monstrosity of a food bill....... sorry for the hijack; stepping off soapbox now.:soap:

Read those regs maybe you can have Ducks?

Well, after watching the documentary "Fowl Play" I was done with the big industries. No thanks.

We DO have a basement.. I can seriously do that?? I guess I figured that would be mean to have them cooped up (pun.. accidental) all the time without being able to hang out in the sun. That's an interesting concept. I need to taste quail (both eggs and meat) though to see if it's a good fit for us. Hate to turn myself into a hypocrite here.. as I previously stated I didn't want to go against the law.. but if my chances are next to nill as to getting myself into trouble (via a possible basement solution) then I figure I could bend the rules for my family..... Too bad 3-4 chickens couldn't hang out in the yard during the day and scurry back into the basement at night.....

Most cities and bigger towns have had rules against 'livestock' for years. There has been a movement in just the past couple years towards cities allowing a small number of chickens and no roosters. Our small town recently had a big flap (had to go there) about chickens. They said you can have up to 3 hens if you are zoned 'suburban residential'. It was a while later the newspaper found out that there is NO land zoned 'suburban residential' in our town! Pretty slick piece of legislation.

sometimes you can find the property codes online so you can search for the answer yourself rather than rely on a gov employee.

Don't give up!

Many cities now have changed their laws to reflect the changing view on poultry in the united states. Many smaller burgs still hold the mistaken view that having chickens = poor and messy people. Not sure why but there it is.

Go to BackYardChickens site http://www.backyardchickens.com/. They have good info in their forums on how others have changed city ordinances. Even Boston allows chickens now!

Most of the time citizens can, with enough patience, get laws changed for a few chickens and no roosters in backyards.

And for those who think getting around it by having some other form of foul, most cities have that covered by being so all inclusive it even includes pigeons!

If anyone asks, them them they're strange looking parrots, and that you trained one to crow like a rooster.

Maybe you could get a few bantam cochin hens for "pets". And hey, there is always this:

http://www.purelypoultry.com/hen-con...oop-p-678.html

sorry, i havent mastered posting pics but it is a hen "condo" that looks like a trashcan..

They can sell chicks, just has to be a minimum amount so alot choose not to. I was told by Tractor Supply that it was a county ordinance in Benton County passed to discourage people getting 1 chick/duckling for easter and then dropping them at shelters when they are done with them. Just south in Washington county there are no restrictions that I am aware of..

We are so different. I wouldn't even ask about those things, just do them.
It seems like so many zoning laws are right down evil. No chickens? no rabbits? no clotheslines? no gardens? Those are just laws that are wrong.

I agree with checking the code out yourself. Many cities have them posted on their websites so you can search them. I check mine first and then verify with a person. Some things may be technically legal like beekeeping is here, but that doesn't mean the health department will allow you to operate one. Mine promised to shut me down as a nuisance if I tried. It's not worth spending money and time for something you will lose so it's worth double checking.

But there's plenty of other things you can do besides chickens. Most cities are more friendly towards bees. Rabbits aren't generally considered livestock, but still check as my city does limit the number of outdoor rabbits!

It is getting bad, isn't it?

Everytime I think I really don't want to make this place our last place, I realize, so far and to my knowledge, there are no restrictions. From the stories I read on here, that's a very big plus.

The little town where our home, other home, is, restricts homes to 5 animals. I'm not sure if that includes chickens, but I do hear roosters crow a few streets over.

Just me, but I'd rather someone had a lot of chickens than my neighbors one little barking dog. If I go into my yard or to work in my storage building, that dog barks the entire time - hours at a time - and it sounds like glass breaking.

We were gone from our home for about 9 months and new neighbors moved in next door while we were gone. They had 3 dogs that barked non stop for about 2/3 weeks. Finally, I guess they realized we belonged there. I do always wonder if people can hear their dogs barking and why they allow it to continue.

I think I would have to move elsewhere. We looked at a spot 2 counties over that would be considered "in the country". I was shocked to learn they didn't allow chickens and this huge county we live in now does. Not sure the line of thinking there but we didn't look any further.

Dadgum, this thread is just down right depressin. :sob:

Apparently Ft Worth allows 12 chickens in a coop that is at least 50 feet from all houses, though I can't find actual official citation on that. Might have to talk to the wife about this...

What kind of law did the chicken plants get passed ?

Is it too late for you to back out of the deal and look elsewhere?

Zoning laws are why I purchased this property for $3,000 more per acre than the parcel I really wanted 12 miles south of here. Although both parcels are outside city limits, the parcel south is within the city residential zoning and police jurisdiction and outside livestock other than cats or dogs is prohibitted and the number of allowable dogs and cats is restricted also.

Checking zoning regs , use restrictions and applicable association covenants is just as important as performing a title search.

The very small town (350) where I reside had an ordinance against having livestock and poultry in the city limits plus some rules about smells and looks. I was blessed to be city clerk when the council was getting rid of antiquated laws that were on the books. I suggested we remove that ordinance as folks all over town had poultry, cows, horses, and even a pig or two and it was unenforceable. So they took it off the books. I and a lot of other people here in town have our chickens and cows and goats and horses all nice and legal.

Here in my part of the world all livestock is illegal. I am contamplating hiding a few hens, how noisy can they be?

On a related note, here in FL they passed a law that you CAN have a clothesline, as long as its in the backyard. Even pesky HOA's can't overrule on this, because it's 'green'.

Our property in SC is currently 'un-zoned', which gives us free reign on critters. It's also easy to get the zoning changed to agricultural, which I plan to do so I'll be grandfathered in once the folks who are 'looking out for my best interests' take over.

We moved here from Temple, TX.. ordinance was pretty much the same there.

A sister and BIL live on one of those gated communities in FL. They own the land under the slab and driveway and one foot around it. Community owns the rest. Pretty well dictates what you can and can't do. Frankly they love it.

They sell a small coop disguised to look like a trash receptacle at henspa.com

http://www.henspa.com/hencondo.htm

Thanks! I do have a old chickencoop that I would use in the backyard. Mabey in the spring I will do it. Im just concerned that the neighbors would hear or smell them, of course I would keep them really clean though.