How to Get Urban Chickens in Columbus, Ohio

Madmat said:

Warning! Animal Care Unlimited took advantage of my trusting nature. I went in and asked for the tests required by the CHD... They gave my birds the required fecal test and 3-$50 gonorrhea of the eye tests... And stuck me with nearly a $300 bill for 3 hens that were a total of $10. I promised myself I'd warn anyone I ever advised against going there due to this action on their part... (Tryin to remember that phrase about karma...? )

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Thanks for the warning! They said in an email to me that they want to test for chlamydia too :-/

If you got your chooks from a place like Meyers, you've got 0% chance of having chlamydia...

Yeah, they wanted to do all the tests too, but I understood we only needed a check up, so I insisted on no test. A visit to our place by the vet would have been way better! And a little cheaper.

Hi this is popschicks.what was cost of vet call and have u got permit yet. Thanks

Hey, keeping this thread alive since it's full of fantastic info. It's been a couple years since the last post.. Any easier to get chickens? I'm picking up 4-5 chicks directly from Meyer the end of this month and have been overwhelmed by the amount of work. I have two story apartments behind me and neighbors who already don't like my dog so I don't think I can go the renaged way.

The coop is already going to cost me $350-400 to build.. The thought of another $100-300 for a yearly vet check is making me rethink it! Anyone know a good cheaper vet who will do the minimums needed? I've already done a year of research and know how to take care of them..in theory.

Also for the runs floor, I was thinking kennel mats but they'd need to be duct tapes together to make it big enough. My coop design is 5x8' run and a 4x5' coop raised above the run.

Any updated advice would rock!

I just wanted to chime in on this with my experience.

I am in City of Columbus proper (43209 near Bexley), not connected with any other corporation or city limit. In 2018 we received our permit for chickens. The experience was not much different than what the original poster indicated. The process is not cheap. The permit application process is $100 and the permit is an additional $100-150, renewed every 4 years. So that is $250 going into it.

We started by emailing the office for Dr. Messer ([email protected]) and received a permit application (https://www.columbus.gov/uploadedFi...rams/Animal_Program/PERMIT_APPLICATION(2).pdf).

We submitted the application along with photos of the coop, you can also submit plans, as well as care and cleaning schedules. These were all sent via email. Once we paid the permit application fee ($100) they called to schedule an inspection by Dr. Messer. It didn't seem to be any longer than a couple-three weeks before Dr. Messer was out inspecting.

The inspection process was easy. Messer gets very detailed, so new chicken owners can get answers to all your questions. Plan for the inspection to take 20-40 minutes.

There are size limits on the coop and the run, aside from meeting the minimum per bird there is a maximum. I think, at the time, the coop was limited to either 28 or 38 sqft and the run is limited to 64 sq ft. There is proposed documentation that lists coop and run as a combined 64 sq ft but I don't know if that has been adopted or not.

It is worth noting that we technically failed our inspection, as we didn't realize that the run must have an "impervious" floor. This could be stall mats, plywood, wood, brick, concrete (anything that will prevent manure from directly contacting the ground). We remedied this by using concrete pavers and simply took pics of the install and finished results and emailed them to Dr. Messer. Since we are using deep litter in both the coop and run this was not a major issue. So, this met the requirements and got our permit approval. We received the permit a couple weeks later.

I want to also note that an additional requirement for the permit, as others have indicated, is getting your birds inspected by a veterinarian, OR, and this is an important or, getting your birds from an NPIP participating hatchery or farm, OR, and this is another important or, getting your flock into the NPIP program yourself. In our case, we purchased our birds from High Tunnel Poultry in Marion who were able to send us the NPIP form they received from the hatchery they acquire all their birds from. Since all their birds come from the same hatchery, covered under an existing NPIP, there weren't any issues in getting our birds approved and NO ADDITIONAL COSTS.

There was a great deal of stress in this chicken vet/npip process though, as it seemed the vet was our only option at first, as I didn't know anything about NPIP, and that was an entirely unexpected and very costly expense. Plus, what a giant PITA to get your birds to a vet. Mind you, there are only 2 in the entire greater Columbus area that can handle poultry. OSU as of 2018 does not do poultry. This is when I reached out to the Ohio Poultry association and was in touch with Jim ([email protected]). For $75 a year, you can get your birds participating in the NPIP, minus any vaccines or other misc. costs. They annually come out and test the birds (at least one randomly) for diseases and such. For anyone wanting to exhibit birds at the State or County fairs participating in NPIP is a requirement, so it gets two birds with one stone if you fit that desire. If you don't get your birds from an NPIP provider, who gives you the NPIP form 9-3 that is required, then getting your birds in the NPIP is cheaper than a vet inspection. I have to acknowledge that self-participation in the NPIP is not confirmed as being acceptable for Columbus Board of Health permitting, I am just assuming it would be. That could be a rather big assumption.

Dropping this here for anyone else now or in future looking to have chickens in Columbus - City Bylaws on chickens updated as of July 2019. Section 221.05 applies to the keeping of chickens and ducks.
COLUMBUS CITY HEALTH CODE TABLE OF CONTENTS ...https://www.columbus.gov › publichealth › city-health-code