Hey, I used to buy my poultry feed in Leicester! Is there still a feedstore/Agway there?
duprasi,
In Massachusetts, the municipal Animal Control Officer is in charge of keeping what's called a barn book - a census of all livestock and poultry kept in the city/town. He or she is required by the state to make an annual visit to every location where livestock/poultry is kept, inspect the facilities, take a head count, and report the information to the state dept. of agricultural resources, which in turn makes the information available to the USDA. So, the Animal Control Officer should know whether chickens are allowed or not, since he/she is responsible for the barn book.
However, if you want to make sure, then check with the City Clerk for ordinances on livestock and poultry. You can also ask at the health/sanitation department and even the zoning board. Any ordinances will be in the city code book.
If Worcester doesn't allow chickens, then you could move to Leicester or Spencer where there are lots of chickens, horses, etc. Or come east here to Salem, where we don't have any livestock-poultry ordinances and you can have anything as long as you keep it clean and the neighbors don't complain about noise.
