Boston poultry expo show in N Oxford Ma Nov 7

sararoni said:

Hi
I found this thread while looking for Boston chicken enthusiasts.
We are thinking to move to Boston from Chicago within a year.
I am trying to find out which towns near Boston I can keep chickens legally. Currently we have 17 hens and 2 roosters but I am willing to downgrade or give up the roosters if I have to.
I heard that Somerville is ok. Does anybody have more information on other towns?
Thanks a lot in advance

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How close to the city do you need to be?

Somerville does allow hens. I'm not sure of the limit but I am positive it's under 17. But that's very close to Boston. If you are able to live further out then there are more possibilities.

sararoni said:

Hi
I found this thread while looking for Boston chicken enthusiasts.
We are thinking to move to Boston from Chicago within a year.
I am trying to find out which towns near Boston I can keep chickens legally. Currently we have 17 hens and 2 roosters but I am willing to downgrade or give up the roosters if I have to.
I heard that Somerville is ok. Does anybody have more information on other towns?
Thanks a lot in advance

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Hey there, sararoni, and welcome (almost) to Boston! I believe you sent me an email a few weeks ago? Sorry we weren't able to connect by phone, but I'll reply to your email again and maybe we can catch each other this time.

In general, the closer you are to Boston (i.e. the more dense the town) the more constrictive the laws will be. You're right that many prohibit roosters, and most cap the total number of adult hens around 6 birds (a few allow more, and one or two cap it at less). Otherwise the zoning tends to focus on qualities of their housing, including distance from property lines or dwellings (can be a dealbreaker in some towns, like where the setback from a neighbor's house is 50-100'), size/space per bird, rodent-proofing measures, and use of appropriate materials.

Overall, my experience is that cities are primarily concerned with 1) avoiding having to deal with complaints (noise, smell, rodents/predators), and 2) humane care and housing of the animals. So if you keep them responsibly and with the blessings of your neighbors, you could keep them in almost any town. The risk, though, is that if someone does complain the city won't have your back, and you may be forced to either give them up or move. I'm assuming that's not a risk you'd like to take since you're already planning to move cross-country with them!

For some of the towns *immediately* surrounding Boston, here's some general info about whether it's allowed, and bird numbers:
Boston proper (includes Roxbury, Dorchester, Jamaica Plain, anywhere downtown-ish, Roslindale, Allston/Brighton, Charlestown, etc) - not currently legal except for a few commercial areas (there is a citywide zoning ordinance called Article 89 that allows chickens, but the neighborhood zoning codes are still in the process of being updated to allow the citywide code to apply in each. For anyone living in Boston who would like to help with this process, please get in touch with me - we'd love your help!)
Somerville - legal for up to 6 hens (see the ABCs of Urban Ag for details and the permithttp://www.somervillema.gov/urbanag form)
Cambridge - not legal (yet)
Arlington - legal for up to 6 hens (they have one of the most extensive, and expensive, permitting processes I've seen - check it out here)
Watertown - technically legal for up to 10 hens (and rooster(s) by special permit though I seriously doubt those permits are awarded in any but the most rural parts of the town), according to their Keeping of Animals Regulations, but they're one of the ones with a 50' setback requirement
Brookline - legal, as of a year ago they were one of the towns with a 100' setback requirement but I'm not finding that info just now
Newton - allowed, with a permit (not sure about the current limitations on number or placement of the coop, etc)

Hopefully that gets you started, and I'll reply to your email again right now too.

Gypsylion said:

Hey there, sararoni, and welcome (almost) to Boston! I believe you sent me an email a few weeks ago? Sorry we weren't able to connect by phone, but I'll reply to your email again and maybe we can catch each other this time.

In general, the closer you are to Boston (i.e. the more dense the town) the more constrictive the laws will be. You're right that many prohibit roosters, and most cap the total number of adult hens around 6 birds (a few allow more, and one or two cap it at less). Otherwise the zoning tends to focus on qualities of their housing, including distance from property lines or dwellings (can be a dealbreaker in some towns, like where the setback from a neighbor's house is 50-100'), size/space per bird, rodent-proofing measures, and use of appropriate materials.

Overall, my experience is that cities are primarily concerned with 1) avoiding having to deal with complaints (noise, smell, rodents/predators), and 2) humane care and housing of the animals. So if you keep them responsibly and with the blessings of your neighbors, you could keep them in almost any town. The risk, though, is that if someone does complain the city won't have your back, and you may be forced to either give them up or move. I'm assuming that's not a risk you'd like to take since you're already planning to move cross-country with them!

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Oh good! Glad you responded, given you are the expert on the rules close to the city. This poster also mentioned Waltham on another thread if you happen to know what the restrictions are there.

Thank you so much gypsylion and keesmom
Yes we were looking at Waltham too as it was advised to us as an affordable area with good schools.
I will keep you posted of any progress
So nice to know you both

sararoni said:

Thank you so much gypsylion and keesmom
Yes we were looking at Waltham too as it was advised to us as an affordable area with good schools.
I will keep you posted of any progress
So nice to know you both

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You too!

I don't have any direct experience with Waltham yet, but according to recent City Council dockets it appears their laws may be in the process of being changed. I'm waiting on a call back from their Animal Control Officer, so I'll post whatever I find out.

keesmom said:

Oh good! Glad you responded, given you are the expert on the rules close to the city. This poster also mentioned Waltham on another thread if you happen to know what the restrictions are there.

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Hi keesmom!! Happy winter!

Gypsylion said:

You too! 

I don't have any direct experience with Waltham yet, but according to recent City Council dockets it appears their laws may be in the process of being changed.  I'm waiting on a call back from their Animal Control Officer, so I'll post whatever I find out. 

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Thank you so much

Gypsylion said:

You too!

I don't have any direct experience with Waltham yet, but according to recent City Council dockets it appears their laws may be in the process of being changed. I'm waiting on a call back from their Animal Control Officer, so I'll post whatever I find out.

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Ok, heard back from Waltham's delightful ACO, and it sounds like the current status is that chickens are *technically* allowed with a permit, but the Board of Health aren't in the practice of awarding permits for chickens in recent years, so for all practical purposes they are NOT allowed.

They definitely are somewhere in the process of updating their chicken ordinance, so that may change by the time you're headed this way, but of course there's no guarantee what the new laws will be.

Gypsylion said:

Ok, heard back from Waltham's delightful ACO, and it sounds like the current status is that chickens are *technically* allowed with a permit, but the Board of Health aren't in the practice of awarding permits for chickens in recent years, so for all practical purposes they are NOT allowed.

They definitely are somewhere in the process of updating their chicken ordinance, so that may change by the time you're headed this way, but of course there's no guarantee what the new laws will be.

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Thanks a lot gypsylion,
I wonder if they had requests to update the chicken ordinance from chicken owners. In Illinois we have towns that are impossible while basically across the street Chicago is a heaven for chicken,bees,goat owners. I am just on the right side of the street of one of this towns
I went through article 89 and I wish that included backyard chickens. It just sounded so theoretical. How many small farms can you have in the city?

Hey NH folks!

I'm working on some "lead and salmonella in backyard chickens" studies with Tufts, and one of our vet students is interested in extending part of our study to NH residents. She needs to collect her data within the next few weeks, so if you'd like to participate please feel free to get in touch with her to schedule a time for her to come by - contact info is below. Please spread the word, too? Thank you!

(If you are in the Greater Boston area and would like to participate in the MA part of the study, you can get in touch with me at The Chickeness at gmail dot com and I'll put you on our list!)

Dear Fellow Chicken Owner:

Do you like to talk about chickens? I am a vet who is working with Tufts University on a study of chickens, looking at chicken management and lead levels in soil and eggs. I am looking for New Hampshire volunteers who would be willing to answer a questionnaire and allow me to take samples of soil, feed, and eggs. In all, it should take about an hour. Aside from your time, there is no cost to you, and the test results will be made available to you. There is certainly no obligation to participate. I plan to collect samples until early June. If you are interested or have questions, please contact me by email at "abrown5 at rvc dot ac dot uk" or phone six-oh-three twenty-nine eighty-eight twenty-two five in NH.

Andrea Brown
Plainfield, NH