Making it legal to own backyard chickens in Levittown, PA

PBGSr said:

Hi oldevil:
Where are you in Levittown and how are the chickens? I'm in Blue Ridge and I was thinking about just picking a couple up anyway. I don't think my neighbors would say much as long as I didn't get a rooster.

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Jillyskill said:

I live in bristol township, pa (west bristol) I have had my chickens for a year and no authority has said anything. Now zoning is after me. I am starting a petition & would like to get as many people in Bristol township to sign & attend meetings when I start going. There are many people with chickens & other animals that aren't " ALlowed" please red my profile & join me in the win to keep our lovely lady's in our yards...The popularity of raising your chickens isn't just in the suburbs. People in the city are doing it too, but not all cities and townships allow chickens. When we moved next to one of the many abandoned houses in West Bristol I sent several emails to every Bucks County department I could & even called the Bristol Township Police Department to see what we could do about the enormous amount of bugs & over grown weeds & trees etc. I kept getting the run around saying no one could tell me who owned the abandoned home & they couldn’t do anything to help. I then did some research on my own & noticed that chickens are great for bug control, as well as weed eaters. I thought to myself wow this is great. I ran this by all of our neighbors & everyone was all aboard. I called Bristol township after many non-replied emails sent & spoke to a lady in May of 2013. I was told we were allowed to have a small back yard flock of chickens if we abide by the following: 1. Chicken coop must be 50 ft from any living dwelling 2. Chicken coop must be 12+ in from property line 3. Chicken coop must be able to provide 4 sq ft per chicken 4. Chicken coop must be properly ventilated 5. Chicken coop must be able to give chickens warmth in cold & cool in warm climate conditions 6. Chicken coop must be properly maintained & cleaned so it doesn’t attract rodents or unwelcomed animals. 7. No roosters We have had our chickens for a year now. Our neighbor next door whom in the beginning was ok with us having chickens, until they decided to argue & fight with us a few months later about anything & everything. Next thing we know animal control was called on us 2x the last 6 months for the chickens. Animal control said it was ok as long as we didn’t have roosters which we do not. We just recently found out when the same neighbor called the township Zoning/ License & Inspection after another argument he started about a barrier we had to put up because his dog & him self was getting in our yard. We are not allowed to have hens in Bristol Township. Backyard hens have always been allowed in many major US cities, including Philadelphia, New York and Los Angeles. Surrounding cities such as Bensalem, and Southampton are now catching up and allow them. Please let the residents of Bristol Township join millions of other city dwellers in North America who are allowed to provide eggs for our families by keeping a few hens in the backyard. It is important that residents of Bristol Township be allowed to keep a limited number of hens (no roosters) in their backyards. Keeping hens would enable residents to provide a nutritious, delicious, safe, and environmentally friendly eggs for their families, while at the same time teaching our children where food comes from, and what it is worth. We are not killing them as they are our pets. There is no evidence linking human illness with keeping small urban flocks. Further, I believe that if we do not make room for these urban entrepreneurs, we risk losing a set of very important food-rearing skills that will enable us to better navigate the economic, climatic and environmental instability our society will face in the coming decades. The chickens, when they are out in the yard, they eat the bugs, they eat the weeds, they eat the weed seeds. They don't need as much land as a dog or cat. We clean up after them, use their manure for ours and our neighbor’s gardens. We also eat their eggs. This is a good example of sustainable living in our community. For the sake of upholding the country lifestyle that Bucks County is known for, please allow us & other residents who already have them keep chickens. They are not noisy like dogs & some other animals that people have in our township. My Chickens have their wings clipped & stay in my back yard. We have never had an issue with them getting out & why would they, they are very well taken care of.

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cjonesy80 said:

Jillyskill, let me know how I can help.

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