'Common sense restrictions' for chickens

[CWB4905]

I've looked through a few of these many posts re chicken ordinances but couldn't find exactly what I'm looking for. In my county in Maryland we are facing pending regulation, and the county has proposed some language that many people don't like. I do think there's a chance the council will work with us, though. I'd like to put together our own proposal, kind of "common sense chicken regulations" for a county that has a few village/more urban type areas but is mostly agricultural, rural or semi-rural.

Does anyone know of a place that sounds similar with regulations that people are think are fair to both chicken keepers and neighbors who don't have/like them? A kind of a "best practices" or gold standard that most people can live with?

 

[SunHwaKwon]

Hmm. Care to share which county? That sounds a lot like mine

 

[PirateGirl]

Some general observations based on my own restrictions.

Regulations are different based on if you are in/out of town limits. (more restrictive in town)

Regulations are different based on lot size (important for sanitation and peace with neighbors, smaller lots = closer neighbors)

Regulations cover number of birds (what the land/water can support in rural areas and what neighbors can tolerate in terms of smell/noise in more populated areas), whether or not you can have a rooster, placement of coop in relation to home structures as well as property lines, waste removal/composting (another whole set of regulations, but related so I'm mentioning it), my town also specifies no "free range" in town limits, so no chickens in the streets or your neighbors yard etc., but if you live somewhere more rural this isn't an issue

At least in town limits they also require a license. They will grant anyone a license, but essentially you are putting yourself on record and animal control knows you have chickens and may pay you a visit to make sure all looks sanitary and they have a good/safe coop etc. I don't feel violated, I feel this encourages people to take good care of their birds and respect their neighbors.

I feel the restrictions and things they cover are reasonable for both chicken owners as well as neighbors. It allows for owning of chickens, but is asking that owners be responsible and good animal owners and if there are violations neighbors can complain and there could be action taken. By having regulations, people play nice.

 

[CWB4905]

Hmm. Care to share which county? That sounds a lot like mine

Hmm, I see you are from the Eastern Shore. Maybe the same! Talbot.

 

[CWB4905]

Thanks Pirate Girl. I think these are all good points ... Perhaps one of the tricky things about our area is that we do have some urban areas but the majority of the county (geographically) is very agricultural and rural. I'm honestly not sure what the breakdown is population wise but I'll now look into that. What the county is proposing seems more directed at those in town which has those of us in the rural areas fired up. If we can make a distinction between town and not-town, where different restrictions are imposed, perhaps that will make a difference. Right now the proposal is county-wide.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

I'm down in Wicomico county, so very similarly what makes sense in Salisbury wouldn't (shouldn't) really apply to the rest of the county unless you are in the "residential" part of one of the villages or a development in which case "no roosters" and a limit on flock size would make sense. I know a lot of people are upset about such limitations because they consider themselves to live in the country since they aren't flanked by businesses and highways, but you do have to be a bit more strict about noise and manure management when it comes to smaller lots and closer neighbors. I personally hate coop size maximums and think the focus should be on minimums as long as the coop is "decent" looking, though I know that is subjective.

 

[bruceha2000]

Most towns with "village" and "rural" areas have separate zoning regs for each. Min number of acres, lot size, etc. Work with the people who want to make these regs, tie them to the zoning maps so the true rural people aren't stuck with regulations that make no sense. 1/4 acre lots = 5 hens, no roosters. That would be silly on 10 acre lot, even more silly on larger parcels.

 

[PirateGirl]

Yes, I agree, if you can differentiate town vs no town, or regulate by lot size (town lots are smaller than rural lots) it will help.

 

[Stephen Brinson]

"common sense" regulations always means restricting the freedoms of some group of individuals. It tends to lead to registration, as pirategirl, mentions. While it may seem reasonable to have regulations that boiler plate "control" behavior what is really happening is freedom is being limited. A person should not move into an area and disturb their neighbors. But should be allowed to keep as many birds as they can manage without impacting the neighbors. On the flip side, a neighborhood should not be allowed to move into an area and then control a current owners flock. What happens when these regulations are in place that are "common sense" and then the property next door is sold to a developer. You then all of a sudden become urban and can no longer operate as you were. Fight to have what ever regulations are put into place apply to all animals not just poultry. If you can not have free range chickens, then there should be no free range cats If you can not have a rooster because they crow, then you should not be allowed to have a dog that barks. Just my two cents.

Good luck!

 

[bruceha2000]

If you can not have free range chickens, then there should be no free range cats If you can not have a rooster because they crow, then you should not be allowed to have a dog that barks. Just my two cents.

Sounds good to me. I have 3 neighbors I can see. The guy across the road is about 100 yards. He has a dog that barks so infrequently my daughter didn't even know he had a dog for a year. The people 450' to the WSW have a dog that barks a lot. The people 450' to the NNW have 2 alpacas (which do fight occasionally, so do my 2), 3 horses, a bunch of chickens and a rooster or two. I'd rather listen to the roosters crowing occasionally than the other neighbor's dog barking frequently.

The guy across the road also has a "free range cat". He visits most every day though I rarely see him, just see the prints in the snow. He never bothers my free range chickens.