Neighbor Complaint - How to keep our Turkeys? PLEASE HELP.

[Kikiriki]

One more bit I think the PDF left out: note paragraph D.!

2006 Code of Virginia § 3.1-22.29 - When agricultural operations do not constitute nuisance
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3.1-22.29. When agricultural operations do not constitute nuisance.
A. No agricultural operation or any of its appurtenances shall be or become anuisance, private or public, if such operations are conducted in accordancewith existing best management practices and comply with existing laws andregulations of the Commonwealth. The provisions of this section shall notapply whenever a nuisance results from the negligent or improper operation ofany such agricultural operation or its appurtenances.
B. For the purposes of this chapter, "agricultural operation" shall meanany operation devoted to the bona fide production of crops, or animals, orfowl, including but not limited to the production of fruits and vegetables ofall kinds; meat, dairy, and poultry products; nuts, tobacco, nursery andfloral products; and the production and harvest of products from silvicultureactivity.
C. The provisions of subsection A shall not affect or defeat the right of anyperson, firm, or corporation to recover damages for any injuries or damagessustained by them on account of any pollution of, or change in condition of,the waters of any stream or on the account of any overflow of lands of anysuch person, firm, or corporation.
D. Any and all ordinances of any unit of local government now in effect orhereafter adopted that would make the operation of any such agriculturaloperation or its appurtenances a nuisance or providing for abatement thereofas a nuisance in the circumstance set forth in this section are and shall benull and void; however, the provisions of this section shall not applywhenever a nuisance results from the negligent or improper operation of anysuch agricultural operation or any of its appurtenances.
(1981, c. 384; 1994, c. 779.)

Disclaimer: These codes may not be the most recent version. Virginia may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.

 

[rikithemonk]

You want to be careful with farming laws. They may require you to have a Farm type business license, or worse yet property insurance covering a commercial farm. Sometimes trying to get around laws can open a unforeseen can of worms. Always use caution when dealing with the government. The laws these days benefit the mega corporate farms, while really crushing the small family farmer.

Riki

 

[GobbleGobbleBaw]

Kikiriki, this is fantastic! Thank you so much! I was so upset yesterday. Now, I feel like I'll be able to at least get somewhere with all the things I found pertaining to VA and our county specifically, plus our zoning etc etc. I'm having the rest of the neighbors sign a little petition because they love our chicken and I know they would be unhappy if I had to get rid of them. We're the fun place here to go to for their kids and that one neighbor needs to just find herself a "super soccer mom elite" area where she can do her smack talking, her jealousy fits and whatever else she needs to be happy cause she certainly doesn't fit in here. No offense to anyone, but I have better things to do than talking behind neighbors backs and getting my hair and nails done LOL. I'm usually busy playing with poultry and last I checked, they didn't care about my nails or hair, although our one turkey seems to be in love with me

I will keep you guys updated. I'm sure there are others who might run into the same problem, so it doesn't hurt to have at least some ideas on what to do, even if it's a different state.

 

[HEChicken]

Well in that case your way over the limit. 2 acres makes your limit one unit and from what your saying, your around at least three units, maybe more.

The way I read the law was that it was 1 unit PER ACRE. So on 2 acres, two bird units are legal.

To the OP, if you have 1 bird unit of turkeys and 1 bird unit of chickens, according to your zoning, you should be completely legal.

 

[rikithemonk]

The way I read the law was that it was 1 unit PER ACRE. So on 2 acres, two bird units are legal.

To the OP, if you have 1 bird unit of turkeys and 1 bird unit of chickens, according to your zoning, you should be completely legal.

See, thats why I love these threads. Many eyes and many opinions always point to things we simply havent seen or thought of. I reread the listed law and stand corrected. You are correct. 1 unit per acre. So the OP can have both 10 chickens and 4 turkeys. My mistake was getting locked into my one acre example earlier in the thread.

Good catch

Riki

 

[HEChicken]

I was actually just relieved when they clarified what a bird unit was! When I was reading the law initially, I thought a bird unit was a single bird and it was another of those ill thought out laws that says you can only keep a single chicken if you have an acre or less. Now 10 per acre - that is far more reasonable!

 

[GobbleGobbleBaw]

GOOD NEWS! I'm totally fine. And a little birdie told me that the only reason he came out was because he's friends with her husband. So maybe they were just trying to scare us. But....IN THEIR FACE! LOL Sorry for the caps, I'm just so happy that we can keep them all. We are 2 Turkeys over the limit, but he really didn't even say anything about that. His email states that he will close his case as unfounded and that's the end of it. Thank you all again for your input! I will mark this as a good learning experience

 

[rikithemonk]

Anyone else thinks this sounds fishy?

Code Enforcement comes out and says the turkeys have to go, then says your fine, never mind and he is closing the case.

watch your back, could be a set up.


Did his E-Mail come from his Code enforcement E-Mail address, or is it from some yahoo or other personal E-Mail account?

 

[GobbleGobbleBaw]

I emailed him at the government assigned email address and that's where the reply came from. I had heard from another neighbor that her husband is friends with some people in zoning, so I think they just tried to scare me and simply TRIED to make me get rid of them and didn't think I'd go looking into zoning and laws and what not else.
She must have heard already that I don't need to get rid of them because she was over there yesterday, slamming doors and making a whole lot of angry noise in general *chuckle*. Maybe it was because I let my turkeys walk around and they like to just stare at her when they see her in the one area where it's a horse fence with chicken wire between and not the 6 foot privacy fence she can't see through.
I'm going to get a special permit, just to be sure she can't simply file a complaint in the future. That permit will include a specific "wildlife preservation" clause, since one of our turkeys is an eastern wild that we ended up with but I learned that people aren't suppose to have them at all. He can't go back to "the wild" because he's got issues with his feet but is fine as long as someone feeds him.

But thank you for pointing that out. There are so many tricky little things to watch out for, it is great to have people think of everything! I actually went and doublechecked, just to be sure and with much relief discovered the reply came from his .gov email address

 

[TV]

Hooray for you! I get so tired of people who worry so much about what is going on at a neighbors place and feel they must make everyone else comply with their standards. And shame on that zoning official.