I have been wanting to do the same thing. What we need to do is create a group to promote this. Keys are to get some players on our side such as Soil Born Farms, and other groups. We should also contact the group that was successful in the city - to see what methods were successful. After...
That also depends upon where the rental is and how large the lot is. Clearly the landlord has first say. After that it depends. If you are in a city, check city regulations, if a county check their regulations.
Unfortunately you are not allowed to have chickens in the unincorporated areas of the county of Sacramento unless you have a lot size that is larger than 10,000 square feet. If your lot size is larger - no problem.
If it is smaller, then your only hope is to work to have the code changed, or...
A while back I e-mailed my county supervisor - Susan Peters - about changing the county regulations to match the city's regulations. This was shortly after the city passed its regulation. Her response said that roosters make a lot of noise, and some people have peacocks and they also make a...