$840 fine for 4 chickens in Vacaville CA

[fillmore]

That's....hilariously ludicrous. I will make sure to let my 3 hens, who are all piled up nesting together, know that they need to spread out....because apparently they need 1000sq ft each. Have they seen a chicken? Even a bigger breed like an orpington doesn't need 1000sq ft to move around. One of my daughters bedrooms is only 10ft X12ft.... Question though...so what if I have 1000sq ft per bird or yard space, but I house them in a 10ft x 10ft coop? Would I be breaking the law then?

Btw...I'm just up North from you in Sac. I will sign your petition as well.

The way i interpret it, the bigger issue, though somewhat vague, lies in part A. the special district provision requires one acre minimum to keep noncommercial poultry. i dont see anything that addresses property sites under an acre.
Quote:

an acre is 43k sf, so this provision would theoretically permit more than forty chickens on an acre property, which seems generous. i dont think the code is meant to literally apply to dedicated coop and run space, but it definitely isnt well written.
Quote:

 

[jennifermamaof2]

i signed the petition. i hope all goes will with this situation

 

[rangir]

nnn

 

[rangir]

nn

 

[4hchickmama]

The comments are rather interesting as well. A lot of fallacy or embellishment in there. Chicken poop piling up and becoming a stinky mess? Not any more or any worse than dog feces. I have 7 in my yard and have 0 issues with smell in the coop or otherwise. I hose down poop every other day and it disintegrates into the lawn. Try doing this with dog poop. Lawsuits from people who have their chickens eaten by dogs? Well if it killed my cat, bunny, guinea pig, exotic bird would that be okay? Sorry that is a dog problem not a chicken problem. Escapee chickens? Seriously? Sure there are a few breeds that are better fliers than others, but c'mon. Do they really think the city is going to become overrun with rogue chickens? Thats just silly.

 

[ChickiesInUtah]

Yeah, the whole "chicken poop piling up & it's disgusting!" thing doesn't sit well with me. My next door neighbors' back yard is full of dog feces. They never pick it up and just mow over it.

Last night I went into the coop barefoot and afterword scrubbed my feet with soap and water. Absolutely no big deal, though I understand that's not everyone's cup of tea.

 

[4hchickmama]

I'd rather step in chicken poo than dog poo any day.

 

[AmyLM]

our pain in the butt neighbor tried to do the whole 'they are smelling up the neighborhood' thing on us a few weeks back. The inspector came out and looked over our place. We told him that we don't HAVE any piles of manure. We clean our coups every other week and all the manure goes to our friends who love chicken manure for their garden. The funny thing... the inspector showed up the day after our neighbor laid out yet ANOTHER batch of fish fertilizer on his garden... stinking up the place to high heaven AND drawing in tons of flies. Who got cited?? NOT US!! he might have called in the complaint... but hes the one who got the fine

Just remember:
1. DO YOUR HOMEWORK!! Know your local city, county, state and US laws.
2. Keep paper records of EVERYTHING.
3. Keep a written record of cleaning and feeding schedules and all vaccinations or treatments.
4. Keep all the most sanitary conditions you possibly can. Yes its kind of a headache.. but having an inspector ask if you knew he was coming and hurried and cleaned before he got there.... is A LOT more satisfying than being told you have violations.
5. Keep good contact with most of your neighbors... especially those who put in writing that they want the chickens there for eggs!
6. DON'T let your chickens be a nuisance!! Don't keep roos in the city. DON'T let chickens loose where they can get into other peoples yards.
7. *big one* When you do have inspectors show up at your door... keep your cool. If they know that your are doing the right thing and keeping things in proper order you will be less likely to have a problem than if you give him/her hell and have things they can cite you for.

 

[MsLisaG]

I honestly don't think that the commenter "Jody" has actually owned chickens. If she did, it was probably as a child and she wasn't the caregiver. Unless it is allowed to build up to ridiculous excess, chicken poop doesn't stink. It disintegrates too fast to do that. The claim that it would actually be stinky enough for a neighbor to smell it means that she is a very poor chicken owner, or she's lying. Also, they don't roost in trees unless you don't have a coop. The stuff that is being spread about in her comments is quite outlandish.

 

[fillmore]

The comments are rather interesting as well. A lot of fallacy or embellishment in there. Chicken poop piling up and becoming a stinky mess? Not any more or any worse than dog feces. I have 7 in my yard and have 0 issues with smell in the coop or otherwise. I hose down poop every other day and it disintegrates into the lawn. Try doing this with dog poop. Lawsuits from people who have their chickens eaten by dogs? Well if it killed my cat, bunny, guinea pig, exotic bird would that be okay? Sorry that is a dog problem not a chicken problem. Escapee chickens? Seriously? Sure there are a few breeds that are better fliers than others, but c'mon. Do they really think the city is going to become overrun with rogue chickens? Thats just silly.

to be fair, everyone isnt like the typical member of this internet community. i just saw a news report this morning from somewhere in the midwest where one irresponsible chicken owner was pissing off the whole neighborhood....chickens lighting on fence lines, roosting in neighbors trees, getting into gardens. problem is, it only takes a few of these mental midgets to ruin it for everyone. these kinds of occurrences are what lead to zero tolerance ordinances.