We live in the city of St Charles, IL where we have a few chickens as pets in our yard. ONE guy who lives 4 blocks away has been gossipping about his belief that its illegal to keep poultry, performing his gossip loudly in front of our house to other residents as we all gather across the street to pick up our little kids from the public school. Our chickens in our fenced yard can clearly be seen from the school. He must have spent HOURS searching the city code for this new code directed at new construction, which specifically states "Agriculture is permitted only on lots of ten(10) acres or more, and the following standards shall be met: 1. No livestock or poultry shall be kept. 2. No retail sales of agricultural products shall be conducted on the premises. 3. Agricultural uses are distinct from private horse stables."
Since we are not conducting any agricultural use of our property, on our lot which is less than 10 acres and we do not produce or sell any agricultural product, that code does not apply to us. (We have been in compliance with the code about animals in existing residential lots for 2 years) If he REALLY believes chickens are the same thing as agricultural poultry, I'd invite him to watch our girls dustbathe & eat my daffodils, producing nothing more than the emptiness in my pocketbook. I don't think the IRS can tax the happiness they produce, which is probably worth more than eggs and pretty feathers anyhow. Is there a legal definition for poultry, livestock, or backyard chickens as pets? I could use a legal definition of the difference. Our fancy, funny little birds were definitely not bred for production of anything more than laughs and oggles.
The code enforcement officer allowed our chickens 2 years ago, based on the wording in the city code which never states chickens are not allowed, but it doesn't have many details about keeping chickens either, except for prohibiting the use of baby chicks as prizes or barter, or for coloring them unnaturally. When we invited him onto our property to see what we wanted to do, he met our pet chickens and gave his verbal approval, and he helped us find the right permits to build the shed and fence we keep the chickens in. He did say, he was aware St. Charles has had a long history of backyard chickens, hence the wording "...unlawful to sell barter or give away any chick or fowl that has been dyed an unnatural color...", and many old coops can be seen in many old yards.
I copied our City Code regarding animals in residential lots in BYC's L.O.R.E. section. The part that allows chickens reads "...except for birds and fish...".
Since we are not conducting any agricultural use of our property, on our lot which is less than 10 acres and we do not produce or sell any agricultural product, that code does not apply to us. (We have been in compliance with the code about animals in existing residential lots for 2 years) If he REALLY believes chickens are the same thing as agricultural poultry, I'd invite him to watch our girls dustbathe & eat my daffodils, producing nothing more than the emptiness in my pocketbook. I don't think the IRS can tax the happiness they produce, which is probably worth more than eggs and pretty feathers anyhow. Is there a legal definition for poultry, livestock, or backyard chickens as pets? I could use a legal definition of the difference. Our fancy, funny little birds were definitely not bred for production of anything more than laughs and oggles.
The code enforcement officer allowed our chickens 2 years ago, based on the wording in the city code which never states chickens are not allowed, but it doesn't have many details about keeping chickens either, except for prohibiting the use of baby chicks as prizes or barter, or for coloring them unnaturally. When we invited him onto our property to see what we wanted to do, he met our pet chickens and gave his verbal approval, and he helped us find the right permits to build the shed and fence we keep the chickens in. He did say, he was aware St. Charles has had a long history of backyard chickens, hence the wording "...unlawful to sell barter or give away any chick or fowl that has been dyed an unnatural color...", and many old coops can be seen in many old yards.
I copied our City Code regarding animals in residential lots in BYC's L.O.R.E. section. The part that allows chickens reads "...except for birds and fish...".
