Can someone help me understand this?? I live in Southaven, MS.

[Kusanar]

I agree, it looks like if you aren't zoned Ag you can have chickens provided that they are never within 250 feet of any houses including your own. Based on the noise part you posted you shouldn't try to have roosters and COULD have issues with hens if you get particularly chatty ones or your neighbors are noise sensitive since it doesn't have a specific noise level, just to disturb the comfort of people in the vicinity.

 

[Kusanar]

OK, if you don't live more than 250 feet from neighbors, you totally are not allowed to have them. The legality of brooding them in your house right now is pretty iffy as well.

You would actually have to have over 500 feet between you and at least 1 neighbor to get them 250 feet from your house and 250 feet from their house.

 

[Meggi3mous3]

My neighbors are pretty nice. We are all hardly ever home. And according to the ordinance, I guess I'm not allowed to have chickens. Maybe I could turn one of my sheds into a chicken house. I've only got 4, but will probably have to re-home my rooster

 

[NatJ]

I agree with Kusanar, that what you've posted forbids you to have chickens on your property.

If they stay indoors as house pets, I don't think anyone will care.

Whether you will actually get in trouble if you try keeping them--depends on whether anyone complains. Also depends on whether your city sends people around looking for code violations. Some places do that, some others do not bother.

Also, just to check the obvious: you are within the city limits, and your property zoning is not agrucultural, right? Because either of those changes what is "allowed" in your situation.

And, if you haven't already measured, it could be worth measuring your property just in case it is larger than you realized. I notice the distances all have to do with distances from houses location, not distances from property lines.

 

[Meggi3mous3]

I agree with Kusanar, that what you've posted forbids you to have chickens on your property.

If they stay indoors as house pets, I don't think anyone will care.

Whether you will actually get in trouble if you try keeping them--depends on whether anyone complains. Also depends on whether your city sends people around looking for code violations. Some places do that, some others do not bother.

Also, just to check the obvious: you are within the city limits, and your property zoning is not agrucultural, right? Because either of those changes what is "allowed" in your situation.

And, if you haven't already measured, it could be worth measuring your property just in case it is larger than you realized. I notice the distances all have to do with distances from houses location, not distances from property lines.

As much as I would like to find the bright side of this, I live in a pretty close, quite neighborhood. I think the only way I would really get in trouble is if they had "Code Police" come around looking for violations. My neighbors know I have chickens. The one said as long as I don't have a rooster that crows at 3AM, then she doesn't care . I think what I'm going to do it turn on of my 2 sheds into a chicken house. That way the stay contained and will maybe help with noise (if any) and protection from strays

This is from my back window.

 

[Sonya9]

Do you live 250 feet away from anyone else, how far is the coop?

Sounds like it would have to be over 500 feet from anyone else with the coop smack dab in the middle.

 

[Meggi3mous3]

These laws are dumb. I could understand for rooster purposes, but for hens? Bleh

 

[Kusanar]

These laws are dumb. I could understand for rooster purposes, but for hens? Bleh

Those rules are as much for attracting things like rats and making a huge stinking mess. Now, we know that a well maintained chicken house and run doesn't stink or attract things, but, a badly maintained one DOES and you can't just tell everyone to maintain them properly because you would then have to police it often. If someone builds a coop in the wrong place that is pretty obvious and easy to enforce, just having a general cleanliness standard won't work because you would have to police it weekly if not more often to make sure that all coops were maintained within the correct metrics.

Would you want an overcrowded, never cleaned, stinking chicken coop right next to your house? Especially if it isn't secured and they leave feed out all of the time and attract rats?

 

[Chickenhappy8708]

Try planting herb bushes and roses in the run, make it look pretty. Looking pretty is a bit of a better example of chicken keeping, make it look good so neighbors don't have to look at a muddy poopy run all day.

 

[Meggi3mous3]

Thank you for the feedback. I appreciate your inputs