City Issued a Citation and claims we aren’t allowed to have chickens due to neighbor’s complaint. What are my options?

[All4Eggz]

No I’m confused. Not a word about rats. And we’re not violating anything by having rats on the property, not our fault that there is old barns around that could be the cause of the rats. I was planning on saying that today but the guy called saying he cannot make it today.
And then this showed up in the mail minutes later. Great.

So why did they say we’re allowed 15 last year??
I don’t get it.

 

[wkyongae]

Looks like you've been set up and now you're being denied chicken privileges. All due to the ten chicken thing and because no steps taken to rid yourself of rats. Just like large farms you should have summited a compliance plan in writing. You had a good run for ten years and guess what this happens to large farms too.

 

[All4Eggz]

Looks like you've been set up and now you're being denied chicken privileges. All due to the ten chicken thing and because no steps taken to rid yourself of rats. Just like large farms you should have summited a compliance plan in writing. You had a good run for ten years and guess what this happens to large farms too.

When did I say no steps were taken to rid the property of rats?
The second we discovered the rats we’ve been taking measures to kill them/get them off the property. Multiple traps and various KINDS of traps have been set up and we have caught a LOT of rats throughout the recent months. So we’ve been trying. Can we do more? Absolutely. I am taking steps now to purchase more effective methods such as chicken-safe poison as people have mentioned earlier in the thread.

An exterminator will be the last resort IF the city is open to the idea of keeping their lawful obligation to allow a number of chickens as of late last year.

I will be working with the code enforcement officer to resolve this issue. The meeting/inspection has been rescheduled to tomorrow afternoon.

 

[wkyongae]

Let me tell a story about a large commercial chicken farmer that tried everything to get rid of rats in his chicken house. When his sons would go in to gather eggs they carried a 22 pistol to kill rats. Well long story short he finally bulldozed the chicken house to save his other chicken houses.
Rats multiply fast four to five times themselves every two months. For every one you kill there are at least forty more you don't see. On our farm if we see one thats five too many.
Good luck

 

[my spoiled chickens]

Get rid of your neighbors

 

[wkyongae]

Get rid of your neighbors

Or do like we have done. Closest neighbors one mile away.

 

[CharlotteBEe]

No I’m confused. Not a word about rats. And we’re not violating anything by having rats on the property, not our fault that there is old barns around that could be the cause of the rats. I was planning on saying that today but the guy called saying he cannot make it today.
And then this showed up in the mail minutes later. Great.

So why did they say we’re allowed 15 last year??
I don’t get it.
View attachment 3781374

Would you be grandfathered in? Do have it where it says you could have the original 10 chickens? Make sure you get everything in writing and get a lawyer

 

[Nym]

No I’m confused. Not a word about rats. And we’re not violating anything by having rats on the property, not our fault that there is old barns around that could be the cause of the rats. I was planning on saying that today but the guy called saying he cannot make it today.
And then this showed up in the mail minutes later. Great.

So why did they say we’re allowed 15 last year??
I don’t get it.
View attachment 3781374

Ok, so who understands all those numbers and symbols in the above letter from Officialdom ?

 

[All4Eggz]

It’s over.

 

[All4Eggz]

Can’t do anything about it.