City ordinance has no restrictions am I safe?

[kirstin10]

I researched my city ordinance and there is no specific law I can find restricting owning chickens. It is briefly covered under a nuisance ordinance just stating they can not become a nuisance due to noise, odor exc. Is there any place else I should look? I know someone who had chickens and was forced to get rid of them but am not aware of the circumstances. I am new here so sorry if this question has already been answered.

 

[3KillerBs]

I'm in a place with no specific ordinances about chickens too. And I'm right in the heart of such downtown as a town this small actually has.

Per the mayor's husband they had been forbidding chickens based on the no-farming ordinance -- until someone pointed out that the same logic would require forbidding people's home gardens.

The unwritten policy is that if your neighbors don't complain you're OK. If they do complain any complaints will be evaluated based on noise and sanitation ordinances and unreasonable complaints will not get very far.

It pretty much works out to no roosters, keep it clean, do any slaughtering discreetly rather than in full, public view, keep the chickens in your own yard, and don't sell any eggs or other chicken products. The town is far more concerned about people letting dogs run loose than about properly-kept, backyard chickens.

 

[kirstin10]

Thank you for the response. I am only going to be keeping hens and only have one neighbor to be concerned about but they have two dogs that are a nuisance so I doubt they will be making any complaints. I do know the person who had to remove his chickens did have Roos.
I did find one ordinance regarding chickens which stated you could not dye them before selling. I do not know why anyone would want to do that anyway.

 

[TXchickmum]

Many city Code of Ordinances do have nuisance and/or animal ordinances (which is the first place that most folks look). Please reference your zoning ordinances. A lot of towns will have zoning ordinances that stipulate a certain amount of acreage for "agricultural use" - which most towns deem the keeping of poultry. If your property is within the city limits and you reside in an area zoned "residential", you may potentially be cited for a code violation if you "build any structure on your property that isn't expressly designated". -technicality, but could be applicable to a coop. Also, hens could be categorized as "livestock" and not permitted within residential plats. (This is all ridiculous, but unfortunately a reality for many that research particular codes/ordinances and not all.) Good luck - and I hope that you get to have a backyard flock!!

 

[kirstin10]

I searched the zoning ordinances also and found nothing on Agriculture. Matter of fact I did an online search of the entire coded ordinance log for "Agriculture" and the only result that came back was is in the "definition" section. This may seem like a dumb statement/question, but to me a definition is not an actual ordinance. Any thoughts on this?

 

[TXchickmum]

Does the definition specify a certain amount of land - i.e. one, two, three, four acres (etc.)? For example, our city's 142 pages of ordinances only mention agriculture in the definition section also (as follows):

AGRICULTURE USES: An area of three (3) or more acres which is used for growing of
usual farm products, vegetables, fruits, trees, and grain and for the raising thereon of the usual
farm poultry and farm animals such as horses, cattle and sheep and including the necessary
accessory uses for raising, treating and storing products raised on the premises, but not
including the commercial feeding of offal and garbage to animals and not including any type
of agriculture or husbandry specifically prohibited by ordinance. No pen, barn or enclosure
for cows, horses, mules, donkeys, sheep, or goats shall be located nearer than one hundred feet
(100') to any dwelling. These pens, barns or enclosures are not subject to the City's Standard​

Masonry Requirements.

Per this definition, chickens cannot be kept on a standard residential lot (or anything under three acres). This is what I was referencing. It may be perfectly legal for you to have chickens on your property, and there may be no prohibitive language in your ordinances. You'll probably be just fine!