Dang city ordinance!.

[Fancy Feather Poultry]

Well, one of my dads friends works for the city and told us that we weren't aloud to have chickens, He said he would keep it a seccret but he told us we had to make sure the neighbors didn't know anything and that I shouldn't have any rooster which would help to keep it on the down low (Thank god my silkie cockerel doesn't crow yet!) But even if, do bantams have a really loud crow especialy silkies my cockerel is 11 weeks and hasn't tryed one bit he is pretty quiet, but I might have one roo my buff orp might be a boy but other then that I have all hens. I hope my little buff orp isnt a boy but "hes" 4 weeks and his comb has a tiny bit of red, Any one interested in a roo?? and how intense are hens when they lay eggs I have heard alot of people here tell me that they sqwak pretty bad but or neighnor is about a half a acre away from us too, what it seems like bearly even home.

 

[silkiechicken]

My silkie girls aren't too noisy but my silkie roo crows like crazy. Good luck.

 

[eggzettera]

First off, I would not take what your dad's freind said as gospel. I was told conflicting information by animal control - who should know. I have a bantam cochin rooster that I am going to keep until a neighbor complains - knock on wood - he is louder then I like but honestly the barking dogs in the hood are more loud for longer peridos of time.

He puts out quite a bit of noise for his size but I think only those in close proximity can hear and tell what it is - all that city noise helps get it "lost" - 1 close neighbor is rarely home - the other is working on building an addition on his house (has for a few years) I tolerate his carpentary noise and so far......kind of a live and let live philosphy in play.....

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

That city worker might be mistaken about the chicken situation. Does he work for Animal Control? If you have neighbors half an acre away, that seems like plenty of set-back space to me. i live in Los Angeles County, and in general you can have chickens as long as they are housed 20 feet from your residence and 35 feet from any neighbor's residence. It has to be 100 feet from a neighbor's residence if you keep roosters or any other farm animal.

You may want to call your local Animal Control Dept. Just look in your phone book. They will be able to check your particular zip code and let you know your zoning requirements.

 

[Fancy Feather Poultry]

I think my dads friend is an inspector and said you not aloud to have any sort of farm animal and he said if you wanted to keep a goat you would have to have a prescription for goats milk, so there has to be something hidden like that to keep a chicken so what could I say if I got caught..."I am allergic to store bought eggs and need my own chickens to produce fresh eggs?" thats the only thing I can think of right now really.

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

Hey MeanQueenNadine - i was writing my post as you were posting. You know, you may be right about getting mixed signals from Animal Control. The problem is, it is not easy to find local zoning codes and ordinances, in regards to keeping chickens, on government websites. They use very vague language, probably on purpose.

i do think it's more a matter of keeping neighbors happy. Very few of my neighbors know i have chickens. i clean like crazy and also use fans to blow any odors away from my closet neighbor. i am a little too close on the set-back on one side, but that neighbor is gone a lot.

You know, on one site i read about a young girl who fought city hall in order to keep her chickens, claiming they were pets and not livestock, and won. If i ever do have problems, i plan on using that defense.

 

[SpottedCrow]

If your town/city has a website, you can muddle through all bajillion pages of ordinances. That's what I had to do.
I can have a rooster, IF I keep him/her quiet. IF he was for breeding purposes or IF I was showing him.
Other than that, no dice.

 

[rosyposyosy]

in portland, OR you cant have any roos except for commercial purposes - meaning you make some profit off of him. maybe you could use the baby chicks that he produces and sell those, making a profit? although i dont know the rules over there. also - we can have 3 hens. anymore and you need a permit, when an inspector comes around once a year - i believe the permit is like $30

 

[mdbucks]

SpottedCrow - Do you have the cage ready to go ?incase someone asks the show is the next weekend.

How long is an acre?

 

[silkiechicken]

An acre is a square measurement.

Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acre