Dang city ordinance!.

[SpottedCrow]

I don't have to worry anymore.

No Jerry No Slifer.
I did all this research AFTER I had to rehome Jerry. Who was sweet and nice and just a great starter rooster. Slifer was mean, cantakerous bag of feathers, who liked noone and sort of tolerated me.
Goddess knows if I ever hatched anything, I would be all boys.

 

[lacyloo]

omg i thought u told me they were alowed, ahh i hate the cidy ordince im glad i live in the country and not the cidy, and its stibid thet u can have milking goats in the city ? if they ask tell cidy ordince that ur going to milk the chickens,lol

 

[eggzettera]

I am actually in Murray (might as well be SLC, UT) and my mayor is "Green" so I know if I do have problems down the road I will be petitioning straight to him.

I also plan on using the pet defense - I bought the Eglu from My pet chicken - $650 including shipping - looks like a pink mac - sounds like a PETS housing to me......

If it came down do it I would love to tape record all the noises in my area - from a noise pollution stand point, my neighbor sawing, hammering & listening to tunes, my other neighbor and their ATV's (they are set back so far we never see each other but its a big lot so their kids run their ATV's) the neighbor's down the street with their incessantly barking dog, the train whistling in the middle of the night, the motorcycles revving up and down the street, the lawn mowers, the leave blowers, the cats in heat, give me a break.

I only have 3 - 1 bantam cochin cockerel, 2 pullets - 1 EE & another bantam cochin. Started off with 4 had to cull the EE cockerel he was taking liberties that my bantam pullet was not up to. I may just bring them into the house during the worst part of the winter (concerned about keeping H20 from freezing & other things) into the lean-to - which I think will also help with the "pet" defense.

 

[EboyDog]

I work for the particular city in central MO which while I can't say the city is, let's just say "Go Mizzou!" BUT in a email conversation I was advising a lady who wanted to get 4 hens and while I am no expert, she knew a lot less but in the exchange back and forth I found that she lived inside the city limits so to spare her from revealing her name or address, I checked with my city inspection chief and found that my city allows technically allows "allows" chickens.

BUT (here's the problem) they put them in a classification of livestock which per ordinance, you can't in this case have the run within 20 feet of a building, dwelling or business unless you have the written permission of hte occupants.... ok I thought not bad but the kicker is the particular ordinance goes on to state that there must be 1/2 acre PER animal so in this case, for the woman to have 4 chickens, she would have to have a 2 acre lot which is almost unheard of.

Even my cheif building inspector stated he thought that was unfair (and he's the guy in charge of the people who enforce such ordinances) but since it's on the books, there's nothing that he could do but even he made the suggestion that it's only enforced if someone complains.

What get's me (I live way outside the city by the way) is if the city doesn't want to allow it then they should simply state such. They know very well that by keeping the rule vague and unclear then it serves only the party that complains and as a result keeps the city "cityfied" and the only way to make it legal is months of meetings and to even propose the changes much less get such changed. The normal small time person who wants a few chickens doesn't have chance to get such changed and that's not fair!

 

[lacyloo]

so silkelovr have u found any thing else out about having the chickens them?

 

[SewingDiva]

Actually, I just started a thread on this topic. I'm a paralegal so here’s my two cents:

Never rely on "friend of a friend" information for this type of thing because if you do, and it's wrong, and the city/county comes after you then you're stuck. Pleading ignorance of the law is no excuse and it will not save you from a fine, being ordered to comply, or worse yet being ordered to give up your chickens. Even though researching this type of thing is a pain, you really should do your homework in advance. Here are a few tips on how to locate what you need to know:

1) Where to begin depends on your local government. Depending on the part of country you live in, you will need to either contract your town/city (if you live in an urban/suburban area) or your county if you live in a suburban/country/agricultural area.

2) You will need to find out what agency has enforcement/jurisdiction for this type ordinance. For example, in my town it's the Board of Health, in other areas it could be Animal Control.

3) You really need to find, read and understand the actual ordinance before you do anything. You SHOULD NOT rely solely on what a city or county employee tells you over the phone - they can be as wrong as anyone else, and if you do rely on them, and accidently do something wrong, that is also not a valid excuse if you get caught. For example, in my town I need to pay for an annual permit, and also prior to getting a chicken permit I need to file a site plan and construction drawings with the Board of Health.

4) These laws are public information and no one should tell you they are not available to you.

My family won't begin our chicken keeping adventure util next spring, and given the time, money and effort outlay we certainly want to understand the local laws before we start.

Phyllis

 

[Davaroo]

Our paralegal friend is right. DO NOT rely on advice or hearsay. Call the City code office and find out. There is no ignorance of the law that the Municipal Nazis will tolerate and unlikely to be many medical reasons requiring you to own poultry.

You wont go to jail or anything like that, mind you, so if you want to be a llittle rebelllious, then feel free. You will pay fines and such as that if caught. SO, how's anybody gonna know?

That's easy. Looking over your shoulder is never fun and living in the city requires that you depend on your neighbors good graces. Something like this can turn an amicable relationship with your fellow residents into a shooting war if they want to use the chickens against you.

And dont assume because you talk to them prior and they say, "Oh we dont mind, go ahead!" that they mean it. Let your kid put a ball through their window or one of your chickens escape into their yard and see how far that goes. And you cannot point the finger at your neighbors, their bratty kids, or any of the things they do. Your chickens will be turned in, if they know you have them. Bank on it.

I've done it - kept city chickens - and here're a few basic rules.

1. NO roosters. Even banties crow and their little call is annoying, especially if your neighbors work nights.
Its one of the main reasons why chickens are not allowed in town
2. Hens crow, too. Did you know that? It's more of a croak really, but it can be loud. And hens fight, sometimes viciously, making them pretty noisy in their own right.
3. NO mess. You have to be scrupulously clean with your chickens. That will get you in hot water as much as anything. That's the other reason chickens are perceived as a threat in town...disease. This leads to the next two...
4. Keep them confined. They need to be out of sight from prying eyes and behind stout enclosures. The rotten neighbor kids are still want to pester them, the neighbor's dog still wants to kill them and Animal Control officers still patrol.
5. You MUST become a waste management specialist. Confinement, on the other hand, is the problem. They tear up any patch of earth quickly, turning it to a moonscape. Did you know that?? Grass will be non-existant where they are kept. Then you have a muddy, poopy mess when it rains and a general eyesore the rest of the time. Oh, and did I mention the flies....You need measures to combat this and you must be VIGILANT at all times. It can be done, but most don't know it can.
6. Chickens are 365 days a year. You can't tinker with them for a few months and then tire of them. Summer is the worst time for getting slack. They are creatures of routine and require daily care of some kind; you mustn't fail that. No vacations for you, my friend.
7. You're fighting false perceptions, not fact. Chickens dont have to be nasty, but most "standard" management methods are pretty lame. This has given people the wrong idea about cluckers. There was a time, through the 1950's, when lots of "townies" had a few chickens in their yard and it was no big deal. Those days are gone - KFC and supermarkets saw to that.

You can't fight city hall unless you are prepared for a long battle. On every level you have to become a crusader. I'd fight that war before I got a pen full of birds. When the Municipal Nazis are knocking on the door is the wrong time to start protesting.

 

[lurky]

I agree about finding out for yourself what the area allows. I was told by a neighbor that i need to be zoned farmland. I called the town and said i was asking for 'a friend' who has kids that want to raise them as 4H projects. I said i dont want the kids to be heartbroken because their mom did not know this info. So they had 'no idea' what the rules were and sent me to ask the board of health and even they had to go look it up. They finally found some info but nobody seemed to be 100% about ALL the rules. so if the people making/inforcing these rules dont always know........you should not trust what you hear and find out for yourself.........er.....uh....I mean find out for your friend

 

[SewingDiva]

Quote:
Lurky - this is an excellent point - one should also never assume that ALL of the information you need is in one place (that is, everything you need to know is contained in one ordinance and or that complete information is available through just one municipal or county agency.)

For example, you may encounter a reference in a poultry ordinace that mentions some aspect of zoning, such as different numbers of birds allowed in in "Districts D & E". Therefore, you also need to read and understand that zoning law to see what district your property might lie in.

Phyllis

 

[DuckLady]

The first responsibility of animal owning of any kind is to research YOURSELF and find out if you can even have any.

When we were looking for a home to purchase, even though I never thought I would be a duck slave at any time in my life, we had a list of "what-ifs" before we decided on a place.
What if we became disabled? We only would consider a one story home.

What if we ever wanted a dog? We looked up licensing and leash laws in the area we were looking.

What if we ever wanted a cow or pig? We looked at the (longstanding never renewed, original signers are long gone) covenants in the neighborhood.

What if we ever wanted to build on to the home we were putting on the land? We looked up permit requirements.

What if we ever had need for a wheelchair? We designed our front walk easily convertable to a ramp.

What if I ever wanted to be a duck servant catering to the every whim of a webfooted tyrant? We looked up the codes and guess what?

Like that.