Denver: Help join effort to change laws allowing chickens

[Sundari]

Here's how I answered those questions, and animal control issued my pre-approval letter quickly:

1. Excrement - "The manure and straw will be composted. All compost piles are built within hardware cloth and covered securely with a tarp. Compost piles are turned regularly. All manure/compost will be kept only on private property, away from public walkways or easements."

Another thing I added when the AC officer came to inspect my property is that I've been composting for years and have had no trouble with the neighbors. Remember that neighbors are really their main concern with almost everyhing.

2. Vaccinations - "Chickens do not receive any vaccines under standard poultry practices in Colorado, according to Dr. Kate Anderson at the Colorado Dept of Agriculture and Curtis Utley at the CSU Ag Extension. The chickens are not spayed."

I did contact the people above prior to sending in my letter - I wasn't just making it up.

However, since submitting my letter I decided to get vaccinated chicks -- you can order them already vaccinated from McMurray. If they're not vaccinated, the medicated feed is a really good option, and I would be sure to include that info in your letter.

Hope this is helpful!

-Sundari

 

[cockadoodle]

Thank you Sundari, I really like how your letter included references to experts at both the federal and state levels, that had to help tremendously. I'm ok I guess with most of these hoops we have to jump through, it's mostly the signage and the excessive fees that are seriously irritating me.


Thanks Again,
Mark

 

[COcountrygirl]

I felt it was important to include a basic design for my coop and also an diagram of the proposed location for the coop in my yard.

My letter looked like this:

B. The hen coop will be approximately 4 foot by 4 foot structure, not to exceed 6 feet in height; and will be kept in the back 2/3rds of our backyard behind our 6 foot privacy fence. The coop will have a removable run completely enclosed in poultry wire for the health and safety of the flock.
C. Vet: Dr. Edwards
VCA Anderson Animal Hospital
Lakewood, CO 80232
303.922.1127
D. We will not have any cocks, only hens, so there will be no reproduction. Spaying or neutering is unnecessary.
E. The excrement will be composted using the deep litter method; then composted and used as fertilizer for our various trees and scrubs. See the US EPA web page (http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/rrr/composting/index.htm) for the benefits of composting.
F. The hens will have the full set of vaccinations that come from all poultry breeders to prevent common diseases such as pullorum, typhoid and mycoplasmosis.

******************************************************
When the animal control officer came to look at the site before giving me my pre-approval letter he mentioned that the process is way too complicated. He said he would love to see it streamlined. I think animal control must have gotten caught in the middle of this mess with zoning.

 

[cockadoodle]

This site continues to amaze me, thank you so much for sharing what worked with me. Honestly, my first instinct after reading the beginning of this topic was just to have stealth chickens, or to give up, but pretty confident now that this isn't as impossible as I had made it out in my mind to be. I've been thinking all along that it is the zoning piece of this puzzle that makes the least sense. What is going to be hard is convincing the city to cut that piece out when they see dollars coming in from it. On one hand, a crappy economy makes the grass roots side of this easier, it just makes sense for the city to support self-sufficiency and more of us are needing to be that way, but on the other, the city is taking money everywhere it can right now to stay afloat and a tiny bit of that is coming from these craptacular regulations. Maybe we can convince them that by streamlining the process and reducing fees, a huge percentage of the people doing this 'underground' already will ante up, and the city could actually make more money than it is today, then everyone wins. Ideally we abolish all of these fees, but somehow I think baby steps are more likely to have results at this point. Thanks again.

Regards,
Mark

 

[#1California Chick]

Quote:
If Denver is REALLY a "GREEN" city, then composting should certainly be acceptable!!!

Good Luck!!

 

[#1California Chick]

Urbanstability-

To BYC from California!!

If you decide that you want to challenge the current laws and write proposed changes, LET US KNOW!!! We (BYCers) can help you by sending in comments.

Good Luck!!

Cindy

 

[Urbansustainability]

California Chick,

Thanks for offering input into crafting proposed laws. I will post proposals here as they are developed for your help and for the help of others.

 

[COcountrygirl]

Hey all,
I'm ready to do my "neighbor letters" and I have a couple of questions.
• I was considering writing a form letter and asking each neighbor to check either they “agree” or “disagree” with my having chickens. Has anyone else done this?
• Do you think I should enclose additional information with my letter? Information that might help them understand that chickens are NOT a big deal.

As always, thanks for your help!

 

[Sundari]

Hi,

I would advise a slightly different approach... probably better not to give your neighbors an easy way to record their disagreement with you having chickens.

Remember that these neighbor letters are completely optional -- some people do them to document support, but really zoning is only concerned about whether on not complaints come in during your 30-day complaint period.

That being said, the best way to head off any complaints is to talk to your neighbors. Also remember that the neighbors that are of most concern are the ones directly adjacent to your yard. You can create a form letter that supports your chickens, and then just go talk with your neighbors. If they're supportive, ask them to sign the letter. If they're not, take some time to answer their questions and address their concerns. They may not change their mind and get totally on-board. However, even if your neighbor is less than thrilled, it still doesn't mean that they'll go to the trouble to register a complaint with zoning.

I would definitely recommend hand-delivering the letters and talking with your neighbors, as opposed to just dropping them off.

-Sundari

 

[COcountrygirl]

Sundari,

Thanks so much, I think that's a good idea. My husband will be glad to hear someone thinks like he does! He gave me very similar advise.