Disgusted by chicken law in Sacramento County

[electricdave]

My fiancee and I had a homeless/coopless chicken appear from nowhere,she was beat up and skinny.We asked the neighbors if they'd lost a chicken,no replied them.So Ebony would walk around our backyard during the day,and roost in the large oleander hedge at night.In the meantime I educated myself(cityboy),on scratch and lots of water for ebony.I call her little meat,Linda calls her Ebony.I converted a large beach fire pit on wheels with bedding and we lock her up at night,she lets us know when,around 7:30.We've had her about 6 months,great eggs,and have become quite fond of her.We have a mean neighbor,recently Ebony spooked and flew into our front yard,Linda went to get her and the loser witch lady next door hollar'd out mimicking Linda's move to fetch Ebony,go right,go left,go back,ha...ha,this non taxpaying,non voting woman is the worst human I've ever met.Anyways Linda got Ebony back.She had some words for lisa that I can't reveal.A few days later we get a letter from Sacramento code enforcement saying a complaints been filed by....................not told....but I have an idea who.So I called and have been told that we must get rid of Ebony because our lot is 6500 feet,not the required 10,000 feet.Our you kidding?Make me understand,a single chicken,in our beautiful large backyard,with wild bird feeders,hummingbird feeders,squirrel feeders,our cat Idgi,a water fountain,3 birdbaths,all in harmony.And we are told no chicken for you.Their OK in the cities of Folsom,Fair Oaks,Loomis and the city of Sacramento.But not in the "unincorporated sections of Sacramento county"Contacted our elected official,S.peters,quoted via e-mail chapter and verse of the reason(stupid)of this county ordinance.We are seriously thinking about fighting this.......Any ideas?

 

[sourland]

Welcome to BYC. Sorry for the circumstances. Could you get away with making her an 'indoor pet'. Lock her in a cage at night or when you are away and allow free ranging when you are home. Hope that you can work this out.

 

[yellowroseranch]

Hi there electricdave...

I am so sorry to hear about the situation with your neighbor. I have a small ranch in the north part of Sacramento County and have ALOT of chickens, but I am zoned agriculture. In Sac County, as you already know, if you are zoned residential you have to have a quarter acre lot or more to legally be able to keep chickens.

To temporarily resolve the situation with your neighbor, you are welcome to come by for a visit and if you would like, we will adopt your wonderful girl. I don't know where to begin to address a zoning law change, but if you were to move forward with this, you would have our full support. We have alot of community support here...you can google us...try "Yellow Rose Ranch, sacramento" and find our facebook page and jump into our community.

We are ALWAYS open for our community; you would be able to always visit and if you can get the law to eventually swing your way, you would be able to retrieve her from us.

Anyway, let me know. We are here for you.

 

[BusyBlonde]

Hmmm - I'd bet there are code violations next door. Grass too long, unregistered vehicle, ??? Most people unknowingly have some kind of violation. I'd get really familiar with my local codes and file a complaint each week about the ones they're violating ... but that's just me. I'm a live and let live kind of person .. until I'm attacked. Then all gloves are off.

 

[hen mom]

I agree the law in sac county is outdated. The dogs in my neighborhood are more of a nuisance than the chickens. I had a neighbor complain of flies. hmmm Well I do keep fly traps up, THEY STINK! The traps that I have on his side of my yard have hardly any flies...now the ones on the other side near my garbage cans are loaded. I feel that as long as a chicken owner keeps the coop clean, keeps fly traps up, the birds are quiet, it should not be a problem. my hens are quiet and content most of the day. They tend to get a little noisy in morning when coming out of coop or when they lay an egg. I promptly go out and quiet them up in trying to be consciencous of my neighbors. Here we live in an age that most people are fed up with all the pesticides in their communities and food. What better way to combat that than with hens? Like I said as long as the owners are responsible there should not be a problem. Maybe we should contact local GREEN - ECO groups in the Sacramento area to help with this battle?

 

[realsis]

laws in my area make my disgusted too. they had a proposal to allow backyard chickens but they shot it right down.its ignorance and its stupid. I hate the fact people can't have there own chickens if they want them! errrrrrrr it makes me soon angry

 

[WitchChick]

Hello!

I know this is an older post, but has anyone started any kind of dispute with the County?
I would be interested in talking with you .

Greetings
Heike

 

[Hoody's Human]

I am surprised the County even contacted you about your chickens. On previous calls to 311, I was told that they only take dog barking complaints unless the rooster noise is especially egregious or the bird is suffering from extreme abuse. I called Animal Control this morning and they re-confirmed that they do not take crowing fowl complaints, unless they check your address and you are under 10,000 square feet. Otherwise there is nothing they can do. That code is about to change however.

 

[Hoody's Human]

Here is the latest on Crowing Fowl:
***UPDATE CROWING FOWL BAN VOTE POSTPONED*****
Hi all: Please see Sacramento County Chicken Owners and Sacramento County Chickens regarding previous posts.
We have been doing everything we possibly can to get the word out and conjure up some participation on this issue. Here is where we stand now:
This may be your last chance to stop the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors from passing an amendment to the zoning code that will place a ban on all crowing fowl on all residentially zoned properties in unincorporated areas. (Folsom, Citrus Heights, City of Sacramento and Rancho Cordova are their own cities and have their own laws.) The Board of Supervisors met to vote on this amendment July 22, 2015. Essentially this code change will make it illegal to keep any roosters or other male gendered guinea fowl, ducks, geese or peacock regardless of your residential property size. The allowances for hens will remain the same (10,000 square feet or more property size). There was also some talk during the meeting of possibly banning crowing fowl on some AR designated properties as well. Thanks to Don Nottoli, we were granted more time to organize and be heard. They will bring this to vote again on or before October 30, 2015.
I urge you to please contact all five supervisors individually and request a "no" vote. They may ask you why you are calling outside of your own district. The answer is simple, each of their votes carries weight for decisions made for the entire county, not just within your district. Newly banned chickens may be transported from a neighboring district and dumped into yours. Chicken dumping is cruel and causes damage to public and private property. Because they are a non-native species, chickens upset the delicate balance of wilderness ecosystems and pose a real threat to the spread diseases to both private and wild bird flocks.
We still have a chance to keep this vote from passing. If at all possible, please attend any meeting with any reference to "crowing fowl" on the agenda and fill out a speaker form. They are supposed to post the agenda and when/if a meeting is to be held 72 hours in advance. Find out what will be on the agenda for both Tuesday and Wednesday meetings in Sept and Oct. This month's 2:00 PM Wed meeting was canceled, but it was not posted on the Sac County site. You may have to call.
Please, we need your all of your voices to ring out loud and proud. We really want to keep our male fowl and prevent a mass dumping event. Few shelters accept roosters because most are already full. The County Animal Shelter will only take "stray" chickens. I know this because I called every shelter and sanctuary in the area this morning. The supervisors did not factor into their planning humane locations where folks can relinquish their roosters. Chairman Serna suggested that they might waive the $50 turn-in fee at the County Animal Shelter on Bradshaw- whose staff told me they currently do not accept "owned roosters". If the County prohibits folks with large properties from keeping roosters, then who will be able to adopt them from shelters or take in strays? You can look up this meeting on their website at http://www.agendanet.saccounty.net/sirepub/mtgviewer.aspx?meetid=11557&doctype=SUMMARY. Here is a snapshot of the outcome of the July 22, 2015 meeting:

5:10 PM Board Action: Phil Serna/ Susan Peters - Approved recommendations by staff, as amended and directed staff return to the Board prior to October 30, 2015 to address the Crowing Fowl.

AYES: Patrick Kennedy, Roberta MacGlashan, Susan Peters, Phil Serna
NOES: Don Nottoli
ABSTAIN: (None)
ABSENT: (None)
RECUSAL: (None)
(PER POLITICAL REFORM ACT (§ 18702.5.))

 

[Hoody's Human]

***UPDATE CROWING FOWL BAN VOTE POSTPONED*****
Hi all: Please see Sacramento County Chicken Owners and Sacramento County Chickens regarding previous posts.
We have been doing everything we possibly can to get the word out and conjure up some participation on this issue. Here is where we stand now:
This may be your last chance to stop the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors from passing an amendment to the zoning code that will place a ban on all crowing fowl on all residentially zoned properties in unincorporated areas. (Folsom, Citrus Heights, City of Sacramento and Rancho Cordova are their own cities and have their own laws.) The Board of Supervisors met to vote on this amendment July 22, 2015. Essentially this code change will make it illegal to keep any roosters or other male gendered guinea fowl, ducks, geese or peacocks regardless of your residential property size. The allowances for hens will remain the same (10,000 square feet or more property size). There was also some talk during the meeting of possibly banning crowing fowl on some AR designated properties as well. Thanks to Don Nottoli, we were granted more time to organize and be heard. They will bring this to vote again on or before October 30, 2015.
I urge you to please contact all five supervisors individually and request a "no" vote. They may ask you why you are calling outside of your own district. The answer is simple, each of their votes carries weight for decisions made for the entire county, not just within your district. Newly banned chickens may be transported from a neighboring district and dumped into yours. Chicken dumping is cruel and causes damage to public and private property. Because they are a non-native species, chickens upset the delicate balance of wilderness ecosystems and pose a real threat to the spread of diseases to both private and wild bird flocks.
We still have a chance to keep this vote from passing. If at all possible, please attend any meeting with any reference to "crowing fowl" on the agenda and fill out a speaker form. They are supposed to post the agenda and when/if a meeting is to be held 72 hours in advance. Find out what will be on the agenda for both Tuesday and Wednesday meetings in Sept and Oct. This month's 2:00 PM Wed meeting was canceled, but it was not posted on the Sac County site. You may have to call.
Please, we need your all of your voices to ring out loud and proud. We really want to keep our male fowl and prevent a mass dumping event. Few shelters accept roosters because most are already full. The County Animal Shelter will only take "stray" chickens. I know this because I called every shelter and sanctuary in the area this morning. The supervisors did not factor into their planning humane locations where folks can relinquish their roosters. Chairman Serna suggested that they might waive the $50 turn-in fee at the County Animal Shelter on Bradshaw- whose staff told me they currently do not accept "owned roosters". If the County prohibits folks with large properties from keeping roosters, then who will be able to adopt them from shelters or take in strays? You can look up this meeting on their website at http://www.agendanet.saccounty.net/sirepub/mtgviewer.aspx?meetid=11557&doctype=SUMMARY. Here is a snapshot of the outcome of the July 22, 2015 meeting:

5:10 PM Board Action: Phil Serna/ Susan Peters - Approved recommendations by staff, as amended and directed staff return to the Board prior to October 30, 2015 to address the Crowing Fowl.

AYES: Patrick Kennedy, Roberta MacGlashan, Susan Peters, Phil Serna
NOES: Don Nottoli
ABSTAIN: (None)
ABSENT: (None)
RECUSAL: (None)
(PER POLITICAL REFORM ACT (§ 18702.5.))