Eastern Washington

[rickerra]

Quote:
Nice. I found a 4ft x 25ft roll at my local Do-It-Best for $38. I wanted the 4' wide roll so I can wrap the run of my planned coop in a single piece. I was then able to cut a few feet off the roll to use as the shelf inside my homemade incubator I built.

Glad to hear you were able to order the chicks you wanted. I've decided to try and hatch my own chicks. I built my homemade incubator this past weekend taking from the great plans and tips here on the forums. I'm on day 3 of dialing in the temp and humidity levels. I've even put a time elapse webcam on it so I can easily monitor it after every tweak and change I make... nerdy, I know! haha. I'll get my eggs to set this coming weekend. I'm pretty excited. More so than my boys, I think! haha

Best of luck to ya!

 

[WhySayWhat]

If I could run the risk of roos, I would incubate too. But, I don't have an easy way of finding homes for the little noise makers!

The closer I get to actually getting my coop and run built, the more work it turns into, lol. But at least now I have all of the "basic" pieces. I may need to look into a cheap place to get topsoil though to help even out the ground...

 

[rickerra]

Quote:
Yeah... I was worried about roos at first too. Then I decided I could give them away on Craigslist or just raise them until they start crowing then send them off to "freezer camp".

I got 10 mixed breed eggs from a local lady. She was very nice. Said if I got rooster I could bring them back to her if I wanted. Nice to have another option.

I'm on day 3 of incubating. Everything is going smoothly. Very exciting!

Cheers!

 

[Worn]

Quote:
Yeah... I was worried about roos at first too. Then I decided I could give them away on Craigslist or just raise them until they start crowing then send them off to "freezer camp".

I got 10 mixed breed eggs from a local lady. She was very nice. Said if I got rooster I could bring them back to her if I wanted. Nice to have another option.

I'm on day 3 of incubating. Everything is going smoothly. Very exciting!

Cheers!

Very good point! Don't let the roosters cause you not to enjoy the experience of incubating chicks. You can always give them away on CL, or put them in the freezer. The experience is worth the effort of dealing with the roosters!

 

[mrsbos]

Yea!

I was at a well attended Spokane Valley Planning Commission meeting this past Thursday. Plenty of pro-chicken people showed up to speak. Currently in the city of Spokane Valley, "backyard" chickens are only allowed on residential parcels of 1 acre or more. After the meeting, the planning commission is going to recommend to the Spokane Valley City Council to amend the regulations to allow up to 25 hens (no roosters) on lots less than one acre, allowing 1 chicken per 2000sq ft, and that housing structures be located at least 25 ft from neighboring structures (not property lines).

Of course the City Council will still have to vote to approve the amendment, but it seems to have a lot of positive momentum!

Hopefully, once the city passes the amendment (fingers crossed), I can lobby Spokane County to alter their zoning regulations to match....and my 3 girls could finally be legal.....and I could get more chickens!

And just to be extra safe....while I'm president of my HOA, I might have to clean up a bit of the wording in our CC&Rs to make sure I don't run into problems on that front.

 

[WhySayWhat]

Mrsbos - So glad it went well! 25 chickens n less than an acre though?!? I know in the city of Spokane, from what I've read anyway, 3 is usually the unspoken limit! We'll see how the 3 I'm getting do...lol. My biggest "issue" will probably come from the location of our soon to be coop though. To keep it away from our neighbors, as well as make construction as easy as possible for us, we're putting it under our back deck. Only a few feet from our house, but well away from the neighbors. That's the plan for this year at any rate...we may have to change things by next year!

 

[rickerra]

Quote:
That's great news! Glad to hear.

What are Spokane county's zoning regulations you speak of? I live in a rural part of the county and didn't think there were any restrictions...

Cheers!

 

[4cats3kids1hubby2many]

Quote:
I was watching this on the news the other day, about the city council passing this...I thought it was great. Although the 25 foot from the neighbors....heck, you won't have a rooster, if your fence is tall enough, the neighbors would never know. As long as the coop and run are kept clean....they don't smell and are not that dirty. The neighbors may hear some faint clucking, but that is it.

 

[mrsbos]

@WhySayWhat: You wouldn't be able to have 25 chickens in less than an acre, the regulations would limit you to 1 chicken per 2000 sq ft. of lot space, up to a maximum of 25 chickens (which would require a 50,000 sq ft. lot--43,500 sq ft. equals 1 acre)

@4cats3kids1hubby2many: The City Council has not passed the amendment yet. The Spokane Valley Planning Commission (in charge of zoning ordinances) is merely making the recommendation that the City Council change the rules. The Council will likely go over the Planning Commission's recommendation and vote on it at a later date.

@rickerra: In Spokane County, chickens are not allowed in any LDR zones (Low Density Residential). They are allowed in other zones, such as those designated as rural, amd some 1+ acre parcels designated as low density residential plus.

 

[WhySayWhat]

Yeah...I have to abide by the 1 per 2,000 here within city limits too (just off Division on the North side). My issues arise because I cannot find the actual size of my lot! I think I'm going to have to call the asseccor's office on Monday and see if they actually have it, the online form says we have 0.00 acreage! My guess is we have between 1/3 and 1/2...but I could be way off base too!