Edmond Oklahoma

[jamiendoug]

I did not go to the council meeting that night.. Their agenda was HUGE! However, I am going tonight no matter how long it lasts. I'll only have 5 minutes to speak, so my real object tonight is to ask for it to be put on the agenda. Anyone who wants to come is welcome and I would certainly like the support. I don't have chickens and have never been around anyone who raised them, but I really want to have the chance. I'll post again about the meeting tonight and what the next steps might be. Thanks!!

 

[oklip955]

Its after 10 pm and wished that I saw the post earlier. I would have gone. I have a hen that is getting a little tlc since she has a partial upper beak cast.

 

[Firefly89]

Any word on changing Edmond's Chicken Laws? My address is Edmond but I am outside city limits in Logan County. Would love to help any way I can though!

 

[oklip955]

We'll be heading up to OSU vet med for a one week beak cast recheck. Any word on how the council meeting went?

 

[edmondchickens]

jamiendoug,

Did you end up going to the council meeting last night? I wish I would have seen your post. I would have come with you. OKC just voted on chickens for lots under 1 acre. It was turned down 5-4. It is time to try to get the Edmond City Council to vote on this issue.

I think some things that are key to a passable ordinance are to structure it similar to Norman's ordinance.

No roosters
6 hens on lots less than 1 acre. 10 (?) on lots bigger than 1 acre?
Coop must be 5 feet off of property line and 25 feet from neighbor's dwelling
4 sq ft coop per animal & 8 sq ft run per animal
All chicken enclosures shall be cleaned regularly to prevent an accumulation of food, fecal matter or nesting material from creating a nuisance or unsanitary condition due to odor, vermin, debris or decay

The above is not super restrictive like the current ordinances, assures the animals have enough space, and still respects a reasonable distance between the neighbor.

Some of the benefits of chickens:

Fresh eggs
Bug & pest reduction (including ticks, which can transmit some nasty diseases)
Entertainment

Perhaps the Edmond Chicken cause needs a Facebook page to rally people around?

 

[oklip955]

Coal, had a good check with the bird vet in Stillwater. The 4th yr students fed her meal worms. She was very well mannered and is now back home in her large dog kennel. She has another 3-6 weeks before she can rejoin her coop friends. She spends the days out in the back yard in her kennel and can see and cluck with her friends.

As far as Edmond chickens, I would say 3 on a 1/4 ac lot, 6 under an ac and 12 on over an ac but under the 5 ac for livestock. Allow roosters on lots over 2 ac. Now where do we begin with Guineas?? Some one has about a dozon that hangout around Covel and Coltrane usually across the road at the subdivision.

 

[jamiendoug]

I am really excited to see the support here. I did go to the city council meeting. Sorry it took me a bit to get an update on here, it's a crazy time at work for me.

It went really well. When I finished with my little speech, the mayor informed me that in the two weeks since I had spoken to Councilwoman Caldwell, the council had begun drafting language to consider. He stated that they were, indeed, waiting to see where OKC landed on the subject so I'm a little discouraged by the fact that they turned it down this week.

He did say, and I was thinking the same thing, that the Edmond animal ordinances are really almost there already. They require coops (and yes they specifically say "coops") to be 20 feet from the property line, they specify shelter requirements (not specifically for chickens, but in general), they address cleanliness and nuisance issues, they also address animals at large which would take care of a confinement requirement.

The only thing they will really need to add is the count and rooster restrictions. They said they are going to have to be very careful when wording it and consider things like what happens if a neighbor complains, are they going to have a permitting process, etc. I personally feel that the same thing will happen when a neighbor complains about a dog - call the cops and have them deal with it. I'd be perfectly happy to pay for a permit to have chickens. I'm sure the permit would detail all the city ordinances and each person should have to agree to handle getting rid of their flock if they disobey or have a certain number of legitimate complaints, etc.

The mayor requested that I give my contact information to the city clerk so she can inform me of any developments in the process. I will try to post updates a quickly as possible so if I need reinforcements....

Thanks everyone!

 

[lrhoke]

Glad to see this coming up in Edmond, but what are the rooster restrictions? We had a small group of backyard chickens in my brookside neighborhood in Tulsa, when I was growing up in the late 1960s, early 1970s. 3-4 hens and one rooster, we not only never had any complaints, the neighbors were supportive. I can see limiting numbers but a rooster is not any noisier than crows, bluejays, hawks, owls and other birds that I hear all the time. And then there is my neighbor's leaf blower.

 

[edmondchickens]

In my opinion, anything that passes is going to have to exclude roosters. That's just the way it is based on people's views of roosters. Plus there is much precedent for excluding roosters.

 

[ginger58]

I just moved to edmond back in July 2013. I had chickens in Sherwood AR where they were legal. I found a home for them before I moved here. Although I don't plan on getting any more chickens, I'd be happy to help anyone in edmond who is new at raising chickens. They are fairly easy to take care of and will give u a ton of entertainment and eggs. I'd also be glad to chicken sit if needed.