Free ranging chickens in Allen County, IN

[Proverb31mama]

We live in Allen County, IN, north of Fort Wayne. We are out in the country so it is legal to own chickens here. But one of our neighbors apparently called the police for animal nuisance for our dogs and chickens. We are still waiting for a call back on what exactly the complaint is about. But I am wondering if there are laws against free ranging chickens in places where it is legal to own chickens.

We allow our chickens to free roam 3-7 hours a day. They mostly stay in our yard but occasionally go outside of our yard looking for treats. Is that illegal?

We had one chicken who turned into a jungle chicken. She flew away the first night we let them out of the coop and we haven't seen her since. We gave her up for lost and don't claim her anymore. If we could catch her we would clip her wings or sell her or something. But we haven't seen her and have no way of catching her. Are we responsible for her?

 

[Ducksandchickens]

We live in Allen County, IN, north of Fort Wayne. We are out in the country so it is legal to own chickens here. But one of our neighbors apparently called the police for animal nuisance for our dogs and chickens. We are still waiting for a call back on what exactly the complaint is about. But I am wondering if there are laws against free ranging chickens in places where it is legal to own chickens.

We allow our chickens to free roam 3-7 hours a day. They mostly stay in our yard but occasionally go outside of our yard looking for treats. Is that illegal?

We had one chicken who turned into a jungle chicken. She flew away the first night we let them out of the coop and we haven't seen her since. We gave her up for lost and don't claim her anymore. If we could catch her we would clip her wings or sell her or something. But we haven't seen her and have no way of catching her. Are we responsible for her?

I live in Allen county Ohio!

 

[rosemarythyme]

We live in Allen County, IN, north of Fort Wayne. We are out in the country so it is legal to own chickens here. But I am wondering if there are laws against free ranging chickens in places where it is legal to own chickens.

They mostly stay in our yard but occasionally go outside of our yard looking for treats. Is that illegal?

But we haven't seen her and have no way of catching her. Are we responsible for her?

Some places do have laws against free ranging but that's usually more in suburban or city settings. If you are under county jurisdiction you would have to check their zoning ordinance to see if there is any requirement for poultry to be kept confined at all times.

If your chickens are leaving your property, yes that could be an issue and a cause for complaint, just as it would be if your dog was running off your lot. Some neighbors might find it charming but others might see them as an army of pooping, garden destroying invaders. Or if they have chickens of their own, they may be concerned about biosecurity issues or just your chickens eating their chickens' feed.

I would say the escaped chicken is no longer your problem as you don't know what happened to it or where it might have gone. If the chicken was lucky someone else picked it up and it's now their chicken. The only way I could imagine it being your problem would be something like, the chicken is living in your neighbor's tree and rather than go and get it, you claim it's not yours and leave it there.