Got illegal chickens?

[BWKatz]

Quote:
Not only are mine Cheep Therapy they are also my Physical Therapy. They make me walk up & down stairs a minimum of 2xday. My doctor thinks it's great and always asks me about them.

 

[SuburbanMomof4]

I hate to be a kill-joy, but I have *legal* chickens and I am dealing with an obnoxious neighbor. Actually, out of the three directly bordering our backyard, one adores our chickens, one was horrified that we have them but seems okay since they are confined (sigh)... and the third one has acted like a sweet, darling person while calling Child Protective Services, Animal Control Services, Code Enforcement, and finally the police on us.

Except for the Animal Control (the complaint was that we were neglecting a chicken - the guy who showed up had grown up with meat chickens and thought it was hilarious since ours were obviously pretty pampered) the rest have been fabricated complaints. All the government workers have been polite and nice. The Codes guy is the one who clued us in about which neighbor - confirmed the next day when I saw her talking to the police officer and then he came by. None of the complaints have resulted in any problems for us... but the CPS visit was scary to me, and only a month after my mom died (which this person knew). Then it was a year till Animal Control (last summer) and the last two just last week. I am 9 months pregnant and this is a huge stress.

Bottom-line: we've had the chickens almost two full years now (we did get a couple more last Spring - have to try the Araucanas... except our lay brown

) and the kids have learned a great deal about responsibility and that is great... but knowing how awful this neighbor would be, I don't know if I would go back and do it again.

We're looking into privacy fences... she may still make these calls, but at least I won't have to feel the anxiety every time I go out back. And as soon as we can, we're moving.


If you can bribe your neighbors with eggs or egg-containing baked goods (it didn't work here) or they think it is cool... maybe. But they could still move away (or pass away) and leave you with a new neighbor and a new problem.

If the worst your HOA can do to you is make you get rid of them, maybe. If there are fines involved (hard to tell ahead of time, probably), a bit more to think on. But an upset and underhanded neighbor can really wreck your peace of mind.

Best of luck...
Kerridwen
who needs to change her handle to SuburbanMomof5!

 

[mkeawsh]

Quote:
How old is she? Is she single and living alone? I find that people that live by themselves, seem to over-exaggerate and be more of busy bodies for things that are none of their business. I have a daughter that lives by herself and the things in her neighborhood that she notices and concerns her, are sometimes ridiculous. I have to usually bring her back down to earth and reality, that she is making a big deal out of nothing. And then she realizes how silly she has been. For goodness sakes, life is too short.

 

[SuburbanMomof4]

Um, I started reading back through this thread (wasn't sure I'd have time, so I posted my experience first...)

Our chickens really are legal - we have 4 girls (1 Barred Rock, 1 Buff Orpington, and our two non-green/blue laying Araucanas). We are very lucky to live in Louisville, KY which allows upto 6 poultry (1 crowing and 5 non-crowing). The city and county merged a few years before and we are in a suburban city within the city (no, makes no sense to me either) and we are *still* allowed to have our chickens. The Codes guy was clear on that, and our local (suburban city police chief) was clear on that. Our neighbor hasn't actually dared complain about the chickens themselves... but since the trouble dates to our getting them, it's pretty clear. The police officer and Codes Enforcement were called on account of our "messy" backyard and compost pile and a potential concern about odors in the summer - not that there have been any!

So come live here in Lousiville. 6 chickens legally!

Kerridwen
5 busy kids
4 laying hens
3 guinea pigs
2 smelly cats (sigh)

 

[showme69]

Quote:
I would make sure I have good documentation on all these episodes, like names of those who responded and found no problem, etc. I'd then tell the neighbor I was getting a lawyer and suing for harassment, which is causing mental anguish. If the neighbor called my bluff and continued making calls, I would make good on my threat and sue. Hopefully, just the threat of costing them legal fees will be enough to stop the ridiculous calls.

 

[SuburbanMomof4]

Quote:
You got it in one. Your daughter is lucky to have you around to remind her. And her neighbors are lucky!

We homeschool also - and I actually wonder if that is a part of this woman's beef. She hasn't said anything about it, but she moved into the neighborhood a couple years before us, when it was almost solely the older folks who moved in as young families when the subdivision was being built... 45 years ago. In the last 6-8 years (we have been here ~6, she was sweet for the first 4... pre-chickens) there has been a massive generational turnover and the neighborhood is filled with kids. Great for our kids, but I can see how it could be upsetting to someone who thought she was moving into a quiet area. Kids are noisy (far more than chickens!) and messy (despite parents' best efforts... though I must admit it didn't seem like a big deal to leave their toys around our backyard!). Our kids are home all day long, on top of that - although I make every effort to be quieter during "school hours" and my kids are hands-down the most polite in the neighborhood (they know not to hold down a doorbell forever, always greet adults with a smile, etc.)... the other kids are great, but I am aware that we have to hold a higher standard in order to keep the neighbors friendly.

I think this woman would like to be the "Nice Old Lady" but doesn't *really* like kids.

It's a great neighborhood in many ways... but I am so ready to be done with neighbors. After the CPS visit I was afraid to let the kids play out front for close to a year! And it turns out it was the backyard I needed to be paranoid over...

Sigh.

Bless you for being a good grandma to your daughter's neighborhood. They may never know it, but please accept my thanks on their behalf. She sounds like a nice person... we all get a little silly and it's a question of whether we, or someone near us, can bring us back before we act. (That's usually my husband's role in our family... but he was peeved this time... it's been interesting...)

Kerridwen

 

[flowerchicks]

Quote:
I agree, it's my house, my yard. All my animals are well cared for and kept clean. My parents bought this house in 1970. At the time, this town had 1 stoplight, it now has at least 12. We were zoned ag res. until my dad split the property and now are zoned rural residential., right smack in the center of town. I have 9 hens and 3 roo's (not intentional, but they are PETS). They are all kept in their fenced area in the corner of the property furthest away from houses. My noisiest roo is being "boxed up" in the tool shed at night, for now. The properties are pretty big (we are 7/8 acre), so no neighbors are that close, but I know I am "breaking the law"...don't care. I could get a permit, maybe I will some day. I am not even sure what the rules are, but I know I am breaking them. Again, don't care. I lost all respect for my town council when I found out they were changing the zoning on all property in town limits to single family residential when it was sold, gradually eliminating all ag. properties.

When I was growing up, the house up the street had a cow, chickens, turkeys, peacocks and I can't remember what else. The house across the drive had horses, the house behind me chickens. Now, because of property changes, only us and the house across the street are still zoned "rural residential". I live in a mountain/foothill town, not a city, not a suburb. I wish I could stay here forever, but I know that, because of the regulations on farm animals, we will be moving, eventually. That makes me sad. Very sad. In an effort to turn my little rural town into suburbanville, they have ruined it. Now I am mad

 

[mkeawsh]

Hi Showme69 in Union, MO from mkeawsh in Beaufort, MO

 

[mkeawsh]

Quote:
You got it in one. Your daughter is lucky to have you around to remind her. And her neighbors are lucky!

We homeschool also - and I actually wonder if that is a part of this woman's beef. She hasn't said anything about it, but she moved into the neighborhood a couple years before us, when it was almost solely the older folks who moved in as young families when the subdivision was being built... 45 years ago. In the last 6-8 years (we have been here ~6, she was sweet for the first 4... pre-chickens) there has been a massive generational turnover and the neighborhood is filled with kids. Great for our kids, but I can see how it could be upsetting to someone who thought she was moving into a quiet area. Kids are noisy (far more than chickens!) and messy (despite parents' best efforts... though I must admit it didn't seem like a big deal to leave their toys around our backyard!). Our kids are home all day long, on top of that - although I make every effort to be quieter during "school hours" and my kids are hands-down the most polite in the neighborhood (they know not to hold down a doorbell forever, always greet adults with a smile, etc.)... the other kids are great, but I am aware that we have to hold a higher standard in order to keep the neighbors friendly.

I think this woman would like to be the "Nice Old Lady" but doesn't *really* like kids.

It's a great neighborhood in many ways... but I am so ready to be done with neighbors. After the CPS visit I was afraid to let the kids play out front for close to a year! And it turns out it was the backyard I needed to be paranoid over...

Sigh.

Bless you for being a good grandma to your daughter's neighborhood. They may never know it, but please accept my thanks on their behalf. She sounds like a nice person... we all get a little silly and it's a question of whether we, or someone near us, can bring us back before we act. (That's usually my husband's role in our family... but he was peeved this time... it's been interesting...)

Kerridwen

My daughter and wonderful son in-law that have my four grand children are going to be getting some of my chickens after I brood them. My husband and I have made them a chicken tractor that has a chicken yard that they can attach to it, so they can move it around their yard. They can have farm animals but they live on a country hwy that is quite busy, so she does not want to take the chance of letting them free-range. They had chickens last year that I had given them but she had just had my youngest grandson on Memorial Day and so last summer was the wrong time to try and teach the kids responsibility on taking care of chickens. So I took them back and they will be getting other young ones in about six weeks.

I agree with showme69 and document. You are doing nothing wrong and if it is because of your children - you are doing nothing wrong there either. I'm sure you know that you do not have to allow CPS or anyone in your home.

"Our kids are home all day long, on top of that - although I make every effort to be quieter during "school hours" and my kids are hands-down the most polite in the neighborhood.." I TOTALLY KNOW THIS TO BE TRUE because of how respectful my grand children are to everyone.

 

[gumbii]

i was reminded of this thread earlier... my favorite feed store is in compton... although, it's not as horrible as most movies and rap songs say it is... LOL... the three feed stores it has are amazing...



anyways, we were driving from one feed store to the next, and we took the small streets... outside of one house on the side walk too, there was a trio of black breasted red OEGB's taking the sun and eating some greens... we smiled at the people outside, pulled over and had a talk with them... for them roosters are illegal, but people have been having their own chickens for meat and eggs for years... i guess because it does have some very poor neighborhoods... and it's easier to maintain some chickens sometimes than to go out to the store and buy some meat and eggs... sad isn't it...? so the municipal codes restrict roo's, and cut the number of hens down to four, those nice people said that they've never heard of the city going to anyone's house complaining about their chickens... some people also have goats, and other livestock in their homes... it's awesome... but very illegal...

i guess it also turned into the city's culture... i have a friend that lives in east los angeles, and at one point, he had over a hundred roosters and hens mostly pairs in his house... the city came down because someone complained, but he got rid of half of them, but the city never came back... they never bothered him again... i guess it's only illegal when someone complains... i believe they complained about the smell... LOL... seems fair... it must have been very strong for the neighbors next door to him... but he also didn't have a lot of time cleaning up after them, i think he's a doctor of some sort... haha... now he has hundreds of pigeons... LOL... there is no cure...