Got illegal chickens?

[mkeawsh]

Quote:
I have 30 chickens at present and are all relatively quiet like yours. I usually know when a few of the hens have laid but most just do it and don't announce it. My roosters are all very quiet also. In the morning when I let them out is the most I hear from them. They have to tell every predator around that they are out and free-ranging, so come on by and take their pick for breakfast.

Then all is quiet in the woody hollow.

 

[RichardR]

It took me several years of petitioning to have my city ordinance changed before an attorney friend told me to check to see if there were any prior court challenges before I filed one myself, thankfully after a lot of searching I found a case that happened about 10 years ago when one of my neighbors had fought the city over keeping their pot-bellied pig & won on appeal!

So while there is a city ordinance here prohibiting "live stock" since the ordinance has the phrase; "for farming purposes" in it, an appellate court ruled that; "live stock kept as pets" are allowed.

 

[cindy leigh]

Quote:
Roll Tide!

 

[deserthens]

Good to hear that there are other 'chicken criminals' beside me.... Actually my neighbor's dog is much noisier than my 4 hens and they don't make noise at 1 in the morning!

 

[pinker]

I have illegal chickens also. They live inside. I also have a rooster. My neighbors seem to be ok with them I dont let them outside in my yard. I use pine bedding on the floor in their room. I change it once a week or so. I let them upstairs and we hold them like lap dogs. they eat snacks with us. I enjoy having them. But the time may come when someone turns us in and we will have to find new home for them.But we keep a positive outlook.We did have a close call with the police .I had hurt my back and had to go to the hospital by ambulance. The police came first. So I told my daughter to go a feed mealworms to the chickens to keep them busy so not to make to much noise. It worked.

 

[HHandbasket]

I may or may not have illegal laying hens in an area where it may or may not be illegal to have them. I may or may not have had them for anywhere from 9 to 10 months. I may or may not successfully bribe my neighbors into silence with multicolored fresh eggs.

 

[mkeawsh]

 

[chickenX]

we don't have a HOA as we are 'keepin' it real' in the wrigley district of long beach.
we have no roosters but our hens free-range during the day in our backyard. it's been a year and so far we've had no complaints. if people DO ask about the chickens they are usually curious about/charmed by them and i am quick to push a couple of fresh eggs in their direction.

backyard agriculture is gaining more and more momentum in LB. there are folks currently lobbying the city to allow for citizens to keep hens (12 i think?) and up to two goats on their property.
our local animal control agency is understaffed and overburdened with stray animals. they tend not to go "looking" for animals to impound if 1. no one is complaining 2. the animals are well cared for.

now, this does not mean that we won't get a notice tomorrow to remove the chickens from our property. it could totally happen. but in that case we would fight the order to the best of our ability. our plan is, ultimately, to purchase land where we can keep chickens and goats and moo cows legally.

my impression of laws banning poultry is that they have a basis in class bias which is frequently disguised as a "health" issue. however, those of us who keep small flocks of chickens understand that chickens pose no more (and perhaps less) of a health issue than any other kind of animal normally kept by suburbanites (i.e. dog feces can carry disease, not everyone with a dog or cat vaccinates etc. etc. etc). and it is true that prior to the last decade, folks who keep poultry in residential areas were frequently associated with particular socio-cultural identities perceived as inferior to the dominant culture. it was the sort of activity that made middle-class suburbanites nervous. as in, oh no! our new neighbors have CHICKENS - there goes the neighborhood, property values will plummet etc . . .
however, in this new era of backyard agriculture, with plenty of middle and upper-middle class folk getting onto the "grow your own organic foods" wagon, the idea of keeping one's own flock of healthy, non-factory-farmed chickens has become almost chic. thus, many laws in non-rural suburban and city spaces are being changed to reflect this new consciousness.

i buck the chicken laws in our area because i know that they are bad laws based in prejudice, not fact, AND because i believe those laws will be overturned in short order.

viva the chicken revolution!

 

[cobrien]

If I were in this situation and had to pick breeds I would try to find a breeder willing to work with me to identify some quiet hens. Even within the quiet breeds there can be noisy ones. If I had to pick a breed that is quiet and a decent layer, I'd pick Cochins. I have some very noisy BA's right now, and a noisy polish as well. I had to give away my Andalusians because their noise was insane. Silkies are also quiet but not good layers.

Also, I would design the coop so that you can lock them in until 8 am on weekdays and maybe 9 or 10 am on weekends but provide them with light (a window), water, food, and a little room to move around off of the roosts. Mine are noisiest in the morning. Good luck!

 

[hokankai]

We managed to raise our 8 chicks last summer illegally in the middle of a subdivision. We didn't hide them though, our neighbors house was about 15 feet away and we shared a fence. Kept them there until we moved when they were 12 weeks old. They would roam the backyard and when they were little I'd have them out in the front! Nobody cared and I'm sure the HOA would NOT have appreciated it!