Hey everyone! I am new to this whole blogging business. I have been a fan of backyardchickens.com for years now so I finally decided to set up an account. I owned chickens with my family growing up in southern Illinois until we had to move to Plainfield in 2001. It was very difficult to give up my best friends but I knew that some day I would get some more chickens of my own. Thankfully in recent years their has been this wonderful grassroots insurgence and many local cities and towns where I live have become pro-backyard chicken. Last year I decided to take a leap and buy some chickens of my own. I asked my local government (Wheatland Township) if chickens were allowed. They told me that they didn't have an ordinance for or against chickens and directed me to call the county (Will) for their rules about owning chickens. When I called Will county I was directed to the head of zoning. He asked for my tax I.D. number for our house and then said that we were not zoned for agriculture and therefore not allowed to own chickens. This information is contradictory to many local governments ordinances pertaining to chickens such as Plainfield, Joliet, Crest Hill, Naperville, and Aurora as far as I know.(If anyone lives locally to me and knows of other towns that are pro chicken let me know) So, I made the decision to own chickens despite of what I was told by the county.
I purchased my chicks from mypetchicken.com (great website and service!) and I have 6 currently(had 7 but HE didn't do well with the neighbors so he had to go). I have 3 Wyandottes (a blue-laced red, a silver, and a gold), a black Astralorp, an Amerucana Easter-Egger, and what I was told is a Buff Maran but I think she is a Buff Orpington. In order their names are Penelope Lane, Amelia, Prudence, Winifred, Gertrude the bearded lady
, and Eleanor Rigby.(Yes, some have Beatles names)
Other than the rooster issue(he was an accident. named him Willow until he crowed and then we changed his name to Rocky Racoon. My picture is Rocky's cute little face) we have had no real issues with neighbors and actually 2 of my neighbors have decided to own chickens too! One of which is a member of this site. I live on 3/4 of an acre and have a privacy fence so I'm sure this has helped with any issues. Unfortunately, my neighbor just received a letter in the mail from the county 2 days ago saying that she has 14 days to remove her chickens from her property.
I knew this day would come. We are still unsure who spilled the beans on her but I know this puts me and my other neighbor at risk of loosing our sweeties! We plan to go to the papers about this and then move to get an ordinance in Wheatland Township for owning chickens. So, I am looking for any local support to our cause and any advice. If anyone is interested in starting a local chicken group or knows of an already exiting group, LET ME KNOW! I already have a few ideas to help get this moving forward but we genuinely need as much local support as we can muster! Thank you for any help or advice you can share!!!
I purchased my chicks from mypetchicken.com (great website and service!) and I have 6 currently(had 7 but HE didn't do well with the neighbors so he had to go). I have 3 Wyandottes (a blue-laced red, a silver, and a gold), a black Astralorp, an Amerucana Easter-Egger, and what I was told is a Buff Maran but I think she is a Buff Orpington. In order their names are Penelope Lane, Amelia, Prudence, Winifred, Gertrude the bearded lady
Other than the rooster issue(he was an accident. named him Willow until he crowed and then we changed his name to Rocky Racoon. My picture is Rocky's cute little face) we have had no real issues with neighbors and actually 2 of my neighbors have decided to own chickens too! One of which is a member of this site. I live on 3/4 of an acre and have a privacy fence so I'm sure this has helped with any issues. Unfortunately, my neighbor just received a letter in the mail from the county 2 days ago saying that she has 14 days to remove her chickens from her property.
I knew this day would come. We are still unsure who spilled the beans on her but I know this puts me and my other neighbor at risk of loosing our sweeties! We plan to go to the papers about this and then move to get an ordinance in Wheatland Township for owning chickens. So, I am looking for any local support to our cause and any advice. If anyone is interested in starting a local chicken group or knows of an already exiting group, LET ME KNOW! I already have a few ideas to help get this moving forward but we genuinely need as much local support as we can muster! Thank you for any help or advice you can share!!!
from Ohio. So glad you joined. Good luck and don't give up. 
