Hello New in Richmond,VA

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getting the permit was SO easy and relaxed, I used Google SketchUp to design my coop and run, that was not the easy part, then head over to Animal Control, they are open Wednesday, the lady on the "stray" side gave me the application, saw my plans and a makeshift dimensions/property measurement work up I did and I was good to go, I walked out with the permit in hand. The hard part there was trying not to get overly excited in the Animal Control building!!!

I measured from my house to the proposed coop edge, coop edge to either fence/property line, and the far side of the coop to the back fence/property line. I drew in the coop and property markup, noted that the neighbors "dwelling" was near/at my house line and that was plenty for them. As long as you are 15' from the neighbors dwellings then they are happy...

When I went to the zoning division at city hall they looked over my plans and asked about the height of the coop but in all said the permit was done through Animal Control. The entire process, including the unneeded visit to Zoning and a sandwich at the City Hall deli then the hop over to Animal Control probably took me 2 hours. 20 minutes max at Animal control.

Here are the plans I took with my to Animal Control.

I was looking at this site Cheap Chicks Farm based on a BYC member's profile. I haven't decided on breeds yet but I am leaning toward standards, which is hard because the little Bantams seem so cute!

We are planning to go to Southern States in March when they arrive and if not maybe I can convince my guy that a swap is best, farmer meet-up when they bring chicks to SS to sell?

What breeds are you planning on?

Wendy
 
Hello RVA'ers Critta and Byrd! I was wondering if anyone else from Richmond was using this excellent site. My wife and I jumped on-board the River City chicken craze as well and got our ladies back in August. After doing a little alley snooping while walking our dog, I've actually seen three other houses a block or two from us Northside that have jumped on board with the urban chicken'ing.

Permits were incredibly easy. We were actually over-prepared as well. They were supposed to schedule an appointment to inspect the coop I built, but never did. They apparently just stopped by during the day and looked over the fence. Permit arrived in the mail a few days later.

As far as breeds, we ended up getting two Speckled Sussex and two Barred Rock chicks that we raised in the basement for the first few months. We moved them out to the coop in December (with a heat lamp on the cold nights) and they've been loving life since. We surprisingly started getting eggs from at least one of the girls back in January when the temperatures were sub freezing. Now we're getting eggs on the regular. I've been building and upgrading a few sections at a time and have been updating on the site here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/cap-city-peep-palace

Welcome!

Adam
 
That is excellent that you both had such an easy time getting the permits. I am having some tree's cut tomorrow and then am planning to do my design in sketch up as well. I am hoping to get busy on the coop and be able to get some chicks as soon as i can get the coop up and permit.
 
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Critta, since your permit only lasts for a year before you have to renew it, you might as well wait to apply. They aren't overrun with applications at Animal Control. Citywide, when we got our permit (2 weeks from dropping off application to receiving it in the mail) in December (but had the chicks in our basement since August) there were only 30 other permits applied for in the city after the ordinance passed. If you know your lot is correctly zoned for chickens, your spot planned out is 15' from your neighbors and the coop is at the back of your property, you might as well start the build. It ALWAYS takes longer than you expect unless you're buying a pre-fab. Also, if you were planning a chicken tractor, you might as well scrap that idea now. The ordinance says the coop has to be at the back of your property, so moving it around your yard like you would with a chicken tractor (which i'm guessing in the city is limited like ours) means you really won't have a lot of space to work with unless you have a large fence line. Also, one last thing to think about, raccoon, possums, hawks and cats are rampant in the city and are in a consolidated area unlike in the wide open country where the chickens can run free and hide. So make sure your coop design accounts for keeping out those critters because the night time raccoon army loves to try and break through a chicken coop's defenses.
 
I 100% agree and am already planning to do what you suggested. I might wait to get my chicks until after the permit. I really liked your coop design and might do something similar. I already emailed zoning and got the information on my restrictions. I am on a corner so my back yard is also kind of a side yard. They told me my restrictions for where I can build. I plan on starting maybe even this weekend.

I was already thinking about the hawk/dogs/cats. Which is why I like your coop on top closed in run on the bottom. I am also planning to maybe bury the edge of the wire down into the ground a bit too so its not easy to dig under. We have some dog owners in my area that don't care that their dogs get out and run loose. I also have done a lot of work taking care of the feral cats in our neighborhood so cats are definitely going to be around so its going to need to be pretty secure from "invaders".

I saw that you said you regretted using the 2x2 on your coop thread. I assume you wish you had gone with 2x4 for your framing?
 
Our coop originally started out with the idea it would be a tractor, which is why I built the run with the lighter 2x2's so, even though the coop itself was going to be heavy, I could put wheels on one end and move it around the yard. Since the city shot that plan down with the zoning rules, I would have absolutely built the run underneath with 2x4's instead to make it even more durable as a fixed foundation. It's always my concern that one day the 2x2's will start sagging and the coop will come tumbling down onto the run. However, it's holding strong. The benefit of knowing your coop will have a fixed base will absolutely let you lay a foundation or run the chicken wire under the ground to keep out invaders. If you have the option, definitely don't limit yourself to just the underneath area for your chickens. I'm currently working on an addition that will extend the living area an extra 7 feet and connect it to a secure compost bin that they can dig through. We also have a fenced in yard that we let the ladies out in under supervision so they can graze, but it comes with two issues. 1. The city can fine us for "free ranging" our chickens so we limited their yard time and 2. The chickens have figured out they can clear or navigate through a 5 foot fence despite them being fat and happy in our yard. So we have to keep a watchful eye on them. So happy chickens definitely like the added space to spread their wings. Good luck! Oh, and for one more Richmond tip, if you're buying lumber to build, Home Depot has had the worst selection of lumber every time I've checked. Lowes has been consistently better whether you're using the location on Broad in the city, off Brook Rd, in the West End or on Forest Hill. I've left each Home Depot disgusted after trying to find a single pressure treated 2x4 that didn't look like a twisted rough cut.
 
I just wanted to post an updated coop progress photo
I just finished the major part of the framing. Most of those cross braces are just to hold it all square until we finish the permanent top braces.
Its currently 8 ' x 15' x 6'.

 
Critta, how is the coop? Our girls started laying a week or two ago so we quickly finish up the nest box and everything looks pretty great.
Any eggs yet?
 

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