Help! Don't want to re-home the girls.

[pennyJo1960]

How did the city find your coop ? is it in your front yard? they should not be able to say anything unless they have seen it?

 

[IdyllwildAcres]

Can they see your chickens from the street? Once you get the letter you will know I guess?

Do not volunteer to let them in the yard, unless you are ready... Meaning get the permit and the day they are coming hide the extra chickens in dog crates in your house.

Gary

 

[Bluechick2u]

Had the same situation at my previous home, we went to the city planning dept and got the rules for our size lot. It allowed us 6 chickens, and we didn't find anything anywhere to contradict it. I built my coop, got my 6 pullets, then found out that the city had revised the code on our block to disallow chickens because it was "too near" some appartment complexes a few blocks away. At first we panicked, code enforcement were total nazis in that area and the fine was 1000 per chicken plus confiscation of the offending hen. But we noticed that many of our neighbors not only had chickens, but roosters crowing LOUD and nobody saying anything. We bribed our neighbors with fresh eggs and camoflaged our coops. Some neighbors constructed stealth coops. (Look like kids playhouses). We stayed there 5 years, no problems. I think the key was that our neighbors had been used to chickens being around the entire time, and with no roosters I was not the "low hanging fruit".

 

[Suzanne Aubin]

How did the city find your coop ? is it in your front yard? they should not be able to say anything unless they have seen it?

City Code Enforcement has been driving really slow up and down the streets looking for tall grass, weeds and chicken coops.

 

[IdyllwildAcres]

Can they see the chickens from the road?

Gary

 

[Suzanne Aubin]

Can they see the chickens from the road?

Gary

No they can't. I have fence weave up so it would be real hard for them to see through the fence and know the movement is chickens. I think

 

[Suzanne Aubin]

 

[Lazy Farmer]

When we first got into chickens many moons ago, we lived in an area where you weren't allowed without being in a 4-H Club. So we joined our local club and got an exemption permit. Our neighbor called code enforcement on us and we showed him the permit hung on the coop and we got away with it.
Mysteriously our permit disappeared one day! Go figure..
Put up a copy of it and bought our first dog. Never had the permit vanish again.

 

[Lazy Farmer]

Code Enforcement saw the coop from the street. I lied and told her it was a shed. A friend checked and apparently they discovered it yesterday and are sending me a letter saying, I need a permit for chickens.

Check with code enforcement and see if there are exception permits for 4-H membership. Less loop holes.

 

[IdyllwildAcres]

Nice looking "shed" out back. Do not invite them in the yard for a look. If the shed is under a certain size, 120 Sq Ft where I live you do not even need a permit for it.

How many do you have? How many allowed you said 3? 3 is a joke. I am in the county, on a half acre in the woods and only allowed 4 which also is a joke, I could have a dozen and not bother anyone.

Gary