Help for my mom

[brittmint]

I live in paulding county Georgia. After my brother moved out of my house that my mom shares with my grandma. my mom was lonely and had "empty nest" syndrome so she got chickens, over the past year and a half she has gotten 2 barred rocks, 1 araucana, 2 silkies, 1 showgirl, 1 frizzle rooster and recently the silkie has hatched two babies (which are barred rock/frizzle and araucana/frizzle) we got a letter in the mail saying that we had to get rid of the chickens because of a complaint from a neighbor who rents the house behind our house. My mom was and still is devastated she compromised in the hopes that she could keep the hens and got rid of her rooster but she doesn't have the ridiculous amount of money required to fight for her chickens. is there any way she can keep these chickens some law or loophole. I love my mom and these chickens are like her babies now is there any way to help her? There are several people up and down my street with chickens

 

[flux]

Does she have to go to court or something? If people on your street have chickens legally, I don't think it would be a problem for her to keep them. Most laws allow chickens, just not roosters, so she probably has a good case after removing hers.

 

[bj taylor]

what would the people behind her have to complain about if she gets rid of the roosters?
i don't know how it works, but you can probably go on-line & see the exact ordinance - that may help her to know how to fix any issue & be able to keep her chickens.
i don't know if it's feasible or not, but if she's comfortable talking to these people maybe she can see what their problem is & work around it.
good luck

 

[brittmint]

She asked before she ever got them if the rooster ever bothered them to tell her and she would find him a new home but instead of doing the adult thing she went straight to the county then a couple of days after the letter she came over to our house screaming and cussing that he wakes her up on Saturday mornings ( funny how no one else can hear him) and her house has flies (she blames the chickens again funny how there is no flies in our house or the coop) and she said she didn't move to the country to be around farm animals : / The county has informed us to keep them we have to get rid of the rooster, get our land surveyed ($300), turn in a application for changing the land from residential to agricultural (another $300) place an ad in the paper saying we have chickens ($20), place signs in our yard Then go to a hearing in court and let the judge decide whether or not we can keep them......This seems like alot to do in such a short space of time (we have 8 days for the app to be turned in and a month till the hearing) I just don't understand why they are so strict about this one flock when there are TONS of free range guinea hens and other chickens around here anyway I just wanted to know if there was someone who was or is in the same situation

 

[flux]

What I would do is go talk to the other flock owners and see what they went through, if anything, to be allowed to keep their birds. I can't think of the name, but do you live in one of those communities where, like,if your yard isn't up to standard they can have you arrested? I imagine they would be 100x harder on flock owners.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

She asked before she ever got them if the rooster ever bothered them to tell her and she would find him a new home but instead of doing the adult thing she went straight to the county then a couple of days after the letter she came over to our house screaming and cussing that he wakes her up on Saturday mornings ( funny how no one else can hear him) and her house has flies (she blames the chickens again funny how there is no flies in our house or the coop) and she said she didn't move to the country to be around farm animals : / The county has informed us to keep them we have to get rid of the rooster, get our land surveyed ($300), turn in a application for changing the land from residential to agricultural (another $300) place an ad in the paper saying we have chickens ($20), place signs in our yard Then go to a hearing in court and let the judge decide whether or not we can keep them......This seems like alot to do in such a short space of time (we have 8 days for the app to be turned in and a month till the hearing) I just don't understand why they are so strict about this one flock when there are TONS of free range guinea hens and other chickens around here anyway I just wanted to know if there was someone who was or is in the same situation

This sounds like the county is thinking she is wanting to raise birds commercially. Your description, and the number of birds you listed do not fit with that scenario. You need to find out exactly what your ordinances are, what your zoning is, and its allowed uses. You also need to find out if the other neighbors with chickens have the same zoning as you or if theirs is different.

Flies are pretty common with chickens, but they congregate around moist manure, not houses on other properties. Take an honest look at your coop. If it dry and odor free (don't trust your own nose, ask a friend over who does not have livestock or chickens, and ask their honest opinion), that is not a real issue. On the other hand, if your friend says that it does smell, you need to do some cleanup.

How far are your birds from the complaining neighbor's house (not just her property, but the actual house)?

 

[Egghead_Jr]

All I can add to this is you certainly do not need to resurvey your land. Your current deed has the survey, this is a legal and binding official form,most town clerks charge $1 to photo copy it and usually $10 to notarize it. To request a new survey is to discourage you and by no means required. If you sold land your current deed would state the difference.

As for changing to agricultural and your informational requirements prior to livestock ownership that all is in your town ordinance. If you state the town and state we can help you find the code. Or do a search online "(your town), (your state) animal ordinance". If your town does not post on the web then again, go to the town clerks office and request a copy of the animal ordinance. Should only be $1 or free.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Not only do you need to know the ordinances relating to animals, you also need to know your zoning and its allowed uses. Unless a city/town allows chickens in all zones, there will likely be some zones where they are allowed, and others where they are not allowed; this is often based upon size of lots, but also upon an area having an agricultural history.

 

[jeepguy982001]

good luck I hope it works out for you. I know from experience how city people move to the country but still want city like rules. My girlfriend is a prime example we met while i was in the army so she's always lived in a city. So 4 years later we move back home. And magically i'm supposed to rid my yard of every bug and critter. Especially bee's while she hasn't been stung she expects me to kill every bee that enters the yard. Sorry my comment isn't exactly regarding what you posted but i need to vent and i know how you feel about city people moving to the country looking for peace and quiet but expecting city life.