HELP !!!!!!!! They want to take our chickens!

[Bantam]

We have 3 chickens. About five months ago we had a building inspector out to check setbacks on our new lawn mower shed in the back yard. He walked by our little coop and smiled. The next day a cop drove up and gave me a copy of an ordinance that stated we were not to have chickens , but, allowed an exemption for 4-H . My 12 year old daughter dutifully joined 4-H and we have been attending meetings and shows ever since. Now they have other restrictions stating that we have to have the coop 100 feet from our house. No lots in our suburb of Hales Corners, WI is big enough for that. I wrote them back and forth, finally they have issued a citation. We are now going to appear before the board and argue our case. Possibly for a variance or to mofify the ordinance. Any advice from you guys?
THANKS and Marshmellow, Raven, and Creamy thank you too!! HAAAAAAAALP!!

 

[Mistifire]

If none of your neighbors complained, i would hide them off of your property or put them inside and have him come inspect it, then just bring them back when he finds someone else to bully.

I was able to get the ordinances changed in my area by a play on the way they worded "household pets" We convinced them that chickens are common as pets by showing pictures that BYC peeps shared of chickens in a pet type setting.

I dont know if something like that would work in your situation because i dont know if they would concider 4H birds as pets. We were lucky to have some of the people there on our side when it came down to it, only one guy was nasty about it.

Good luck !

 

[Henriettahen]

oh that sucks!!! I never had that problem! but I h8 how ppl have all these restrictions against keeping chickens!!!




well..goodluck!!!!

 

[bigredrooster]

The way I feel about a situation like that is that I paid for my property and it is mine not the city or county.Which I only have about 3 acrers and am in the country .I have one neighbor on one side that has goats and horses and the other has chickens also.And I keep my taxes paid.

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

Yeah, the only thing I've worried about is the whole setback issue. # of feet away from the residence and # feet away from neighbor's residence. Doesn't give you much to work with unless you've got an acre in your back yard.

Good reason to lock up the girls whenever anybody official is on site. My neighbors all like my chickens, so I can't imagine ever getting a complaint.

 

[eggchel]

Start by reading up on your city municipal codes to find out what the regulations really are, and to look for loopholes, etc.
Here is a place to start:
http://www.halescorners.org/index.a...A3}&DE={871A2651-F0FB-41DB-9B72-2E6173C7F343}



good luck

chel

 

[BeckyLa]

Since you only have 3 chickens, hens I assume, you probably have a small coop or tractor. I'd ask a friend to keep it for you for a while. I'd get a good sized cage for the house and keep the birds in there, maybe even in your child's room if you can. This way they are your childs pets, for 4-h, and go outside to get excercise just like cats and dogs. This makes having them no different than having parrots or parakeets, dogs and cats. A childs household pets in the privacy of your own home. period. Have you talked to your neighbors? If they don't mind the birds, they could be put back outside after you little shed building project is over.

 

[SpottedCrow]

Sounds like the inspector had a bug up his butt when he visited.
A dog kennel is a great thing. You can keep them in there and let them out to do chickeny things and bring them back in.
Also go to the town hall or city hall and see the dimensions of your property. Or these days you can go on line.
It usually doesn't hurt to have a petition signed by your neighbours that it's okay with them to have the birds.
Good luck.

 

[bigzio]

Bantam, it's to bad there has to be all these rules in a suppose to be free country.

If you can get a variance, that would be the way to go. If you can modify the law that would be better but possibly harder to accomplish. If you have nice neighbors that don't mind if you keep chickens, a variance should be possible.

Try to keep your cool, and explain that the 100ft required needs to be tweaked, because it isn't possible. Good luck.

bigzio

 

[Barnyard Dawg]

I checked with the county on code enforcement I found out that I can keep roosters and hens and there are no restrictions on the amount, which surprised me. Here your property must meet a minimum of 10,00 sq.ft. to keep chickens and roosters. I saw nothing that stated the coop has to be further than 100 feet from my home. It did state it must be zoned for incidental agriculture which is row crop cultivation and animal husbandry other than kennels, hog farms, feedlots, and the keeping of pets, provided the activity is conducted on a hobby type basis for personal use or consumption and further provided that such activity is not a primary use of the premises. Accessory structures for such uses include, but are not limited to, any stable, shed, corral, coop, hutch, pen or similar structure, which is related to incidental agriculture use of premises.

The old town where I live actually has many chickens roaming the streets and parks there, a lot of city folks come to the old town and surrounding area and complain about the chickens there and even the wild turkeys.

I had a neighbor complain early on, he had stated that my chickens were disturbing his peace and quiet, his home was probably 200-300+ feet away from my yard, we did settled things peaceably he had stated he would get neighbors to sign a petion and take me to court I told him fine. All my neighbors have told me they are find with my chickens and they like the farm atmosphere. We ended up moving the coop a few hundred feet from the back of his lot, he is an urban nudist so I figure that was why he was actually complaining since he likes to nude sunbathe at the back end of his property.