Illegal Chickens??

[theFox]

Quote:
Now let's get to the matter then, tell me were you in or out of compliance with all of the ordnances of your town or city before you started your campaign to legalize chickens.

Here is how it is seen from the other side of the dais if you are currently illegal:

Oh, I see, you stand before us asking us to change an ordinance, when you obviously don't give a rat's hind end about what our ordinances say and will just do as you darn well please anyway.

Motion fails.

Yep folks, flaunt the law, and the law makers will keep on whipping you in public ..... it has always been that way ..... human nature folks.

 

[calista]

That 1918 USDA poster was just the coolest thing I've ever seen promoting backyard poultry-keeping -- made me want to stand up and salute! Thanks for posting it for us to see.

For the OP, it would be wrenching to give up your birds if forced to, so I'll have to agree that you should either move to a bigger lot, or not do it where you are. Good luck.

 

[nonseq]

Oh whatevs! Nitpicky old fox.

I asked! and was told wrong!

Eh. I'll see how it goes. There's plenty of other folks in this town with/or wanting chickens. They can be my public face.

 

[theFox]

Quote:
Just make certain that you keep at some length from the folks being your public face.

We fox are not nitpickers, we just call'em as we see them and over several decades (yep, I'm old, but then, some folks once said I was born a lot older than most) I've seen quite a number.

In the case of persuading a body that writes laws I've seen many folks try and get nowhere, the same is true when asking for a variance after the fact.

While a lot of folks claim that asking forgiveness is easier than asking for permission, that may be true for them, however more of them discover they are not forgiven than are.

Those are the ones crying while finding new homes for Fluffy, Red, and Goldie.

 

[nonseq]

It was Rodeo, Chickenardo, and Ranelle.......

I read the variance hearing minutes, and as long as the person who wanted the variance showed up, it was usually granted. Even stuff that the petitioner was probably lying about. I spoke to the Township zoning officer and she told me that she would have given me a variance. Even after the fact....

Just so's you know, I made a few calls and the crappy condition of the fence between my yard and the person who complained about me is a code violation. The Pitt Bull is another. And as soon as Larry gets back with that 30' RV, he'll be getting a letter from our friendly neighborhood CEO.

I feel like I should be the better person, but.....


As far as the Council? I don't think anyone considered me a true scofflaw. Uninformed, perhaps.....

I am short and blonde and soft-spoken. I look and sound far younger than I am. This has been a liability in some ways. In others, an asset.

 

[theFox]

Quote:
Now why should you be any better than say the person who got you all worked up (all's fair in love and war, you love your chickens so you will declare war on those that are causing you problems) ?

You do understand that I'm not talking about your specific town, a number of towns are quite sloppy and only follow their own procedures when forced to, so some little town in the sticks may have a very loose variance granting process that isn't in line with their own laws.

This situation frequently gets corrected only when a true nitpicker gets slapped by the town.

Sort of what Larry (and some others) is (are) about to discover.

 

[ranchhand]

To the OP:

You DO know that every time a hen lays an egg she starts a rather loud "egg song"? And that usually ALL the hens join in? We have only 2 acres, and the whole area hears it every time an egg is laid.

 

[nonseq]

Fox - I think the seeds of this were laid when Larry decided to move his fence to accommodate that RV. The fence that was standing there for 30 years. He wanted to move it 8' into our yard. We said no, 35 year old pins may not be accurate. Furthermore no one can find ALL of the pins. This was us and our next door neighbors. If you want to move the fence that much, you need to hire a surveyor. Larry didn't want to do that. So we compromised on 4 feet. Not a word was said on chickens while this was hashed out. And everybody was in my yard doing the hashing.

This whole thing has been fascinating. Very informative. Educational. I almost want to thank them.

 

[theFox]

Quote:
Life is like that sometimes.

 

[Morgan7782]

I am another illegal chicken owner. I live in South Sacramento, and there are fields everywhere, I am pretty close to Elk Grove/Galt area. Walking distance to the county line where it's legal to have 6 hens. I have 5 hens in city limits, and Mayor Kevin Johnson can... Ahem.. Yeah. He is against backyard chickens but Sacramento is getting much closer to legalizing the keeping of 4-6 HENS, no roosters.

I have neighbors on either side of me, both are older and very nice. I also share my back fence with a nice family. I have not had any complaints, and usually when people find out I have chickens they do the classic "I have always wanted a few hens..."

The kids in the neighborhood love coming over and seeing the different breeds, they especially get a kick out of the Brahma's feathered feet. I got some golf balls from my across the street neighbor for the nest boxes, and he is quite excited to get some fresh eggs.

I think the ability to fly under the radar legally depends on where you live, even where in a big city does have an impact. I live on the more country side of Sacramento, and there are daily rooster crows around here, so I am not too worried about trouble with the law. Plus, Sacramento has PLENTY of other issues to tend to rather then some backyard chicken owner.

A few notes: I clean my coops thoroughly, and my chickens are not penned, they free range in the yard from morning till night. Every week I rake up the yard, and take a few bucketfuls of dirt/chicken poop/vegetation and toss it in a compost pile in the back. I also selected breeds who tend to be quieter then some, and less flighty to avoid fence hoppers. So far so good! I have fruit trees in my backyard and the dropped fruit attracts WAY more flies then any chicken poop.

Whatever you choose to do I wish you luck! Just go into it KNOWING that you could lose your chickens if you are illegal. I love my chickens, but worst comes to worst and I have to rehome them I have a few friends I know would offer them a wonderful home.

Oh one more thing! I have less land then 1/4 acre, I think.. Not exactly sure, my yard is big but it IS an urban backyard. My chickens are totally content

This lot is probably... 1/5 or 1/6 an acre.