I'm legally allowed to have ten, BUT...

[AllCoop'dUp]

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Any chance a owl or hawk could pick one or more of those sheep and fly away?? LOL
Would solve your chicken limit!

 

[secuono]

I have 32[allowed to have how many I want] but my point is that you wouldn't think it's over maybe 20 unless you counted. 5 or less is real easy to count, wouldn't push that. But having 15 when only allowed 10 is fine, just DON'T GLOAT about it.

 

[jaj121159]

Take my word for it, nobody but an unhappy neighbor is going to count. Keep your birds from being a nuisance. I'm a zoning administrator and I don't go to the local feedlots and count cows. But if I got a complaint, I would ask to see the current inventory logs, etc.

 

[PepsNick]

My limit is 25, and I have 9... but I would like 18 or so. I am not an outlaw, but have suffered from chicken math, so I'd just say what the heck, have as many as you want.

 

[classicsredone]

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I'd have to agree. Folks in our area are trying to overturn some ridiculous laws right now. They city finally admitted that it would not cost anything in regulatory fees if they legalize backyard chickens. Currently in the city proper, it is a $4000-$6000 fee (they have different prices on documents, so I can't nail down the exact cost...strange..). They consider even rabbits farm animals, so those are technically illegal. In one town up North, one of the city counsel members admitted during a hearing on the subject that he keeps chickens illegally and had to back out from voting with the council.

Anyways, I probably would fudge the limit. Keep the chickens from being a nuisance, and make nice with the neighbors. Offer them some eggs here and there, or even some of the chicken poo/bedding if they like to garden. Nobody will complain unless they're angry with you for some reason. Usually it has nothing to do with the chickens, but rather a different issue. Those people just look for a reason.

Ten chickens is plenty on a standard 6,000 sqf lot, but a person on a 1/4 acre lot could house more. That is especially true if you have bantams. If your lot is on the larger size and you can accommodate more chickens, you might consider asking for an exemption or a change in the bylaws.

 

[OkChickens]

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Isn't chicken math wonderful! I started out with 25, then about a month later I had around 55 now I have 37 and I'm expecting 150 or so chicks coming in mid march sometime! 50 meat birds and 100 red sex links!

-Nate

 

[jomoncon]

Here in New Orleans, there are really no laws concerning, so technically, you could have as many as you want, even roosters. I have 8 17-week old RIRs. And it's just for my DH & I. This is how it went - started off with wanting 4, then increased it to 6 to have extra eggs to give to some good friends of ours. Then when I went to get the chicks, I decided to get 8, since 2 would probably not make it. Then all 8 survived.

I'm trying to figure out what to do with all the eggs once they start laying. Maybe I can find someone from CL who wants to buy a dozen each week.

 

[jaj121159]

I wouldn't necessarily tell the neighbors how many you have now or if you expand your flock. But I would make sure they know you have chickens. That way if there is a problem, they probably don't know the rules, you can fix the problem and all is good. You could later on then add more birds to the flock again and maybe not have problems. One thing I would advise is to keep the number of roosters basically the same. First of all they are easy to tell from the hens. Second, they crow and even adding a rooster or two could make a large difference to your neighbors, legal or not. Supplying neighbors with free or at cost, eggs will go a long ways as well.