JOIN MY CAUSE EVERYONE FOR LEGALIZING CHICKENS!!!!

[HennysMom]

Rhett&SarahsMom :

well. I am officially an outlaw now.
Got a "door knob note" today.
Guess the animal control person came by to "check on the welfare of my animals" since most of the city is still without power(we have had it since Saturday am BTW

)

I checked my cities bylaws already and it says nothing about keeping them for my families OWN use. Just keeping them for breeding and selling extras or meat/eggs. Since we are not doing that. My chcikens are NOT livestock.. by city definition. But I am sure to have a fight ahead of me anyway. Or maybe not, since my neighbors are cool with them. And,, as others have stated. they are a lot quieter than the freaking dogs and other stuff around here.

And so the "fun" begins

How in the world did they know you had chickens? Do you think one of your neighbors told them to come check or something?

Oh honey I'm sooo sorry!

You fight the fight! If I was closer I'd come and stand beside ya and lock arms, wings and beaks!

Count me in and add me to the list!​

 

[onecent]

oh, please put me on your list!! i definitely believe in keeping backyard chickens! "life without chickens? i dont think so"!!

 

[Rhett&SarahsMom]

Quote:
How in the world did they know you had chickens? Do you think one of your neighbors told them to come check or something?

Oh honey I'm sooo sorry!

You fight the fight! If I was closer I'd come and stand beside ya and lock arms, wings and beaks!

Count me in and add me to the list!

No. We just had a severe ice storm and many people are without power still. We got ours back over the weekend.
But since most people have pets the animal control officer(who I guess has nothing better to do since they dont take care of the animals that are running loose around the city killing peoples cats)
Was going around to houses wihout electricity and asking about the welfare of their pets. The city is using the recently cut back on /nearly closed library as a shelter for residents pets. Since people cant take their dogs, cats, Macaws, doves,parakeets, etc to the human shelters with them.

Anyway. She must have seen the coop from the street or something and thought it was a kennel. Looked closer and saw the girls. Since they were out that day. She was also "interested" in the fact we have house rabbits.

I mena come on. The woman two doors down from us has a HOUSE FULL of aquariums and birds of ALL sizes and shapes. Everyone around knows because they SQUACK ALL DAY.
They are nearly as bad as the freaking barking dogs here. My girls dont make a sound. They were out for nearly a month before one set of neighbors even knew they were outside!!

Anyway. I am gathering info right now and am not starting this process until after the holidays. Right now there are still more than half the residents in the city without electricity or heat. And another round of winter weather coming this weekend. The city honestly has more important things to deal with than some ""crazy"" woman that has 5 chickens in her back yard. Well, they ALWAYS have more important things IMHO. New Hampshire law enforcement recently told the state/city that the drug dealers they arrest in NH all say they get their supply from the city we live in. So really? Backyard chickens are an issue here?? Really?

And there will not be a live without chickens here. My dh is already talking about a covert way to keep them in the basement but still allow them daily outdoor time. It means he gets to use his Christmas present and it means i get to put up the privacy fencing I wanted last summer. Even if it is only a small section at a time. I am NOT giving up my girls. I have no rooster. Hefound a home in a town where this isnt a problem for the people that care about what they eat and feed their families. And arent close minded about what a "pet" is

 

[Mrs. McGillicuddy]

Hmfph. First attempt just up and disappeared--trying again.

OK, this is my very first post (if you don't count the one my computer just ate) to the BYC forum. I found your petition while looking for info on whether or not backyard chickens can be kept in Contra Costa County. Among the articles I've read was one re a Viewpointe family who were taken to task for keeping a ton of chickens, maybe some roosters(?), and apparently rented a couple pygmy goats for weed abatement, and they made for a bit of a stinky situation. Upshot was, and I live near there--NEVER heard a word about all the fuss, let alone smelled anything-- the county made them get rid of their little farm, i am guessing. The yard sizes do vary in Viewpointe, from a little 10' to back fence to about 75' and tons of space on side yards, tho some are close enough to hear your conversation thru open windows, say.
Somewhere, a while back, I heard or read that chicken coops may not be kept in unincorporated areas if the coop is closer than 60' from any dwelling, including your own. More recently, I read on the 'net that some city or 'nother had a rule "can't be closer than 20' from a bedroom window". (?)

I only wanna keep three laying hens, and only for the eggs for my own use. However I would reserve the right to give away some, or possibly sell a handful or so at the flea market or farmers' market.

I would support an ordinance saying the number of chickens should be relative to the size of your property, and also, NO ROOSTERS! Strangely enough, I heard one crowing in the middle of the night just this week! I understand if someone turns on the porch light or he sees a car's headlights, it might make him think the sun's coming up. I haven't heard him since then, though, night or day! NO I WASN'T DREAMING!!!!

Anyway, thanks for doing the heavy lifting on this issue. Is there a link to the "letter" so we can see your progress?

Mrs. McG

 

[Mrs. McGillicuddy]

Oh, another thing I came across on my quest for chicken keeping,
something about "Right to Farm Act". You might Google that with "California" attached to it. I confess I only briefly skimmed the article, which was sort of generic in terms of which states, etc. But apparently this is some kinda Federal statute that basically says, if your land was ever farmed, you may farm it now. I don't think that means I can put a couple hogs or steer in my backyard, though, so obviously the whole thing would be subject to (creative) interpretation.

This all reminds me of the un-outlawing of outdoor clotheslines!! There are some hoity-toity neighborhoods in CoCoCo, which OUTLAW outdoor clothes lines (or "solar operated clothes dryers", lol)...but recently with the economy and costs of all fuels being one hot mess, they are being relaxed. Personally I love the sight of a line of laundry flapping in the breeze. I make use of it if it's windy or really hot...FREE is so much better, eh?

Later!
Mrs. McG

 

[FractalFarmer]

Count me in as another California voter who thinks chickens should be allowed in any type of yard. Chickens are wonderful pets, much quieter than dogs, and provide important benefits for the families who keep them. I would never consider moving to any city or county that did not allow chickens, so they would lose out on my property and sales tax revenue.

 

[Chicken Woman]

I read this but I don't see how this pertains to backyard chickens ?
Maybe someone else can find something ? http://www.foodsecurity.org/cfsc_report.pdf

 

[Mrs. McGillicuddy]

Quote:
Uh...couldn't get it to come up--broken link? Can you tell the thrust of the article, or a different web address. Who put the info online, maybe we could just search for that. I'll check back,
Mrs. McG

 

[cowman910]

i think this is a very good cause since chickens are good for a lot good things like buddies, easy pets for children and most importantly EGGS and with all the cases of salmanella and other diseases they are perfect i will definetely try to support this cause

 

[Chicken Woman]

I would love to see everyone that lives where they can have chickens post there laws soo those of us that need to fight this cause would have some current laws for the cuty council to see.