Moving with roosters

[Emily77]

Hi all!
I'm looking at buying a home in the spring. I have 27 birds, 3 of which are roosters. How do I find out if a prospective place is zoned for roosters? Who/where do I check with? Will I need to check a place I'm interested in myself, or is this information that would be included in listings on, say, Zillow? Can a realtor do this? Is there a certain lot size that it's assumed roosters are permitted at? I'm looking ideally for 1+acres.
Thanks!

 

[ChocolateMouse]

You will have to check for each municipality or town/township you're looking at on your own. It's a pain. You'll have to look up the local ordinances manually and look for their animal and nuisance sections. Some won't have that info online, some you'll have to call the city or visit their city hall to manually look at the ordinances. Mind you pay attention to neighborhood associations and HOAs too.
A big lot means nothing, plenty of them ban roosters. Some smaller ones don't. It's also about zoning.

 

[21hens-incharge]

You will have to check for each municipality or town/township you're looking at on your own. It's a pain. You'll have to look up the local ordinances manually and look for their animal and nuisance sections. Some won't have that info online, some you'll have to call the city or visit their city hall to manually look at the ordinances. Mind you pay attention to neighborhood associations and HOAs too.
A big lot means nothing, plenty of them ban roosters. Some smaller ones don't. It's also about zoning.

X2

 

[rosemarythyme]

Who/where do I check with? Will I need to check a place I'm interested in myself, or is this information that would be included in listings on, say, Zillow? Can a realtor do this? Is there a certain lot size that it's assumed roosters are permitted at?

Don't assume anything, in some areas chickens aren't allowed at all even at 2 acres. Or they may be restricted to lots zoned agricultural/rural only, regardless of lot size.

I also would not trust a realtor to check for me, not that none of them would know, but their jobs are to help you buy or sell a home, not to look up ordinances that can change from year to year. The best my realtor was able to do for me was tell me about specific neighborhoods and how tight/lax their restrictions could be based on her past dealings with the area.

What I would suggest is first look up the county zoning ordinances for the area(s) you're interested in moving to, and see what the county says (many counties post online). If the county restrictions are acceptable to you, then move to the city/town level, then neighborhood/HOA if that applies. For example, I don't live within any city boundaries nor do I have an HOA so only county ordinances apply.

Also keep in mind many areas that don't outlaw roosters explicitly still have sound/nuisance restrictions, so it's a good idea to be mindful of neighbors and how close the houses are.

 

[Folly's place]

Think more land, zoned agricultural, not near city limits. Then, look everything up as mentioned already. Also be sensitive to having very close neighbors to a potential coop, and the chances of up and coming zoning changes.
Move to the boondocks!
Mary

 

[centrarchid]

Avoid McDonald's drive through as moving birds. You do not want the world to know you are moving the birds by hearing them crow

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Oh, yeah that is a thing most people may not know - it's illegal to transport chickens across state lines without NPIP. Most states it's cheap to get. It's also pretty important for keeping track of highly communicable disease so it might be worth doing.

 

[Criticalicious]

OP didn't say they were moving far - just looking to buy a new place. But great info nonetheless. When you look at a property, many counties have a search tool online where you put in an address and it tells you the zone it's in and shows a map of the property lines. Then you have to match the zone with the county and/or city ordinance. A realtor probably won't bother doing that for you. Odds are, with that many birds, you should look for something zoned agricultural or farm. I've also found that the local county office can be helpful with answering general questions if you can't find the answers online.