- Feb 24, 2013
- 4
- 0
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Hi all -
New member to BYC in beautiful Boulder, Colorado. We have had from 6-24 hens for the last 3 years, currently 12 ladies, who are a mix of breeds - Ameracauna, Australorp, Buff Orpington, Rhode Island Red, some Black Sex-links, Sussex, Barred Rock, you name it! All hens, no roosters.
We have a good-size backyard garden (6 raised beds, 2 cold frames, a small greenhouse) and really have gotten into organic gardening over the last 4-5 years. Backyard chickens were a natural progression for us to get some fresh eggs, and my son (7) and daughter (5) have enjoyed helping us out with them.
We have a backyard coop/run built onto the side of the house, which I built, and it's under some pines which provides some shade in the summer and protection from marauding raptors. So far, we have not lost any chickens to predators (though we have bobcats, cougars, coyotes, raccoons, foxes, skunks, many of which I've seen in our back yard!).
Here's the rub...We live in south Boulder on a quiet street of about a dozen houses, and back onto a condo development. Our neighbors have been fine with our chickens, we have never had a complaint - until now. The Animal Control Officer showed up at 7am this morning to say that there had been a noise complaint at 6am. One more complaint and we're in court, court costs us $325 and penalties $500.
Under Boulder's Animal Noise ordinance (http://www.colocode.com/boulder2/chapter6-1.htm) , 6-1-19 says "No person owning or keeping any animal shall fail to prevent such animal from disturbing the peace of any other person by...crowing, calling, or making any other loud and persistent or loud and habitual noise..."
Talked to the AC officer, and there doesn't seem to be any recourse - they make another complaint about noise, and we are in court. The ordinance does not specify any sound levels, so the level of sound is not a defence. However, the AC officer does not know of any other Colorado cases of "chicken nuisance".
Any members in Colorado, or especially Boulder, with any advice? We have put dark cloths on the two coop windows tonight and changed the bulb of the heat lamp to a red one to hopefully quiet down the ladies in the night - our anonymous complainant (we think one of the condo dwellers) has reportedly been awakened numerous times from 3-6am by the hens, though we have not...
However, it looks like the way the noise ordinance is written, we have no defence, and will just have to give up the chickens - after one anonymous complaint!!!
New member to BYC in beautiful Boulder, Colorado. We have had from 6-24 hens for the last 3 years, currently 12 ladies, who are a mix of breeds - Ameracauna, Australorp, Buff Orpington, Rhode Island Red, some Black Sex-links, Sussex, Barred Rock, you name it! All hens, no roosters.
We have a good-size backyard garden (6 raised beds, 2 cold frames, a small greenhouse) and really have gotten into organic gardening over the last 4-5 years. Backyard chickens were a natural progression for us to get some fresh eggs, and my son (7) and daughter (5) have enjoyed helping us out with them.
We have a backyard coop/run built onto the side of the house, which I built, and it's under some pines which provides some shade in the summer and protection from marauding raptors. So far, we have not lost any chickens to predators (though we have bobcats, cougars, coyotes, raccoons, foxes, skunks, many of which I've seen in our back yard!).
Here's the rub...We live in south Boulder on a quiet street of about a dozen houses, and back onto a condo development. Our neighbors have been fine with our chickens, we have never had a complaint - until now. The Animal Control Officer showed up at 7am this morning to say that there had been a noise complaint at 6am. One more complaint and we're in court, court costs us $325 and penalties $500.
Under Boulder's Animal Noise ordinance (http://www.colocode.com/boulder2/chapter6-1.htm) , 6-1-19 says "No person owning or keeping any animal shall fail to prevent such animal from disturbing the peace of any other person by...crowing, calling, or making any other loud and persistent or loud and habitual noise..."
Talked to the AC officer, and there doesn't seem to be any recourse - they make another complaint about noise, and we are in court. The ordinance does not specify any sound levels, so the level of sound is not a defence. However, the AC officer does not know of any other Colorado cases of "chicken nuisance".
Any members in Colorado, or especially Boulder, with any advice? We have put dark cloths on the two coop windows tonight and changed the bulb of the heat lamp to a red one to hopefully quiet down the ladies in the night - our anonymous complainant (we think one of the condo dwellers) has reportedly been awakened numerous times from 3-6am by the hens, though we have not...
However, it looks like the way the noise ordinance is written, we have no defence, and will just have to give up the chickens - after one anonymous complaint!!!
