No Chickens Allowed In My Area Of County?!!!

[AuntieRoo]

I live in a small cabin on half an acre in the county, seven miles from town. There are properties down the road from me with horses and my neighborhood is sort of "rustic" I was certain that there would be no issue owning a few chickens where I live. I wanted to be sure that I did not keep over the limit for my land in case any of the neighbors complained. Most in this area do not live here full time BTW.

The woman at the county informed me that there are absolutely no form of farm animal allowed where I live which includes rabbits and even pidgeons! She then said that if I already had chickens that I would be called in to a hearing, found guilty and fined!!! I told her that I did not have any chickens and was calling to find out if I could and how many. She said that most people call AFTER they get chickens and if I did have any that they would find out and fine me!!! I said that I was shocked that I could not own a chicken or a rabbit on a half acre in the county and that it seemed crazy. She said NO! It is NOT crazy and IF you have any, we WILL find out and you will be fined! You can not even have one pidgeon!

I have spent lots of time researching and deciding which breed of chickens I want. I also found plans for an attractive chicken tractor and got all of the supplies needed to start building it this weekend. I am really crushed and feel hopeless. I literally could not believe that seven miles out of town in a rural area in the county that there would be such a law.

I started a garden and planned to have a small backyard flock, and a couple rabbits. I am crushed. I asked if there were any way to apply for a variance and she said NO. Has anyone else overcome this type of obsticle or is this a hopeless issue?

Wish I could move

 

[fullhouse]

Did you look up the code yourself?

 

[EweSheep]

Go to the courthouse and get a copy of the ordiance in your town.....be sure to get that copy for yourself in case she does argue and you got documents to prove it.

I think she is wasting her time arresting chicken folks like you....

 

[rooster0209]

horses are farm animals.

I would read the codes for myself. That sounds a bit unrealistic for a country area

 

[cajunlizz]

Quote:
I would CALL an attorney and let him tell you himself that its NOT allowed . Some of the people in courthouses , ETC. give false information and NOBODY knows where on earth they came up with the information they are quoting . CALL an attorney and tell him you want to see the CODE and ORDINENCE AGAIST poulty . INFACT , when you purchased your property , this should of been told to you in the closing . RESTRICTED PROPERTY ...............

 

[AuntieRoo]

I am even more confused and disappointed now. I just called the city that we live outside of. I was just told that there are NO restrictions for having chickens inside the city limits of the town that we live by?!!! They do not have any limit on how many chickens you own either! You can have as many chickens as you want in this town no matter what size of lot you live on!!! I was told that they have a sanitation law that you must keep the chickens clean and no odor, but you can have a hundred chickens or more on any size of lot in town as long as you keep them clean. I chose to live in the county out of town to have a natural life and keep a few animals and now I find it is against the law where I live in the county, but not in the city?!!! I am very sad and very confused.

 

[cajunlizz]

I am going to REPEAT , go down to the courthouse and get a copy of the codes/permits and ordinces regarding poultry .

I AM BETTING that lady you spoke to fed you some false information .

MAKE her prove it to you .

 

[AuntieRoo]

According to the "nice" woman at the county, my zoning is one of the most restrictive they have?!!! That is so hard to believe because this neighborhood is old cabins in the woods. Many do not live here year round. We had to totally gut and remodel our home to make it nice enough to live in to give you an idea of our little area. It's beautiful, but old junky cabins. It's an old mining area in the woods. Dirt roads and you need 4WD in the winter to get to our house. We did not ask about chickens when we moved in. I just assumed that we could, being in the county and having horses near by. I was so stupid! It has taken us several years of hard work to get to the place where I could think about starting our garden and getting a few chickens. I am so sad at this confusing turn of events. We have worked so hard. I was stupid to not think ahead and check about possibly keeping a chicken or rabbit on our county property when we bought it. I just assumed it would be okay because it was in the county. And to think I could have as many chickens as I want if I lived on a tiny lot in town! How depressing! I am very, very sad to say the least.

 

[Flyingbavarian]

Don't take someones word for it check the code yourself. If some of your neighbors have live stock
its probably ok but you should check for yourself.

 

[Mrs MIA]

I called Fish and Game when I was looking at raising quail and was told that Buttons were the only breed I could own. I pulled up the codes/regs online, and turns out I can have all sorts of breeds as long as I don't release them to the wild. They're not indigenous species, so I can't release. I am also betting that the lady is feeding you a line of BS, so please do check it out before you completely crush your dream.