No chickens allowed. Need help please.

[Potbellied Yeti]

Monday November 10th unbenounced to me the city council for Perham, MN voted against allowing the raising of chickens in city limits. The vote was 3-2. The law had everything outlined as far as size of coop and locations and regulations. It would have also allowed me to acquire an annual permit to be renewed to raise up to 4 laying hens and 0 roosters.

I have already placed a call into the mayor (family friend actually) to discuss matters and am currently awaiting his call back. I have somewhat of a plan of attack such as petitions to overturn this newly established law.

Where i need the help is possibly drafting this petition (how to's) and any other information that has helped others in similar situations as my current one.

Any and all advice is greatly appreciated even if you tell me its a lost cause. Thank you for your time in reading this and hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Potbellied Yeti

 

[sunflour]

Never had to fight ordinances, but don't give up. I would just draft the statement of what you want…get as many to sign as you can and take a copy to the mayor and your town council. The more signatures you can get the better.

 

[jujub41482]

I had an anonymous tiff with a neighbor that complained of our chickens. A lot of time people are just afraid of what they don't understand. The way I snuffed out the debate and got the Home Owners Association on my side was to present facts about my chickens that cleared up confusion and concerned over them. I can offer you my talking points if you think it may help:

• Chickens are friendly, social, intelligent, affectionate, entertaining, low-maintenance, small, quiet and inexpensive to keep.

Chickens are not smelly. The birds themselves do not have an odor and their manure has less odor than that of a dog or cat. Six hens actually produce less manure in a day than a medium sized dog.

Chickens are not messy. They prefer clean environments and cause very little alteration to the landscape that they live in.
Hens are very quiet animals. A dog's bark is far louder than a hen's occasional squawk.

Chickens do not attract predators to the area. They are vulnerable to predators, but they do not attract anymore predators to a neighborhood than what already exists.

Backyard chickens do not pose public health risks. The type of Avian Influenza that is contagious to humans is not found on the North American continent. Bird Flu is spread by contact with the contaminated feces of wild migratory waterfowl. Backyard chickens are neither wild, migratory, nor waterfowl.

Unlike dog or cat feces, chicken feces can be composted to use gardens or lawns as fertilizer. The use of their waste as fertilizer reduces the need for chemical fertilizers.

Chickens are great for weed and insect control. Chickens love to eat weeds and bugs, including ticks, fleas, and other nuisance bugs. Their presence reduces or eliminates the need for chemical weed preventatives and insecticides.

Local Realtors say that the presence of an attractive, well-maintained backyard chicken coop is no more likely to affect values for neighboring properties than the presence of an attractive dog house or rabbit hutch. In fact, areas with the fewest restrictions on the keeping of backyard chickens have the highest property values.

I hope this is of some help to you, and good luck with your endeavor!

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Monday November 10th unbenounced to me the city council for Perham, MN voted against allowing the raising of chickens in city limits. The vote was 3-2. The law had everything outlined as far as size of coop and locations and regulations. It would have also allowed me to acquire an annual permit to be renewed to raise up to 4 laying hens and 0 roosters.

I have already placed a call into the mayor (family friend actually) to discuss matters and am currently awaiting his call back. I have somewhat of a plan of attack such as petitions to overturn this newly established law.

Where i need the help is possibly drafting this petition (how to's) and any other information that has helped others in similar situations as my current one.

Any and all advice is greatly appreciated even if you tell me its a lost cause. Thank you for your time in reading this and hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Potbellied Yeti

Did you already have chickens...or were you contemplating getting them?

 

[lkmarx]

I am running into the same situation here in Zumbrota MN. We have had 10 hens for several years now and someone snitched. I now have to present our case to city council and try to get an ordinance passed. Wish me luck and good luck to you!