Ohio Revised Code and Ranging Chickens

[cafarmgirl]

When it comes to dealing with neighbor's I prefer a direct approach and an attempt to keep things neighborly, whether they've done the same or not. I would go to the neighbor, do not accuse him of complaining, but apologize for the chickens digging up the flower beds and pooping on the deck, or whatever, and state that you will be containing them on your property from now on. It's possible he may be relieved that you are willing to address the problem and still be friendly. Certainly it would have been nice if he had come to you in the first place, but maybe he felt you would take offense. If it doesn't work at least you made the effort and it's well worth it as you may be living next to him for a very long time.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:

 

[lady and her girls]

My suggestion play nice clip wings and fence the yard, high. I used a dog kennel. I moved it around like a tractor.

I never had them run loose and supplimented their feed with mowed grass. old apples. halloween pumpkins and left overs I even put in old bales of straw for them to "work on".

I put a lot of back work in my garden and money so having the chickens in it would have been disasterous.

ugh! here again ohio Pataskala the township is no longer and it is all city.... so even though I rent the one acre (4 miles away) and not the 7 around us and the land has been deemed commerical with nothing here yet just up for sale. just stuff nearby yet........no chickens allowed. I had my chickens for almost a year and all of a sudden without a word from any one a certified letter appears and I have 7 days to remove or I am to be fined a 100 a day. two weeks later I still cry. they all got good homes.

Its less painfull for all to pin them up till you can figure this out then to have them ordered out or worst something happen to them by the hands of another.-lady and what used to be her girls-they are all missed.

PS chicken tractor!!! still get fresh food their safe while your at school and not bothering the naibors. I do have mine for sale. let me know

 

[amyparrotflock]

I just got off the phone with the zoning department (called because a neighbor who has bees needed someone to check into it)... you're only allowed chickens if you have five acres of unplatted land acording to the ORC, to have them you have to have your one acre of land platted.

... be careful about who you talk to. I just asked for information only.

 

[CincyChickFarm]

Before we got our hens (and one surprise roo) in May, we checked with our township to be sure that we could in fact have chickens here. Our township governs by Ohio Revised Code . We're on one acre of unplatted land, and after some checking, our township said that it is okay per ORC for us to have chickens.

We have no neighbors to the back (it's a wooded ravine that backs up to a farm). We did check with our neighbors on either side, and they both said that they were okay with us getting hens. So we did. We modified our barn to contain a coop, a door, and a chicken ramp down to the yard. We range our yard birds, and we do not have a fenced yard. Seriously, we didn't anticipate problems because we talked to our neighbors and they said sure, get chickens!

Now 6 months later, guess what? Somebody is complaining. I don't know which neighbor it is, but I have my suspicions: I think it's the neighbor who became stand-offish over the past 2 months.

It began in August with a visit from Animal Control. They left a door hanger that said we might be in violation of ORC 951.02: Animals Running at Large. I looked up the code before I called AC, and saw that the list of critters that must be contained do NOT include chickens. I called the officer -- who is a fellow back yard chicken owner -- and she said that no, I was not in violation of ORC. She said the caller complained of chicken poo, and said that if they wanted to live in the country, they'd move, but this is the suburbs and not farmland. She told me that the call was anonymous so she could not call them back to explain that we were not breaking any laws, but she also did suggest that to maintain good neighborly relations, we might want to consider building a run.

On of our neighbors feeds the birds and gladly accepts eggs. The other neighbor is the one who has stopped being friendly, barricaded his deck, and won't accept eggs. Previously, though, whenever our neighbor was outside with his grandkids, either me or my kids made sure they chickens stayed away from them. We have chased the birds off of his deck and out of his flowers. Every time, he has told us not to worry about it. So the animal control call came as a shock.

We did consider building a run or enclosure, but at the time my husband was working 80 hours/week and simply didn't have time to build a run. What we did do was limit the number of hours the chickens could range to only a couple of hours late in the day, after I get home from school (I am a teacher). They go into their run just after dusk.

Yesterday we received a call from our township zoning officer, who said that he received a neighbor complaint. He could not tell us who complained. He asked that we contain our chickens to keep the neighbor happy, and I told him about the ORC, the animal control issue, and the the AC Officer said we were not in violation of code. I told him what we'd done so far (limiting range hours).

The zoning officer is going to look at the ORC and talk to Animal Control, and he said he would get back to me. He asked that I contain the birds in the meantime, which means no ranging until at least Monday, given that it's a holiday weekend. I'm not good with that and am strongly considering letting my girls out tomorrow in spite of all of this.

I also told him that I am concerned that even if we compromise with an enclosure, they will still not be happy (given their dissatisfaction with our previous compromise), and this will end up in our chicken-owning rights to be revoked. He said that wouldn't happen because they follow ORC -- but I replied that if they do follow ORC, then my ranging hens shouldn't even be an issue, right? And I know that townships can in fact write their own ordinances, when ORC doesn't meet township needs.

I refuse to totally contain my birds. It's not healthy for them, and I might as well buy eggs from somebody else if I have to keep my birds in a factory setting. Unfortunately, that was the Zoning Administrator's first response to this whole endeavor: why don't you just buy eggs like everybody else?

So that's the background. I guess my questions to all of your are, one, have you encountered this type of resistance before? Anybody have experience dealing with ORC and can tell me what to expect of the township's interpretation of the law?

And if your advice is to just build a run, does anybody have photos of what they've built?

 

[CincyChickFarm]

Before we got our hens (and one surprise roo) in May, we checked with our township to be sure that we could in fact have chickens here. Our township governs by Ohio Revised Code . We're on one acre of unplatted land, and after some checking, our township said that it is okay per ORC for us to have chickens.

We have no neighbors to the back (it's a wooded ravine that backs up to a farm). We did check with our neighbors on either side, and they both said that they were okay with us getting hens. So we did. We modified our barn to contain a coop, a door, and a chicken ramp down to the yard. We range our yard birds, and we do not have a fenced yard. Seriously, we didn't anticipate problems because we talked to our neighbors and they said sure, get chickens!

Now 6 months later, guess what? Somebody is complaining. I don't know which neighbor it is, but I have my suspicions: I think it's the neighbor who became stand-offish over the past 2 months.

It began in August with a visit from Animal Control. They left a door hanger that said we might be in violation of ORC 951.02: Animals Running at Large. I looked up the code before I called AC, and saw that the list of critters that must be contained do NOT include chickens. I called the officer -- who is a fellow back yard chicken owner -- and she said that no, I was not in violation of ORC. She said the caller complained of chicken poo, and said that if they wanted to live in the country, they'd move, but this is the suburbs and not farmland. She told me that the call was anonymous so she could not call them back to explain that we were not breaking any laws, but she also did suggest that to maintain good neighborly relations, we might want to consider building a run.

On of our neighbors feeds the birds and gladly accepts eggs. The other neighbor is the one who has stopped being friendly, barricaded his deck, and won't accept eggs. Previously, though, whenever our neighbor was outside with his grandkids, either me or my kids made sure they chickens stayed away from them. We have chased the birds off of his deck and out of his flowers. Every time, he has told us not to worry about it. So the animal control call came as a shock.

We did consider building a run or enclosure, but at the time my husband was working 80 hours/week and simply didn't have time to build a run. What we did do was limit the number of hours the chickens could range to only a couple of hours late in the day, after I get home from school (I am a teacher). They go into their run just after dusk.

Yesterday we received a call from our township zoning officer, who said that he received a neighbor complaint. He could not tell us who complained. He asked that we contain our chickens to keep the neighbor happy, and I told him about the ORC, the animal control issue, and the the AC Officer said we were not in violation of code. I told him what we'd done so far (limiting range hours).

The zoning officer is going to look at the ORC and talk to Animal Control, and he said he would get back to me. He asked that I contain the birds in the meantime, which means no ranging until at least Monday, given that it's a holiday weekend. I'm not good with that and am strongly considering letting my girls out tomorrow in spite of all of this.

I also told him that I am concerned that even if we compromise with an enclosure, they will still not be happy (given their dissatisfaction with our previous compromise), and this will end up in our chicken-owning rights to be revoked. He said that wouldn't happen because they follow ORC -- but I replied that if they do follow ORC, then my ranging hens shouldn't even be an issue, right? And I know that townships can in fact write their own ordinances, when ORC doesn't meet township needs.

I refuse to totally contain my birds. It's not healthy for them, and I might as well buy eggs from somebody else if I have to keep my birds in a factory setting. Unfortunately, that was the Zoning Administrator's first response to this whole endeavor: why don't you just buy eggs like everybody else?

So that's the background. I guess my questions to all of your are, one, have you encountered this type of resistance before? Anybody have experience dealing with ORC and can tell me what to expect of the township's interpretation of the law?

And if your advice is to just build a run, does anybody have photos of what they've built?

 

[U_Stormcrow]

You are, actually, in violation or ORC 951.02 the moment your chickens leave your property.

To wit:
No person, who is the owner or keeper of horses, mules, cattle, bison, sheep, goats, swine, llamas, alpacas, or poultry, shall permit them to run at large in the public road, highway, street, lane, or alley, or upon unenclosed land, or cause the animals to be herded, kept, or detained for the purpose of grazing on premises other than those owned or lawfully occupied by the owner or keeper of the animals.

Your neighbor's property is unenclosed land not owned or lawfully occupied by yourself.

Good fences make good neighbors. Time to put one up.

Of course, your local zoning may be far more restrictive of your permitted activities than the State code, but complying with the State mandates is a good start.

 

[CincyChickFarm]

Before we got our hens (and one surprise roo) in May, we checked with our township to be sure that we could in fact have chickens here. Our township governs by Ohio Revised Code . We're on one acre of unplatted land, and after some checking, our township said that it is okay per ORC for us to have chickens.

We have no neighbors to the back (it's a wooded ravine that backs up to a farm). We did check with our neighbors on either side, and they both said that they were okay with us getting hens. So we did. We modified our barn to contain a coop, a door, and a chicken ramp down to the yard. We range our yard birds, and we do not have a fenced yard. Seriously, we didn't anticipate problems because we talked to our neighbors and they said sure, get chickens!

Now 6 months later, guess what? Somebody is complaining. I don't know which neighbor it is, but I have my suspicions: I think it's the neighbor who became stand-offish over the past 2 months.

It began in August with a visit from Animal Control. They left a door hanger that said we might be in violation of ORC 951.02: Animals Running at Large. I looked up the code before I called AC, and saw that the list of critters that must be contained do NOT include chickens. I called the officer -- who is a fellow back yard chicken owner -- and she said that no, I was not in violation of ORC. She said the caller complained of chicken poo, and said that if they wanted to live in the country, they'd move, but this is the suburbs and not farmland. She told me that the call was anonymous so she could not call them back to explain that we were not breaking any laws, but she also did suggest that to maintain good neighborly relations, we might want to consider building a run.

On of our neighbors feeds the birds and gladly accepts eggs. The other neighbor is the one who has stopped being friendly, barricaded his deck, and won't accept eggs. Previously, though, whenever our neighbor was outside with his grandkids, either me or my kids made sure they chickens stayed away from them. We have chased the birds off of his deck and out of his flowers. Every time, he has told us not to worry about it. So the animal control call came as a shock.

We did consider building a run or enclosure, but at the time my husband was working 80 hours/week and simply didn't have time to build a run. What we did do was limit the number of hours the chickens could range to only a couple of hours late in the day, after I get home from school (I am a teacher). They go into their run just after dusk.

Yesterday we received a call from our township zoning officer, who said that he received a neighbor complaint. He could not tell us who complained. He asked that we contain our chickens to keep the neighbor happy, and I told him about the ORC, the animal control issue, and the the AC Officer said we were not in violation of code. I told him what we'd done so far (limiting range hours).

The zoning officer is going to look at the ORC and talk to Animal Control, and he said he would get back to me. He asked that I contain the birds in the meantime, which means no ranging until at least Monday, given that it's a holiday weekend. I'm not good with that and am strongly considering letting my girls out tomorrow in spite of all of this.

I also told him that I am concerned that even if we compromise with an enclosure, they will still not be happy (given their dissatisfaction with our previous compromise), and this will end up in our chicken-owning rights to be revoked. He said that wouldn't happen because they follow ORC -- but I replied that if they do follow ORC, then my ranging hens shouldn't even be an issue, right? And I know that townships can in fact write their own ordinances, when ORC doesn't meet township needs.

I refuse to totally contain my birds. It's not healthy for them, and I might as well buy eggs from somebody else if I have to keep my birds in a factory setting. Unfortunately, that was the Zoning Administrator's first response to this whole endeavor: why don't you just buy eggs like everybody else?

So that's the background. I guess my questions to all of your are, one, have you encountered this type of resistance before? Anybody have experience dealing with ORC and can tell me what to expect of the township's interpretation of the law?

And if your advice is to just build a run, does anybody have photos

You are, actually, in violation or ORC 951.02 the moment your chickens leave your property.

To wit:
No person, who is the owner or keeper of horses, mules, cattle, bison, sheep, goats, swine, llamas, alpacas, or poultry, shall permit them to run at large in the public road, highway, street, lane, or alley, or upon unenclosed land, or cause the animals to be herded, kept, or detained for the purpose of grazing on premises other than those owned or lawfully occupied by the owner or keeper of the animals.

Your neighbor's property is unenclosed land not owned or lawfully occupied by yourself.

Good fences make good neighbors. Time to put one up.

Of course, your local zoning may be far more restrictive of your permitted activities than the State code, but complying with the State mandates is

You are, actually, in violation or ORC 951.02 the moment your chickens leave your property.

To wit:
No person, who is the owner or keeper of horses, mules, cattle, bison, sheep, goats, swine, llamas, alpacas, or poultry, shall permit them to run at large in the public road, highway, street, lane, or alley, or upon unenclosed land, or cause the animals to be herded, kept, or detained for the purpose of grazing on premises other than those owned or lawfully occupied by the owner or keeper of the animals.

Your neighbor's property is unenclosed land not owned or lawfully occupied by yourself.

Good fences make good neighbors. Time to put one up.

Of course, your local zoning may be far more restrictive of your permitted activities than the State code, but complying with the State mandates is a good start.

The bill you are citing is from 2017 and has been revised in the state of Ohio. https://www.newsandsentinel.com/news/business/2019/03/ohio-bill-looks-to-allow-livestock-in-cities/. You are not even from our state, it appears to be the case. Unless you are an attorney or a member of local law enforcement you may not wish to be misinforming others of possible violations. My suggestion is to inform yourself of current laws, statutes and ordinances, even townships have their own regulations.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

The bill you are citing is from 2017 and has been revised in the state of Ohio. https://www.newsandsentinel.com/news/business/2019/03/ohio-bill-looks-to-allow-livestock-in-cities/. You are not even from our state, it appears to be the case. Unless you are an attorney or a member of local law enforcement you may not wish to be misinforming others of possible violations. My suggestion is to inform yourself of current laws, statutes and ordinances, even townships have their own regulations.

If you are referring to this bill, it was introduced and referred to committee. It has not yet become the law of Ohio, by its own text, provides only limited protection for non-commercial agriculture, and does not purport to change ORC 951.02.

This language, "(E) For purposes of division (B) of this section, "agriculture" does not include agricultural activities conducted on residential property for noncommercial purposes for an individual's personal use and enjoyment." is repeated in numerous places through the proposed bill. ORC Section 951 is not mentioned at all.

No, I'm not an attorney. No, I do not live in Ohio. Yes, I have helped write legislation. Yes, I can read. I can also cite to the actual law, as reported by the State of Ohio, which I linked as basis for my Opinion.

I am not an expert on Ohio. In most states, legislation introduced in the 2019 session, not yet passed into law, would have to be reintroduced in 2021, with a change of legislative session. Perhaps that's not the case in Ohio - but in any event, assuming I have correctly identified the proposed legislation the 2019 newspaper article discusses, it is not yet Ohio law, its not even come to the floor for a vote (assuming Ohio's own website is up to date - the same assumption I made when citing to their current statutes).

Note that i did NOT say that the original poster's ownership of chickens was a violation of ORC or local zoning (which the legislation discussed in the newspaper article would alter by suplanting local zoning boards ability to restrict ownership). I said only the the cited ORC 951.02 stands for the very common proposition that one's animals should not be allowed, in layman's terms, to trespass upon the property of another, which the OP appears to admit has occured.

 

[CincyChickFarm]

Well I'm not a legislator and I don't write laws but you certainly have me doing my research. The revision to HR 124 failed in 2020. Here is the link: https://www.billtrack50.com/BillDetail/1098246.

That doesn't mean it's all right to accuse good people of being in violation of laws or codes. That's why we have attorneys and courts.

With the rising popularity of raising backyard chickens, this is a debate that will be going on for some time and I'm sure more revisions will be be brought up again.

In the meantime, chicken owners may wish to choose their battles and find a happy place somewhere between standing up for their rights as property owners and free citizens of an enterprising first world country, their right to self-sustinence, and keeping on good terms with their neighbors and community.