Olympia, WA chicken laws?

[BlueHorse17]

Hello everyone! So we currently have 7 pullets in our location out of the 10 that we can have based off of space. The pen is a decent size, however it isn't exactly 10 feet away from property line like it is suppose to be. It's more like...4 feet. Anyways I was looking at all of the information on the ordinances and I was wondering what is considered noisy enough for the neighbors to complain? You have the usual cackling when an egg is laid, and I do have a Brahma who is the alpha and likes to make noise. I have tried to keep their pen clean of fecal matter when possible, and I rake their feathers that have fallen to keep the area looking nice. That and I don't want the feathers blowing through the fence. I do let them free range for about 3 hours a day but they are supervised and the backyard is enclosed.

The neighbors haven't complained about them, but I have just been trying to find a list of potential things they could complain about based off of what it posted under the ordinances for my location. Again I have checked several times but haven't seen a list. Most of it just mentions keeping things sanitary and treating the birds humanely.

 

[sourland]

Good luck, and have a 'Plan B' just in case the stuff hits the fan.

 

[BlueHorse17]

Good luck, and have a 'Plan B' just in case the stuff hits the fan.

So far our plan B would be to move the pen if needed. That is pretty much the only "law" we are kind of breaking.

 

[IamRainey]

Interesting. In my location it's distance from residences rather than property lines.

You've just got to be within compliance. If you neighbor never complains then you're fine. But if he/she does you'll need to be prepared to move your enclosure.

As for what neighbors will tolerate, that's completely situational. I have 3 neighbors in proximity to my coop. Our lots are only 1/2 acre. One LOVES to hear my roo crow. One tolerates it because we've been good neighbors for so long. ...and I give them eggs. One -- the closest one to the coop -- hated it and no offer of eggs assuaged him. It was only when I said my only recourse was to kill the roo (we were in a virulent Newcastle Disease quarantine area and rehoming wasn't an option) that the neighbor decided he could learn to live with it. I'm glad to say he's since learned to sleep through the crowing and is happy with me again. It's just a crapshoot. And, when it comes down to it, compliance with the local ordinance protects you and protects your neighbors.

 

[BlueHorse17]

I guess I’ll just wait and see if they say anything. We have given some of the neighbors eggs but because we are just friendly with them, not to avoid complaints. If we have to we don’t mind moving the coop a few feet over; that’s mainly the thing we aren’t really following.

 

[rosemarythyme]

If the setback is supposed to be 10' from property line (same as mine), and someone called to complain that you're too close, yes you'd need to move or change the pen to comply. Otherwise they're not going to come out just to try to catch you.

As far as noise nuisance, you're probably fine with all hens. Unless you know you have a neighbor that likes to complain about everything, or the property line you're too close to is right up against a neighbor's bedroom, most folks will just shrug off the occasional noise in chicken legal areas.

 

[BlueHorse17]

We chose a location for the pen so that it wasn’t close to any building, not even our house. I’d say the closest that it is (crossing property line) is about 30 feet from the nearest neighbor. If they are on their back porch it’s still about 20 feet. We don’t mind moving the pen if requested. Guess we will just wait and see. No neighbors around us I’m aware of that complain.

 

[IamRainey]

We chose a location for the pen so that it wasn’t close to any building, not even our house. I’d say the closest that it is (crossing property line) is about 30 feet from the nearest neighbor. If they are on their back porch it’s still about 20 feet. We don’t mind moving the pen if requested. Guess we will just wait and see. No neighbors around us I’m aware of that complain.

Really!? That seems very close to me. I think I need to be 100' from any residence.

But I agree with BlueHorse. If you don't have a rooster, chickens aren't all that noisy and I think the sound is delightful for the most part. It was the sound of my neighbors' hens when I was out gardening that made me want chickens. And my husband never even knew they were there until I pointed them out.

I'd give some attention to making sure it isn't odor that attracts your neighbors' attention.

 

[BlueHorse17]

Yeah oddly enough the law states that they can be as close as 10 feet away from the property line. At least in my location. I’ve been ensuring that it doesn’t smell by cleaning the pen twice a week. The main thing that they would smell if anything is the fly traps that we have up. They sure do smell when they get enough in them, but it also pretty much gathers all flys in the heat. Kind of a double-edged sword.

 

[IamRainey]

I use the sticky ones without an odor.

I hope you get to have fun and enjoy your chickens. Eggs are great but if I didn't enjoy them, including caring for them, I wouldn't do it. Hope it will be a pleasant experience for your neighbors too. I LOVED listening to my neighbors' chickens so I wasn't all that surprised when a different neighbor told me the sound of Rocky's crowing is like the antidote to urban living for her.