Outlaw Coops

[Sonoran Silkies]

 

[scrappychick11]

I'm planning to do something similar. After lots of thinking, here's what I've decided to do. I wanted to make sure I address the most likely complaints ahead of time, including the attractiveness of the coop, the noise and smell, and the welfare of the chickens. So, I'm going to build a 6 foot high wood privacy fence (properly permitted, of course) and then construct an 8x8 garden shed (properly permitted) that will have a couple of windows and some ventaliation vents along with a chicken door and an 8x8 run. (I'm only planning on 5 chickens, max.) The plan is for everything to be very attractive and equally functional for other purposes which will help fight against any neighbor complaints. The shed and run would also work as a dog kennel or the run could be taken down pretty easily and the shed could be used as a garden shed so there would be no impact on property values. I've also gotten the approval of the neighbors on either side and am currently researching the laws in my town about appealing violations, how to handle neighbor complaints, and how to propose things to the city council in case I am reported and told I have to get rid of my chickens.

I'm hoping, first of all, that no one has any complaints, but if they do, I'm hoping to show that my chickens are well cared for in an attractive, non-smelly way and I'm willing to work toward the goal of relaxing the current ordinance about chickens in my town, which is that they have to be at least 250 feet from the nearest house. That really means you can't have chickens except on a very few lots. I remain convinced that if people really knew how sustainable having chickens is, how much more nutritional their eggs are, and understood that they don't have to be noisy and smelly that my chickens will be welcome in my neighborhood. My motto is - Laws don't change because people obey them. Laws change because people DON'T obey them.

I'll keep y'all posted on how things work out...

 

[VigilanteChick]

Good for you!! I look forward to hearing how it goes.

 

[xyresicchick]

Hi! i'm a to-be-outlaw

lol

this is what i'm thinking of doing

that is in a corner of my 50'by50' backyard... i plan on growing spring wheat, sunflowers, and other tall plants along the fences. and growing fast climbing vine plants up the hardware cloth enclosure. i've had good luck with morning glories in this area. so i'll be planting those, amongst trying clematis and moonflowers

i'M THINKING i'll plant nasturtiums, and probably pyrythrums along the outside of the enclosure.

i'll probably try planting red and white clover inside of the run for them to peck at while i'm not there to let them roam the yard (which is already FULL of clover) i like clover lawns more because they add nitrogen and other nutrients to the soil, feel nice on your feet, make a safe haven for beneficial insects (though not so much if i'm getting chickens! lol) and you don't have to MOW it! i might grow radishes in there for them too, since they grow fine in the shade. this area of my yard has full sun in early spring, morning sunlight from sunrise til about 10am then shade/slight filtered sun in the summer for the rest of the day, in the fall its about the same as the summer. winter this area of the yard is full sun. i thought it would be a good spot for them...

 

[dntd]

We are building a dog house and dog run, they aren't outlawed

 

[xyresicchick]

haha, i was thinking of making mine look vaguely like a dog house/run... i dont think my neighbors will rat me out though, the neighbors on my left have doves (also illegal here), and the neighbors on the right break noise ordinance laws til 3am, so if they complain i have leverage to start calling the cops on THEM! theres a ton of other people in my neighborhood who have chickens (mostly illegal HUMANS)... there was a huge heroin bust around here about a year ago... anyways... the cops have a lot more to deal with usually than a few chickens. so in a way... i'm KINDA lucky... i guess! though, i can't wait to move to a more remote area... and have a legal chicken posse and some goats and stuff

 

[VigilanteChick]

Xyresicchick-
I've been thinking about how to use plants to beautify, and possibly help disguise, my "very legal bunny hutch and run", ha ha. Make sure you check out what plants are toxic for chickens. I'm pretty sure morning glories aren't good for them, but I think nasturtiums should be fine. There are some discussions about plant toxicity on this site, but I am not sure how to add links, yet. But, if you search the name of the flower, the threads will pop up.
I like the idea of planting some sunflowers along the fence!! thanks! I'd been thinking about bushy plants, but the height would also be nice to have. I'll be covering the run and attaching it to the "hutch" to give the birds a safe place that they can use in the winter, as well as summer, and I'm hoping that the roof may also help muffle some of the louder songs they may feel the need to sing.

There is an urban chicken group in my town that is working to get our ordinances changed, my fingers are crossed that I'll be legal by the end of the year. My chickies arrive in about 2 weeks!!!!

CovertChicks

 

[xyresicchick]

okay...so i found these links on plant toxicity.

http://www.poultryhelp.com/toxicplants.html

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/farmlife/msg0418062721575.html

so it seems that its a chicken hallucinogen (which is pretty funny to me, the thought that one may exist never crossed my mind rofl).

i have morning glories in my yard already, but maybe i will refrain from growing up the fencing. i know ivy is toxic to everything, even humans. so that one is definitely out. don't chickens usually avoid eating things they know is bad for them?