Permit After Obtaining Hens

[Beakner]

So I bought my hens without applying for a permit and am wondering what would be the likely scenario should I apply for the permit now? I have ample room, a good coop, and no more birds than the city permits per acre.

Will my city confiscate them? Levy a fine?

What are your thoughts?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Well, first of all, does your city require a permit?

If yes, then apply for one and make a point of not mentioning that you already have them. You can talk about what you want or plan to get if you wish. Do not lie, but don't volunteer unnecessary information. I doubt that they will ask if you already have chickens unless your name has come up via complaints about them.

If there is no requirement, then you don't need to do anything.

 

[Beakner]

Yes, my city requires it and I dislike flying under the radar, but I also want to keep my birds. In all honesty, I jumped into the hobby of raising the hens without considering the permit issue.

The permit application also asks for the names, addresses, and phone numbers of five neighbors, which is standard protocol, I suppose. My question is, if one neighbor expresses even slight reservations about our possession of the chickens, will that forfeit my application? What if three are in favor of our decision and two are strongly opposed?

Thanks for your reply!

 

[Wifezilla]

I would fein ignorance and wait to see if someone complains.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:
WHen you call to ask questions, ask what criteria they use to grant or deny the permit, depending on the specific answer, you can ask additional relevant questions.

 

[3littlebirds]

My town legalized chickens last year so I got three hens- however, you need to get a permit with hundreds of little details to follow (it has to be so-and-so feet from the property line, food has to be kept in this kind of container), plus you need to pay over $100 every year to RENEW the permit. So, we just asked all our immediate neighbors if they would be okay with us getting chickens, and then just went ahead and got chickens without the permit. We gave all of our neighbors eggs as soon as they started laying, and showed the chickens to the neighborhood kids who loved them, and now some of our neighbors even want to get chickens! We've had them since October of 2009 with no problems whatsoever, and just let them roam supervised in our yard when they're not in their coop. My advice is, get the permit if you can, but if it's too impractical, just make sure all your neighbors know and are OK with it and tell them to let you know if they have any complaints, and you should be fine.

 

[Lollipop]

Probably best to talk to your neighbors and win them over and even get their consent, before you give their name and number. I hate surprises...........Pop

 

[Danaus29]

Your best avenue would be to rehome the birds while you go through the permit process. Your second best would be to apply before someone complains. Your current neighbors might be ok with your birds but your neighbors won't always be your neighbors. Homes get bought and sold all the time for many reasons. The next neighbors might not be so forgiving. If you have 5 neighbors who have no objection to your chickens ask if they would mind being part of the permit process.

 

[jaj121159]

Go get the permit. They aren't going to prosecute you if you get a permit. If caught, most times the judge will just require you to get a permit. They aren't going to take up court time prosecuting a chicken owner because they had chickens before they got a permit. I'm a Zoning Administrator and speak from experience.