Please Help Me Address These Chicken Issues

[TillinWithMyPeeps]

This Thursday I am going in front of City Council to speak about legalizing chickens in my town. I did the first round of this a couple of weeks ago, and, overall, they seemed pretty open to it. This Thursday, I am addressing a committee which is a smaller group of council members that looks deeper into the issue to see if there would be any concerns. At the last meeting the following were concerns:

Noise
Smell
Spread of Diseases to/from wilb birds or other chickens
Size of Coop
Distance from Neighbor property/dwelling

I was hoping that you guys would be able to help me address some of these issues, and suggest other resources. I am planning on contacting my County Extension to address the disease issues.

How far from a neighbor's dwelling do you think the coop would have to be to eliminate or drastically reduce the smell and noise issues?

How big should a coop and run be to accomodate 4-6 chickens?


I was hoping that as chicken owners, you guys would know the answers to alot of these questions, if you could, I would also like some more "official" resources like the County Extension.

Thanks!!

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Noise should be addressed in the same way they would address noise from a barking dog, loud music/power tools or a loud party. That is reasonable and understandable to all parties; and it is unbiased if a maximum decibel is equally enforceable on all.

Odor should be addresssed in the same way as other noxious issues are. Cleanliness and proper sanitation prevent pests (flies) as well as odors.

Anyways, with the above two, my point is that your town probably already has a system for dealing with the same issues caused by a different source--wrap chickens into the existing system rather than creating something unique that can later be more tightly controlled than existing nuisances. Chickens should not be singled out for special rules and regulations--regardless of whether those rules are looser or tighter.

Make yourself aware of the zoonotic diseases of chickens, and how common each is and isn't. Only a vey few are a common concern (samonella, e.coli), and washing hands is usually sufficient protection.

Any book by Gail Damerov is a good reference; several cover appropriate coop site (it really depends on hte number and size of the birds, as well as the amount of time spent inside), diseases, proper cleaning and sanitation, feed, etc.

Gather a compilation of different city ordinances and code so that they can see how other cities have addressed the issue.

 

[SewingDiva]

This website has good information and good ideas, it was put together by a woman in Arlington MA who is trying to get her local ordnances changes:

Backyard Chickens in Arlington MA

She has a page with local laws from around the country too.

Good Luck!
Phyllis

 

[digitS']

Andy, here's a story about backyard chickens in Cleveland, Ohio.

The author discusses the local ordinances.

Here is Wishing You the Best of Luck!

Steve

 

[bock to the future]

Our group C.I.T.Y. has put together a packet of information that addresses all of these issues. You can view the packet and other information on our web page www.Salemchickens.com. Hope some of our information is helpful to you! Good luck!

 

[digitS']

Wow! Someone did a lot of work putting that Salem information together.

It seemed to take about a week to download those 69 pages (pdf file) on dial-up but I think there are plenty of folks with problems keeping chickens legally, who would benefit from making use of that information.

Good job

!

Steve

 

[Buck Creek Chickens]

check out madcitychickens web site they are the group that got chickens legal in Madison WI, they did it 4 or 5 years ago one of the first to do it.

 

[leaguepark]

What city are you in?

I have three hens in Cleveland, OH. I live close to downtown. Our city council approved chickens and bees.

We are the new "Country"

Good Luck!

 

[chickwitch]

Just marking this topic so I don't lose it again.