Question about Deed restriction - Baton Rouge, LA

[KcinnicK]

I live within the city limits of Baton Rouge LA. Baton Rouge allows you to have 3 chickens, awesome, since if I did not have a restriction I would go overboard, and allowing for 3 chickens should be more than enough for our family of 3. Well my deed restriction reads "No livestock, animals or Poultry of any kind shall be raised, bred or kept on any lot, except that dogs, cats or other household pets may be kept, provided they are not kept, bred or maintained for commercial purposes."

The way I read it is that having 3 pet chickens would be OK under the deed restriction as long I was not using them for commercial purposes, do I interpret this correctly?

Thanks

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Well, what do they mean by household pet? An inside pet? Could be interpreted that way. So get them some diapers and an indoor coop for part-time use.

 

[KcinnicK]

I would not imagine whether you kept them inside our outside would matter, I think "any other pet" includes a chicken. I was just curious if someone has experience with a similar clause.

 

[Poulets De Cajun]

YOU might call a chicken a pet, but the LAW doesn't. For all intensive purposes, chickens are still a 'livestock' animal no matter how they are kept. If someone wanted to raise an issue with your deed restriction, I'm afraid that you wouldn't have chickens any longer.

If you need legal help, take your deed to a property lawyer and get the final say so. He/she will be able to interpret the deed, and any loop holes that it may contain.

 

[jaj121159]

Quote:
Poultry is chickens. Other pets normally refer to hamsters, song birds and fish.

 

[NonnasBabies]

Sounds like the Deed Restriction is going to prevent you from "legally" keeping chickens!! Like someone mentioned chickens are poultry and considered live stock! Sucks though!!

Missi

 

[saginawmom]

The way I read it, you could have poultry as long as u dont use them comericially. Where did u find deed restrictions? I live in a subdivison, I wonder if we have them? Our city has zoning. And we are not in an HOA.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Chickens as pets are becoming more and more common. It was even mentioned in a front page article in the Wall Street Journal a few weeks ago. Should the OP's case ever come to a court, how they interact with the animal and its purpose in their life can be used to determine and rule whether it is a pet or not. Wording is important, and the deed restriction left a loophole in the phrasing. If they had said "No livestock, animals or Poultry of any kind shall be raised, bred or kept on any lot. Dogs, cats or traditional household pets may be kept, provided they are not kept, bred or maintained for commercial purposes." The "except that" and "other" in "No livestock, animals or Poultry of any kind shall be raised, bred or kept on any lot, except that dogs, cats or other household pets may be kept, provided they are not kept, bred or maintained for commercial purposes." open the door to just about anything.

 

[tjweaver84]

I would talk to your HOA board. Mine says the no poultry, livestock, etc for commercial purposes and says you can have dogs, cats and small non-offensive household pets. My HOA president lives 2 doors down and asked the board and as long as I am not using the birds they are considered small non-offensive household pets. On another note if they don't enforce other rules in the contract with other neighbors (approval for out buildings and decks and construction in general in my case) then, at least here in my town, the judge will usually side with you if the HOA tries to enforce it. Smae thing if they aren't providing the services laid out in the contract. I talked to several lawyer friends before getting chickens in my neighborhood as well as the neighbors and HOA president. From the way I understand it HOA contracts generally aren't upheld in court as long as you aren't a nuisance and you are staying within the laws of your jurisdiction.

 

[WVchick71]

I am from WV so not sure it would be the same but I do have the exact same restriction on my property and I have a neighbor who is well....lets just say the neighborhood watch all in himself. We have actually been to court over this very thing. My daughter was raising a lamb for 4-h and brought it here to bathe it. we were taken to court over that, as well as having her horse in our yard for the same reason. So, I would be very careful about it. However, a couple years ago we acquired the peice of land beside our property, which has no deed restrictions. now, I have 50 chickens and raise pigs occasionally...lol Keep in mind this is WV but I was told, by a lawyer, that the whole thing with the deed restrictions is whether or not there is someone who is going to enforce it or not. We were just lucky enough to have a neighbor that happens to be in EVERYONE"S business...not! I hope it works out in your favor!