Raising chickens against zoning laws!

[realsis]

yes I know what you mean!! I only have four silkie hens on a 10;000 sq foot lot which is a huge lot. I live right on the verge of city limit in fact it was actually annexed into the city. across the street is horse property. and its still illegal for me to have chickens! I have NO neighbors behind me and just two on each side. I just pray I can continue to peacefully raise my girls with out interference. they bring great joy into my life. I am so disgusted and frustrated at my city counsel. they really show their ignorance when they say chickens would be bad for our air quality. come on really they couldn't think of a better excuse to shoot down the proposal? it all boils down to ignorance. why they look at chickens as some kind of filthy rats I just don't understand... forcing good law obeying citizens to break the law. its a shame... it really is. I was praying it would pass so we could be legal but sadly it didn't. now I doubt it will be brought up again for years!

 

[joan1708]

Realsis, I share your disgust and frustration at elected city leaders who don't seem to posses the sense God gave a chicken. Are they stuck in time? How can they not see the wave of good people trying live sustainable lives. Have they not picked up a garden magazine or participated in anything "green" in the past 10+ years? I think they live in polluted houses and yards with chemical fertilizers, weed-killers, meatballed bushes and neat rows of begonia's and stupidly look down their noses at us, frightened we will decrease their house values or give them salmonella. It's so incredulous and insane, you just don't know what to say.

 

[realsis]

I completely agree! I am so disgusted and frustrated at them right now its beyond words! they just had the vote on the 15th. ignoring the pleas from the people and the 4H students . what really got me was what they said. that chickens will hurt our already worse air in the nation air quality! really? come on? and of course they said they will bring disease smell and rodents. they won't look at the facts they refuse to educate themselves on the subject
they just blindly shoot us down. I would write them a letter of disgust but I don't want to bring attention to myself now being an outlaw and all. I was really hoping for a change. it really frustrates me to no end that I'm a property owner and I don't have the right to fresh eggs legally. how insane is that? this movement is sweeping the nation weather they like it or not.. used to be common practice that people had chickens to help feed there families . what has gone so wrong that now they are illegal? its insanity. they do act as if a live chicken is a breeder of disease that will ruin our air quality and give us all the bird flu. I'm so tired of the ignorance. I guess there is not much hope for my town and changing there minds. because the issue was just brought up and shot down its not at all likely to come back up for a very long time... I'm so saddened by the outcome of this vote. they really couldn't come up with something better than saying chickens will hurt our air quality? that's one of the MOST ridicules ignorant things I've ever heard.. I'm so glad I have found this forum of like minded people who understand what I'm saying! I'm sorry for the rant I'm just so angry at the outcome of the vote. hope you understand. also thanks for listening.

 

[luckyshamrock23]

Hi all, new to the threads!

I live in Port charlotte florida and the county commisioners are all nazi's. Ive been going back and forth with code complience about my flock for a year now! i dont have a cope i just let them roost in the orange tree and lay in a five gallon bucket with straw, easy peezy are they like it, they wouldnt be on me if it wasnt for the 86 year old widow next door that makes the code officer peer over my 6 foot privicey fence( with her own ladder) to see the hens, she does this to all the neibors, complaints complaints complaints! dogs cats ,everything , she just has nothing todo with her time. Theres no specific law that says no chickens, they just send a letter saying chickens are a "prohibited use" and must be removed. I hid the chickens the first few times, but now the have been trying to send me certified mail, which i refused, now a process server which i ignor i figure that they cant bring me before the board of county commisioners unless they serve me. we need to stand up cuz we have a right to grow are own food! this is silly, so anybody have the same expirence? Im not giving uo my girls!

 

[joan1708]

Hi all, new to the threads!

I live in Port charlotte florida and the county commisioners are all nazi's. Ive been going back and forth with code complience about my flock for a year now! i dont have a cope i just let them roost in the orange tree and lay in a five gallon bucket with straw, easy peezy are they like it, they wouldnt be on me if it wasnt for the 86 year old widow next door that makes the code officer peer over my 6 foot privicey fence( with her own ladder) to see the hens, she does this to all the neibors, complaints complaints complaints! dogs cats ,everything , she just has nothing todo with her time. Theres no specific law that says no chickens, they just send a letter saying chickens are a "prohibited use" and must be removed. I hid the chickens the first few times, but now the have been trying to send me certified mail, which i refused, now a process server which i ignor i figure that they cant bring me before the board of county commisioners unless they serve me. we need to stand up cuz we have a right to grow are own food! this is silly, so anybody have the same expirence? Im not giving uo my girls!

Please be careful. If you make them too mad, you could end up with a fine or even be arrested. It doesn't matter that the ordinances are crazy, your neighbor is crazy and that you are doing nothing wrong!

 

[realsis]

I wish you the very best of luck! I hope all goes well for you! be careful. its really sad but true that someone can actually get fined or jailed for chickens! our world has gone mad! I really hope everything works out for you! please keep us posted on how things are going OK? best of luck to you!

 

[Margiechickmom]

I have illegals too. My stupid town ordinance allows for 1 chicken per acre. They're classified as livestock. So on my 1 acre property, I can legally keep 1 chicken. What are you going to do with 1 chicken? Anyway, they've been here for 3 years now. One day someone from the county showed up at my door and I almost had a heart attack thinking that it was about the chickens. It was the tax office. Just as bad, one of my "neighbors" or "friends" looked up my tax listing and reported to the county that we hadn't listed our partially finished basement on our tax listing. Ridiculous what people will do, even if you're not hurting anyone.

 

[realsis]

wow thank God it wasn't about your chickens! what really makes me sick is in certain cities people can actually grow pot legally but they won't let us have chickens! what has our world come to? drug dealers are OK but chicken owners are outlaws! what the heck? it really don't make any since! its a sad sad state. your neighbor can legally grow drugs if its for " medical use" but we can't have chickens for fresh eggs? what the ****! seriously our world has gone mad! this is so wrong on so many levels! I'm so disgusted with my towns decision. they made there decision with out even looking over the facts or the prepared package for them to look at. I wrote a letter to the editor of the news paper because I was so disgusted that the council would not even look over the package of facts prepared for them before they decided no. they did not even weigh the facts. it was just no. that tells me how this city works. they are not fair they won't even look at facts and we the people don't matter. they are going to do what ever they want to do and we don't matter. facts don't matter...its very sad....

 

[joan1708]

I have illegals too. My stupid town ordinance allows for 1 chicken per acre. They're classified as livestock. So on my 1 acre property, I can legally keep 1 chicken. What are you going to do with 1 chicken? Anyway, they've been here for 3 years now. One day someone from the county showed up at my door and I almost had a heart attack thinking that it was about the chickens. It was the tax office. Just as bad, one of my "neighbors" or "friends" looked up my tax listing and reported to the county that we hadn't listed our partially finished basement on our tax listing. Ridiculous what people will do, even if you're not hurting anyone.

OMG!

 

[joan1708]

wow thank God it wasn't about your chickens! what really makes me sick is in certain cities people can actually grow pot legally but they won't let us have chickens! what has our world come to? drug dealers are OK but chicken owners are outlaws! what the heck? it really don't make any since! its a sad sad state. your neighbor can legally grow drugs if its for " medical use" but we can't have chickens for fresh eggs? what the ****! seriously our world has gone mad! this is so wrong on so many levels! I'm so disgusted with my towns decision. they made there decision with out even looking over the facts or the prepared package for them to look at. I wrote a letter to the editor of the news paper because I was so disgusted that the council would not even look over the package of facts prepared for them before they decided no. they did not even weigh the facts. it was just no. that tells me how this city works. they are not fair they won't even look at facts and we the people don't matter. they are going to do what ever they want to do and we don't matter. facts don't matter...its very sad....

I hope they print your letter. Keep us posted.