Received Bad Information~from Legal to Illegal in a Hearbeat What now?

[Hatrick]

So it's my own fault, but I heard from friends in my city who has previously kept chickens in our city that they were legal (up to 5/6 birds in the city) however after reading a news article today (on the benefits of farm fresh eggs, go figure) it said that the author checked with the city and they ARE NOT allowed to be raised in the city. WHAT NOW?

Our coop is small and we only have four birds however our yard is open to public viewing (until our cedars grow) we're next to a school and have three neighbours and a highrise behind us.

What can I start doing now to prepare myself for a potential fight? And when I go to the city, what paperwork do I ask for to read up on the code and if there are any loop holes.

I'm hoping no one will notice or say anything, and we already spoke to our one neighbour who won't have a problem but until we can start bribing with eggs (they're only 6 weeks old) I will live in fear. FEAR I SAY! MY BABIES!

Yes, I'm an alarmist...

HELP!

 

[Hatrick]

And by my fault I mean, I should have checked myself but I didn't really want to know the truth...
Although I probably still would have done it.

 

[Whispering Winds]

Is it financially feasible for you to build a security/privacy fence around them until the trees grow, or plant something annually to grow fast around the pen?

 

[horsejody]

Don't assume that they are legal or illegal until you read the code yourself. The reporter could have bad information. What city and state do you live in? Maybe somebody on the forum lives nearby and already has the info.

 

[cassie]

Get a copy of the code. Take pictures of your nice coop and clean sanitary set up. Stay on good terms with your neighbors. Lay low and keep quiet. If people don't know they are there, they can't complain. Also, it doesn't hurt to landscape your yard so it is not easy to see into. Hedge roses such as Simplicity available from Jackson Perkins are good.

 

[Hatrick]

We planted a bunch of cedars along our fence that the school is on (although I brought the chicks to my daughter's class for show and tell) so much for keeping it quiet. Oops. We also bought a fast growing vine to help cover the fence in the direct eye line of the coop. It's small and a little bit patch-worky looking but we plan on keeping smell and bugs to a minimum with some DE. After reading the article I promptly went out and put my kids Little Tykes toys in front of the run. The coop just looks like a composter in my opinion. My mom works for the city...maybe she can find somone to take bribes. LOL! We're in St. Catharines, Ontario Canada, so I don't know if anyone on here is local like me. If there is though I would LOVE to hear from you! I won't tell...I promise.

 

[georgialee]

See if your city code is listed here: http://www.municode.com/Resources/OnlineLibrary.asp. if it is it should tell you for sure if chickens are legal or not.

 

[Hatrick]

That link appears to only apply to the great USA, not us up here in Canada. I wonder if we have something like that for us, does anyone know?

 

[horsejody]

I just checked on the St Catharines city website in the by-laws area. They seem to have info on dog laws, zoning, etc.

http://www.stcatharines.ca/cityservices/citydepartments/corpsupportsvcs/Bylaws/bylaws.aspx

I did searches using the words, livestock, poultry and chickens. Nothing came up. I wouldn't be so sure they are outlawed. The online database might be incomplete. You might have to go to the courthouse in person to read the codes. Maybe you could annonymously email them and ask for information on the laws regarding backyard chickens.

 

[Hatrick]

So I found this and I wonder what everyone thinks about it's wording. I was pretty optimistic until I got to the sentance at the very end. Thank goodness I don't have a manatee.

Does this look like it applies to my girls?

http://www.stcatharines.ca/cityserv...aws/docs/bylaws/keeping_of_animals_95_212.pdf