restrictions about distance from owner's home

[claudiaandphil]

I see that many ordinances restrict how far away chickens have to be from the owner's residence, in addition to how far away from neighbors. I understand the distance from neighbors but why are there restrictions to how close you can keep them to your own house? any one have any idea?

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

I've never seen ordinances with distances specified from the owner's home. I have seen ones that specified distances from residences, without specifying htat it was neighboring homes, but have always assumed that they did not really mean the owner's home.

 

[Mamma_Duck04]

Generally they're written that way taking into account health/environmental factors. Ya know, cuz chickens are such scary, dirty creatures & stuff

It's to reduce the chances of smells from the coop entering the home, pests drawn in, disease (cuz I forgot to mention they're DISEASED too), dust, etc etc. & Sometimes, I think whoever writes these thinks the owners don't want to hear them either, cuz we just want to watch them from a mile away, but not actually get near or touch them lol.

 

[Yay Chicks!]

Yep. Our town has those distance restrictions as well. The good thing is that, unless there are complaints, no one here monitors this. We are on an honor system, more or less. My coop is a little "too close" to my house, but I'm not going to tell on myself

It may be a little close to my neighbors as well, but I've spoken with him and he is totally fine with it (it may help that I put up with his moldy, mossy old truck that probably hasn't run in 20 years and sits in the front yard right next to the property line...)

 

[lebentier]

this is why most chicken laws need to be revised

 

[NoelTate]

I live in Saraland, Alabama, and the only restriction here is that chickens have to be kept at least 200' from a primary residence. There are no restrictions on numbers or roosters, just the distance from a primary residence, being yours or a neighbor's. I guess it is a public health interest thing, but it doesn't make sense to me. If I want to build the coop right against my bedroom window, I should be able to. Luckily, the city really doesn't show interest in anyone's chickens or trying to make people get rid of them. I hope it stays that way!

 

[claudiaandphil]

interesting responses -
thank you all!