Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Perris]

digging into allotment law while at a long wait at the doctor’s office the other day

I hope this was for a routine matter and that you're OK...

 

[RoyalChick]

I hope this was for a routine matter and that you're OK...

Aww. Thanks for your concern.
I have a small cancerous patch on my cheek. Too much time outside and I really hate face creams (though I do usually wear a straw hat).
They froze it off but are not sure it is all gone.
I really like the derm doc I see, but I think she has never owned a watch so she is always running impossibly late. So I had an hour or more to become an expert in allotment law!

 

[no fly zone]

How frustrating that you weren’t even checked in! I’m glad you were able to take your business elsewhere. Did you miss work to take her in?

No, i have today off

 

[Shadrach]

My guess is her partner was the leaseholder and she has taken it over.
Allotment leases are often ambiguous as to whether they are statutory (in which case they are allotments in perpetuity) or temporary (renewed each year). It is apparently a hot topic with local authorities and the ambiguity is likely to make the local authority cautious about simply taking it back unless it is unambiguously temporary.
If it is clearly temporary then they can take it back chickens or no chickens.
The name of the leaseholder has in other cases been provided under freedom of information requests.
Allotments can have up to 50 chickens without any other licenses required. There is no such thing as a smallholder license - simply a requirement to register with the local parish if you keeep livestock (defined as fewer than 50 chickens).

All the above I gleaned from digging into allotment law while at a long wait at the doctor’s office the other day.

My takeaway that the threat about ‘if we do x then they will build in the lot’ is purely fear-mongering.

None of that changes what is the right thing to do for Henry and gang of course.

Thanks RC. I too have not found such a thing as a smallholders license. One funny point, the allotment lease prohibits the selling of eggs.
It also only deals with hens, not males.

The council wanting to build on the land may be being used as scaremongering now but it was the reason the allotments started. There was a petition by local residents. A local historian wrote up a bit about the fields history to aid the cause. The council recuctantly agreed that it could be used as allotments the nature of which is yet to be established.

Another thing I read is that tresspass laws do not apply to allotments so despite C's threats to some of the plot holders, they cant eveict them it seems. Not sure how this works yet.

C is allowed to sublet under allotment law. I would assume that any letting requires a contract and I would also assume accounts.

British law is a bit of a mess, particularly when it comes to common law where the right to grassland for livestock originates which is where I imagine the roots of allotment law are.

 

[Shadrach]

Don't worry. If she's struggling with anything like what I described, you run no risk of ever raising their self-esteem. You only run the risk of having an easier resolution as you triage this situation.

Think of it not so much as lying, but as practicing compassion for someone with fingernails and leg hair instead of claws and scales (and less self-awareness than the average chicken).

I didn't sign up to fix C. I signed up for the chickens.

 

[RoyalChick]

Thanks RC. I too have not found such a thing as a smallholders license. One funny point, the allotment lease prohibits the selling of eggs.
It also only deals with hens, not males.

The council wanting to build on the land may be being used as scaremongering now but it was the reason the allotments started. There was a petition by local residents. A local historian wrote up a bit about the fields history to aid the cause. The council recuctantly agreed that it could be used as allotments the nature of which is yet to be established.

Another thing I read is that tresspass laws do not apply to allotments so despite C's threats to some of the plot holders, they cant eveict them it seems. Not sure how this works yet.

C is allowed to sublet under allotment law. I would assume that any letting requires a contract and I would also assume accounts.

British law is a bit of a mess, particularly when it comes to common law where the right to grassland for livestock originates which is where I imagine the roots of allotment law are.

Now you will really understand the length of my wait at the doctor's office.......
Modern allotments date to the 19th century and were about allowing the poor who worked in industrial settings to have space to grow their own food (pre welfare state).
Legislation was added the end of WWI as a part of various packages related to helping returning servicemen.
The key acts relating to allotments being in 1908, 1922 and 1925. The key legislation regarding hens on allotments was passed in 1950.
I believe it is the 1925 act that gives protection for allotment holders from local authorities who want to use the land for something else, and the 1950 legislation that explicitly allows hens (fewer than 50) provided they are not for commercial purposes (so no selling of eggs).
If you are found guilty of mistreating the hens on your allotment they may be taken from you and you may get a prison sentence - neither of those affects your rights to an allotment.
Everything I have read has specified hens - roosters it seems are governed by local authority rules on owning roosters, not by allotment legislation.

 

[Solanacae]

This is beautifully put!


So true: we still hold each other accountable. Having a disorder doesn't excuse hurting others.

We all have our own thick catalog of struggles, but mental-health concerns are in a class of their own. Personality disorders are usually linked to developmental issues beyond a person's control. They take a lot of strength to manage. People are still responsible for their behavior, but the patience of those of us not fighting those demons can really help people who are.

I have a lifetime of thoughts and experiences beyond the co-worker situation, but they're not germane. And I'm definitely not saying you don't know how to handle this situation, @Shadrach. All the best from across the pond.

Tax for the tangent: Andre's slow-motion happy slappy flaps.

Those wattles are hilarious!

No, i have today off

Oh good. Bad enough to have to drive to a vet you never got to see, even worse to have to have taken the day off to make the nonexistent visit possible.

 

[Solanacae]

Chatter tax:
Genevieve and Estella eating some crumble, Zelda (she has been named, short for Griselda) showing progress on her beak, Mabel (named by my daughter) is looking like she’s a he, Cordelia (still having crop problems, not sure what to do with her) cozying up to molting Peanut, Spitzhauben’s and Schijndelaar’s eating some mash.

 

[RoyalChick]

This is beautifully put!


So true: we still hold each other accountable. Having a disorder doesn't excuse hurting others.

We all have our own thick catalog of struggles, but mental-health concerns are in a class of their own. Personality disorders are usually linked to developmental issues beyond a person's control. They take a lot of strength to manage. People are still responsible for their behavior, but the patience of those of us not fighting those demons can really help people who are.

I have a lifetime of thoughts and experiences beyond the co-worker situation, but they're not germane. And I'm definitely not saying you don't know how to handle this situation, @Shadrach. All the best from across the pond.

Tax for the tangent: Andre's slow-motion happy slappy flaps.

That is some glorious wattle action!

 

[Shadrach]

Do you know what you wish now @Shadrach ? Do you feel like closing the door on all this and moving on, or would you like to know and have a say in what becomes of the chickens ?

I don't know yet.
I do feel like closing the door but knowing me I would throw a grenade in on my way out. While I'm still in the room I'm not so likely to do that.