So, umm, how DO you find out if you're a legal eagle or an outlaw?

[Glitterik]

I asked the animal control officer who is on TV on the Houston Animal Cops show, and she told me they simply don't have the manpower (or funding) to chase down folks with no complaints against them. You can have 10 chickens, for instance, and if your neighbors don't complain about any issues, you have no problem. However, one crowing rooster may generate complaints. Unfortunately.

 

[Danaus29]

First you start with your state law and how it regulates agriculture. Then you contact your local zoning or planning and development dept. Or you could just go ahead and get the birds, have them for 8 years, spend hundreds on housing and fencing, then get a complaint filed against you by someone who doesn't even live anywhere near you.