Swatara Township, PA

[Wildflower4me]

Still working with the planning committee to get our chicken ordinance changed in Swatara Township, PA. Very sad how long the process takes. Our ordinance states that you must own 5 acres before you can raise chickens. Really?? Chickens do not need 5 acres.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

the 5 acre minimum is not for the chickens, its for the neighbors, and its a legacy of zoning. Most likely the townuship had a buffer zone of "country estate", Res/Ag, or similar mixed use properties between true farms and typical suburban residential, which itself buffered more densely packed residential, subdivision, and similar use properties.

5 acres isnt even 500' square, its closer to 475, meaning the next residence likely isn't more than 400 feet away. Zoning usually has a number of setbacks from your own residence for ancilliary structures, meaning your coop will likely be closer to yoru neighbors even than that 400' bbuffer.

I live on 30 acres, I can absolutely guarantee that being 400 foot away doesn't make a rooster significantly quieter.

Given those factors, I would recommend bringing them up with the planning board directly - confront them head on - and help them draft zoning intended to mitigate two factors.

1) Noise
2) Odor

It doesn't matter that odor isn't a concern more than a few feet from a properly funtioning coop, people THINK that it is, including the non poultry owning board members.

So you want to talk about sight/sound barriers (either physical structures like walls or solid fences between the coop and the neighbors or "green" barriers like shrubbery, planted fences, etc) depending on what fits best with the character of the community. You might also concede ot a "no rooster" policy, as many do.

Re: odor, you want to talk about minimum areas/maximum number of birds and setbacks from your property line (don't fall for setbacks from neighbor's structures, that's not something you can control). You may need to concede inspection by county health/animal control of your facilites (chances are, its already in your code, so you aren't actually giving anything up, and restrictions on compost operations) after initial construction and perhaps annually thereafter. Chances are, they don't have the resources to actually do it, so again, you aren't conceding much (and make sure you have at least a 72 hour notice written in!). DO NOT concede to micromanagement my daily litter scooping and seperate barrels - that may be something you are willing to do, but it invites neighbors to complain that you aren't. Also, a properly functioning deep litter system generates less odor, less waste, and superior byproducts. Closed (barrel) compacting works well if you are a "scooper".

Those are my initial thoughts, anyways.

 

[Sally PB]

I live on 30 acres, I can absolutely guarantee that being 400 foot away doesn't make a rooster significantly quieter.

I can still hear my rooster crow when I am nearly a mile away. There are trees and corn fields in between the two points.

The little man could have been an opera singer in a former life.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

also, apologies for spelling and grammar, above - first cup of coffee. Not going back to fix it.

 

[SmiYa0126]

also, apologies for spelling and grammar, above - first cup of coffee. Not going back to fix it.

Hey @U_Stormcrow do you by chance know the history of victory gardens and chickens for each family during ww ii? I was wondering what the rules were at that time.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Hey @U_Stormcrow do you by chance know the history of victory gardens and chickens for each family during ww ii? I was wondering what the rules were at that time.

I'm aware of it, but I've not researched it. My history studies stop at the printing press. Everything since is "current events". (One of numerous links to the same document. I'm on my tablet, it's terrible for anything but reading.) As to chickens at home in the U.S. and world wars, like collecting fat for the war effort, it was mostly propaganda, rather than a significant contribution logistically.

 

[Sally PB]

One of numerous links to the same document.

Interesting. Thanks for the link.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Interesting. Thanks for the link.

If you do dive deeper, strongly suggest looking here too. A lot, I think, can be learned by comparing the starting assumptions of Britian and ourselves (see also - hint, search for the word "chicken", it will shock you) during the same period.

 

[Sally PB]

Thank you!

Oh, what I would give to have a conversation about that time period with my grandmother...

I heard my mom's stories about that era, memories of a child. I never got to hear my grandmother's stories, memories of a mother.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

and apologies to the OP for the thread hijack. It wasn't deliberate.