The law in my city states -

[mermaid_mama]

Limitations--Rabbits and poultry.
It is hereby declared to be a nuisance and it shall be unlawful to keep or permit to be kept, upon any premises in the City, any rabbits or poultry:
(a) Within fifty (50') feet of any dwelling, school, church, or hospital, or,

Horses, calves, goats, pygmy goats, etc.
It is hereby declared to be a nuisance and it shall be unlawful to keep or permit to be kept upon any premises in the City, any horse, mule, jack, jenny, cow, bull, calf, heifer, sheep, goat (except pygmy goats), swine, hog or pig (except pot belly pigs):
(a) On any lot containing less than 20,000 square feet; or

Pygmy goats and pot belly pigs.
Pygmy goats and pot belly pigs shall be allowed to be kept within the corporate limits of the City. All such pygmy goats and pot belly pigs will require registration and licensing with the City's Animal Control Officer.

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OKaaaaay....so no rabbits? Not even one? What is that about? I know lots of people who have and had rabbits here. Weird.

No chickens either. !!??

But, this is saying pygmy goats are ok right? All you have to do is register them......is that as easy as registering your dog or can they deny it?

I haven't looked a whole lot into raising pygmy goats yet because I wanted to get opinions on if its even fesible for me to get a pair first. Let me just say that I have owned many different animals in my lifetime. I always make sure they get the best food possible and I always get them vet care....even our hamsters In fact I used to be a vet tech and groomer before I became pregnant. And I always throughly research the animals I have owned first. We hope to own a little land someday but, we aren't sure when that will be possible. We are hoping in the next 5-10 years.

Would it be possible to own a pair of pygmy goats in the burbs on 1000 - 1300 square feet of yard? Or would this not be good for the health of the goats? They would also get acess to 2 other larger yards at least once a week.

Please give me your honest opinion (but be nice about it please

)
I would not get them if they would not be happy....period.

 

[Sunny the Hippie Chick]

I dont see how they can say no to rabbits.. Most towns sell them in pet shops and most people keep them in the house..

I would just keep a rabbit in the house any way.. If it is such a big no no to have them.. I would just make sure no one could see it from outside.. Im hiding button quail from my landlord in my house.. LOL..

 

[taraann81]

I Have been doing a lot of research on goats lately too. It doesn't sound like a good idea for city living just because I have heard that intact male goats can SMELL really bad! (neighbors won't appreciate it.) I don't know this from first hand experience it is just what I have read(read storeys guide to dairy goats, its full of info and has a bit about pygmys) I wouldn't say that rules out you getting a goat though. Perhaps you could just get a female and pay for a stud when you wish to breed her. Also I've read goats can be pretty loud. I would check and get my neighbors blessing first.
Good luck.

 

[porteryork]

If you go back and look at the ordinance, it just says you have to be 50 feet away from your house. So as long as you have space 50 feet way from the house and 50 feet away from your neighbor, you can have chickens and rabbits!

So go forth and chick!

Michelle

 

[mermaid_mama]

50 feet from the house? Does that mean my house too or just the neighbors? I have no neighbors behind me....just to the sides.
They would only be 30 feet from my own house.

If I did get a pair of goats....they would not be for breeding so I could do 2 females or 1 female and a neutered male. And, I would ask the neighbors first which, shouldnt be a problem cause they are gone alot. My concerns are if I have the room for the goats.

 

[thebritt]

From what I get out of it, the animal must be registered with Animal Control, not a breeder, so that's easy - you'll probably go in the AC office to register a pet pygmy goat and they won't know what the heck you're talking about! I'd skip that step and just wait to see if you get a complaint, at which time an AC officer will tell you to register the animal. As for the space required, my daughter's 4H leader had her very special champion pygmys in about 20'X20' chain-linked fence enclosures with little kidde playhouses/jungle gyms. Everyone seems quite happy. You might be better off with a whether, as the girls BAAAAA when they're in heat. You could also include the neighbors in the cuteness of baby goats - let the children hang out with them (you'll need 2 or they'll BAAAA all the time out of lonliness) during BBQ's etc. As for a bunny - You could have an indoor bunny with an outdoor hoppy space. Rules are ridiculous, but there are plenty of morons out there that would breed those bunnies for the pet store if it were easy enough to do so. Good luck!

 

[chinbunny1]

Quote:
While I agree about the rules, I do not agree about your statement about people breeding rabbits to sell to pet shops. We are not morons. We are people breeding rabbits with a purpose to provide others with a healthy pet. I breed and show rabbits, and some of mine do go to a farm store when they need them. They turn around sell them to area 4hers as pets.

As for most rabbits kept inside in the house, that's not entirely true either. Most rabbits are kept outdoors in hutches, or in barns. The city in question probably sees them as livestock9which is what most are seen as). When they wrote the law, they probably didn't consider that they can be kept indoors as caged pets.

However, I do think that law is rediculous.

 

[mermaid_mama]

I dont think she meant everyone who breeds rabbits is irresponsible....but that some people could be. I have seen this with a lot of small animals - hamsters, chinchillas.....even dogs. There are responsible breeders and then there are the ones who breed back to back, unhealthy animals that they sell to pet stores and people who don't know better. KWIM?

 

[Ridgerunner]

I would talk to the animal control officer and see how they interpret that law relative to what you want to do. You may receive a pleasant surprise.

 

[Poulets De Cajun]

Quote:
Or an unpleasant one...

The way I read your ordinance, is that the animals cannot be kept within 50 feet of any dwelling, school, church, or hospital. Which means it has to be 50 feet from your house as well as your neighbors.

Basically pick wherever you want a coop to be set up. Take a 50 foot rope and attach it to the coop. Then walk in a circle. If the free end of the rope hits any structure while you are walking in a circle around the coop, you can't have them.