Well... my "urban farm" got busted.. Meeting tonight!

[MontanaMomma]

Get a doctor to say they are your therapy chickens. Then the city can eat your, well, you know what. LOL See if the city can grant you a variance- your hens will die of old age before you'll chance the ordinance. The language in the ordinance might allow the city to do that.
GOOOOD LUCK!!!

 

[RaZ]

Indeed. Please post the city council and mayor info and we can flood them with letters. Including a copy of the "Right to Farm Act".

Point out the fact that local ordinance cannot supercede state and/or federal law.

Also mention that you were not allowed to confront the "complaining witness" who turned you in. That one is in the Constitution.

Don't give up or let them wear you down. You have a lot of support here.

 

[oconnor1976]

good luck i hope all goes well!

 

[Lazy J Farms Feed & Hay]

Quote:
Maybe he has been approached by many people that agree with the current ordinance. I know it might be difficult for some to understand but not everyone loves chickens and some people actually don't want them in the city limits, especially if the town's ordinances already prohibit them.

Jim

 

[Christie Rhae]

Quote:
That is the island of Kauai. They have tons of chickens everywhere. *some history* Rats came to Hawaii from ships etc. So man in his infinite wisdom thought it would be a great idea to bring mongoose to hawaii to kill the rats. Except rats are nocturnal and mongoose are day-urnal..(lol how do you spell that word?) So now in Hawaii we have rats and mongoose.

But mongoose were never imported to the island of kauai... so chickens can reproduce and cruise around. We have mongoose on the big island but they do prefer to stay at lower elevations so I have never had a problem.

Another issue in Hawaii is cock fighting. You will see an acre of cocks tethered to little a frame huts. Just out of reach of each other but close enough to keep them frustrated. It is not illegal to raise fighting cocks apparently. Just to actually fight them. sigh... horrible.

 

[FarmerChad]

Once again thanks for all the support and ideas. I appreciate the idea behind everyone flooding them with mail, but please wait a second on that one. Can someone elaborate on the "Right To Farm Act"? We have looked at the West Virginia code pertaining to it, but it looks like it is intended for pre-existing situations. Not someone introducing something like chickens into the city.

I agree that its not what the mayor or council wants, but the people. My wife and I are currently brainstorming ideas to rally support.

 

[chickcorner]

[http://www.grist.org/article/food-2011-01-05-how-to-get-your-city-to-allow-backyard-chickens]

Good luck!

 

[FarmerChad]

Being that I can't sleep.. found something of interest. My town has classified chickens as farm animals, well, legally they are not.

9 CFR 1.1 [Title 9 -- Animals and Animal Products; Chapter I -- Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Department of Agriculture], farm animal means “any domestic species of cattle, sheep, swine, goats, llamas, or horses, which are normally and have historically, been kept and raised on farms in the U.S., and used or intended for use as food or fiber, or for improving animal nutrition, breeding, management, or production efficiency, or for improving the quality of food or fiber. This term also includes animals such as rabbits, mink, and chinchilla, when they are used solely for purposes of meat or fur, and animals such as horses and llamas when used solely as work and pack animals.”

The complete listing is here: http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_00/9cfrv1_00.html
Scroll down to section 145 to read about poultry.

Of course this could be another can of worms. Just food for thought.​

 

[PaulaSB12]

Quote:
He needs to be reminded that he is a public SERVANT and start acting in a more appropriate manner.

 

[Lazy J Farms Feed & Hay]

Quote:
Is it possible your Mayor is looking at the bigger picture and potential impact for changing the city code to meet YOUR needs. After all if they change the city code to accomodate YOU then by precendence they should change it to accomodate EVERYONE.

Sometimes we need to take our blinders off to see all aspects of an issue.

Jim