Why are there so many ordinances against keeping chickens?

[mom'sfolly]

Doncha know, keeping chickens is low-class, dirty and just ain't right. I live in HOA land where people voluntarily let others tell them what garage door to buy, what color to paint their house, where they can park their car, put their satellite dish, how many pets they can have, how to mow their grass, how to dry their laundry...just to "keep the neighborhood standards up" UGGGGHHHHHH

I think many of these laws date to a time when most people didn't have indoor plumbing, and animal waste in the cities were a problem, but I think some are just done out of ignorance or laziness. It is easier to write a law to ban all poultry and livestock, then to craft one that has stringent definitions and guidelines.

 

[Dixiedoodle]

IMHO, these laws are drawn up because of slackers that kept the chickens, rabbits,dogs, cats, snakes, big cats, what ever! Many people think of animals as 'throw aways'--If they get tired of them- they stop taking care of them, feeding them, cleaning up after them or turn them loose. Causing the neighbors more problems, by having the animals spread out to find food, water and shelter. They will destroy flowers, veggie gardens, poop on porches and cars. After they have multiplied---the raccoons, skunks, foxes, coyetes etc start coming into 'town' to have dinner..Bringing even more pests, diseases and problems.

NO we won't do that to our beloved animals but the jerk 'next door' will !! So, it's like 'one bad apple spoils the whole bunch' ! It's a proven fact, when things get tight for "Joe, John or Suzzy' they will cut their losses and the first thing to go are animals!

This is just my opinion but that is how I see it..Dixie

 

[CoyoteMagic]

Quote:
And you can say the exact same thing about dogs and/or cats that are not properly cared for. I've seen plenty of dogs I wouldn't touch because they were so grossly filthy.

You can say that again. I can't set out in my backyard on hot summer days because of my neighbors dogs stink. Piles and piles of dog poo. Big dog poo!! 2 bloodhounds! I don't think he has done anything to clean up after them. My dog is trained to go in the mulch (easier to find) we scoop and deposit in an in-ground composter. IT's worse after a rain. My chickens aren't half that bad!!

 

[tnkinhunting]

I think that there are so many ordinances against keeping chickens because those with the chickens didn't stand up against city hall. I see no difference in chickens and dogs or cats or rabbits. Well actually there are several big differences - eggs and food from chickens and tho we love our dogs and cats and rabbits - the chicken is the only one to provide two food sources. We need to petition city hall - I don't think roosters would pass but it's discrimination to allow dogs, cats, rabbits, birds and not chickens!!!!!

 

[rooster-red]

Quote:
My thoughts exactly.

 

[Nugget]

When we first thought of getting chickens 90% of the reading I did made it sound as though there was little issue with keeping a few hens in suburbia. As it turns out, my home is zoned 'mixed use' so we could put a sawmill in our yard if we wanted (lol)

However in the past couple of months there was a woman downtown forced to rehome her 3 hens when a neighbour claimed they were "attracting rats". She's fighting it and I hope she wins. Then a family who spent $2500 on a backyard coop 10 minutes from where I live was forced to rehome their hens (zoned residential).

It's so sad. Whether it's the stupidity of thinking hens=dirty, or the dogma that livestock must be kept on a farm, it's so disappointing to see people so detatched from their food source. If a dog is poorly treated or lived in squalor it can be taken by animal control. If sanitation is the issue, then confiscate the neglected hens. If it's simply dogma then that needs to change.

Bird feeders and people setting a dish of catfood on their back step attract more rats than any well kept henhouse. I wish I knew enough about politics and public pressure to help support these 2 local families. If anyone has ever fought for this before please describe what you did, if it was successful, and what hurdles you faced

 

[stilwellchick]

Where I live you can have horses, chickens, dogs etc but not anything that chews a cud (ruminating animals) unless you have the consent of neighbors that are within 1000 feet of your property line. There is no licensing of dogs and no leash law. So all of this does not seem logical to me. I am sending my DH because he is the charming one, to get the consent of my last neighbor (the ones that have never spoken to me for the 2 years we have lived here) to ask permission for pygmy goats. We have acres of pasture and could have horses but need a special use permit for goats. Go figure. The reason we moved here was because I wanted chickens again so much and I checked that out before we bought the property.

 

[RoostersCrow]

We moved where we did exactly to get away from those "neighborhoods". For the first time ever we now have neighbors who are neighborly.

Our neighbor's seem to enjoy the fresh eggs. The first time I let the hens molt two different ones showed concern at the "missing" eggs and hoped they were allright.

 

[claud]

I think when someone mentions keeping chickens the thought of giant, stinky broiler houses come to people's minds.

 

[Guitartists]

And tonight I got thinking about how maybe it was the mice and rat issue.... but I have mice already. I've never lived anywhere in my life that did not have mice! They steal dog and cat food, birdseed, etc. If you have any pets, feed the birds or have gardens etc... you have mice. They adapt to all environments.

Anyhow, I am thinking of writing up an ordinance that allows for residential keeping of chickens and petitioning to get it put in place. I have much research to do and need some examples of ordinances that have worked for other communities.

My town is small enough that I could go door to door if need be. I think that a clear and concise law that not only allows the proper keeping of chickens but also lays out enough rules and regulations to deter the bad apples from getting chickens will hopefully attract the right attention from the town. I am thinking that there needs to be rules about, amoung other things, the amount of chickens to be kept, the type of coops that will be allowed and to have it so that they are for personal use only. No sale of eggs or chickens to be advertised. I figure the small amount of birds allowable would not be enough to start a "business" anyway, so better to keep those that will do anything to turn a buck from even wanting chickens in town.

I think this can be done.