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Raising Birds in an Urban Area
Dealing with Zoning Regulations, Ordinances, and the Neighbors


These two articles may be helpful to you if you are having difficulty
?raising birds in an urban area:

1. Bart Pals’ article, “Helping Poultry Breeders Raise Birds in an Urban
Area” that was originally published in the 1996 APA Yearbook, pages 121-28.

2. The article, “Can I Have Pigeons Where I Live?” by James F. Avery, the
secretary/treasurer of the National Pigeon Association. The article was
originally published in the NPA Quarterly Review 2000, Volume III of 4, pp.7-8


In his article, Avery offers eight suggestions of things that you should do
(find out about building codes, permits, and licenses; get your neighbors on
your side; be a good neighbor, etc.) before you build a pigeon loft in your
back yard. Copyright restrictions are such that we can not reprint Avery’s
article here. But we can point out that virtually all of the points that
Avery makes in his article are covered in greater detail in Bart Pals’article.


But, by all means, do contact James Avery (Post Office Box 439, Newalla, OK
74857-0439. Phone 405-386-6884; e-mail: James4Bird@aol.com) and ask him if
he or the NPA has any additional information on the topic.

______________________________

Please Help Us to Help Others

If you learn things as you deal with zoning regulations, ordinances, and the
neighbors that others should/should not do when dealing with zoning
regulations, ordinances, and the neighbors, please convey that information
to one of the officers or directors of the American Poultry Association and
we will make that information available here for others.

________________________________

Here, then, is Bart Pals’ article:

Helping Poultry Breeders Raise Birds in an Urban Area
By Bart Pals

Raising poultry within the city limits can be a fun and rewarding experience
for everyone involved, but much planning is required. Many people are very
successful in raising poultry in a residential area. All types of poultry
are being bred successfully and without problems in urban settings.

This article is designed to be an aid in helping people protect their right
to raise poultry within city limits. Please remember that it is not the
birds that you keep but how you keep them that is important. Check local
ordinances to know what is allowed.

The first thing that must be considered are the rights of your neighbors.
Your birds must fit in with the neighborhood and the city. Cleanliness is
the most important requirement for raising poultry in town. Your birds must
be kept clean. Keeping the area neat and tidy will help with the general
feeling towards your birds. It doesn’t matter what you raise or what type of
facilities you have, keep everything clean. Keeping pens fresh, keeping
things picked up, and keeping the area swept will all aid in the general
feeling of your neighbors towards your birds.

Insect control goes hand in hand with cleanliness. Backyard poultry breeders
must control insects. Parasites must be kept off the birds and flies must be
controlled around the poultry house. Keeping pens clean will aid in insect
control but spraying or other measures may also be needed. Secure a place to
dispose of waste and have a backup place secured in case the first one
fails. Feed should be stored in containers that will help prevent rodents.

The type of building you use must fit in with the neighborhood. Take into
consideration the type of siding, roofing, fencing, size, and the height of
the building. This structure should blend in with the existing buildings.
When designing the building, you must make sure that your birds are not
going to wake the neighborhood at 5:00 A.M. Individual doors for each pen,
that can be opened and shut at reasonable times, should be built into the
structure to help minimize noise problems. The type and size of pens that
you will be able to use may determine what type or types of poultry you will
be able to raise. Your birds will have to be confined. Very few people will
appreciate birds running around the neighborhood. Security measures may also
have to be taken. Stray dogs, varmints, and vandals should be guarded
against. Security lights, gates, fences, and strong wire will all help to
protect your birds. Included in your building should be an area designed for
show boxes, extra feeders and waterers, etc.

Plant shrubs or build a fence that will help deaden the sounds that the
birds will make. Shrubs and fences also help the building blend in with the
neighborhood. Planting flowers around the building also helps make the
structure—and your birds—look more attractive to the neighbors.

Starting small and setting goals are essential. Start out with a pair or
trio of birds and know how many birds you can easily handle. A trio of birds
can produce a lot of chicks and these chicks will grow into adults. Know
exactly how many birds your facility can handle and always remember not to
overcrowd your birds. One must realize that not every chick hatched will be
a “winner,” so if you plan on hatching many chicks be prepared to cull and?
have an outlet for the culls. When raising birds in town, you can not keep
the culls. Realizing this fact before hatching will help keep things under
control.

You must consider what species of poultry to raise. It is pretty difficult
to raise Toulouse geese in a residential area. Standard birds can be raised
but in a limited area. Remember that you can not keep as many as you might
like because of limited space. Remember that noise is a factor and that
large fowl have a lower-pitched crow that travels farther than the sharp,
high-pitched crow of a bantam. Ducks can be raised in town, but they are
messy and rather noisy. Ducks can be raised in town but remember that there
will be extra work involved in keeping the area clean. Extra precautions may
have to be implemented to help control the extra sound from waterfowl as well

What particular breed of poultry you raise should be considered. Docile
breeds should be considered. Many breeds are known for their wild or
tenacious behavior. These should be steered away from. Breeds that are not
“flighty” and are not aggressive are the breeds that should be considered.
Some breeds mature much faster and can be culled much sooner than others.
Japanese bantams can be culled for long legs from the incubator. Slower
maturing breeds mean that the young birds must be kept that much longer
before you can cull, which means that fewer chicks can be hatched. Faster
maturing breeds mean that you can cull sooner and hatch a few more chicks.
It is very easy to get wrapped up in setting eggs and hatching chicks and in
a few months you’re out of room and don’t know what to do with all of the
young birds. You must always remember that you are dealing with limited
space and manage your birds accordingly.

What variety of poultry you raise is yet another aspect that should be
considered. Solid colored birds will give you a higher percentage of adults
birds to pick from. Laced birds will provide more culls due to color
problems. Some varieties will produce multiple colors of offspring. The blue
variety will produce blue, black, and splash offspring.

Choosing the particular species, breed, and variety are very important
aspects to consider before you begin raising poultry within the city limits.
It doesn’t matter what kind of poultry you raise. Be sure you understand
everything that may be involved in raising that breed or variety of birds.

Investigate the breed that you are going to raise. Read and talk with other
breeders about the breed and the variety that you have chosen. Many of these
breeders have seen and dealt with some of the problems involved with a
particular bred or variety. Learn from their experiences and perhaps you
will have an easier time.

Educate your neighbors about the birds you are raising. Frequently people
think of poultry as either broilers or layers. They have no idea that there
is such a wide variety of poultry. Educating your neighbors can have a very
positive effect on your venture.

You can help educate your community by becoming involved with your local 4-H
group. You can be involved in several areas of 4-H—by being a leader, a
poultry project leader, or through the Extension Office as an Extension
Council member. Being involved with your poultry club can help educate your
city. Many clubs sponsor shows, set up displays at malls, print educational
material, and do whatever they can to help promote exhibition poultry.
Getting involved can help the local club, community—and you. Many people
give talks in elementary schools and take live birds with them. All of these
things help educate the community about poultry.

Things To Consider Before You Begin

Know the laws and ordinances pertaining to birds. Know the restrictions the
city may have. Many cities have restrictions requiring poultry to be a
certain distance from the property line, house, street, and alley. They also
may restrict the number of birds you can have.

Know the laws and ordinances pertaining to other pets. Compare their
restrictions with those for poultry.

Consider your birds as pets, not livestock, and treat them the same way a
pet would be treated.

Follow the enclosed guidelines and remember that keeping poultry in a city is a privilege.


If You Have A Problem

If things go wrong, isolate the problem as soon as possible and correct it
if possible. Make sure the problem is yours. One individual was accused of
having a bad odor coming from his chickens. In fact, the odor problem was
caused by a neighbor who had spread cow manure on his garden. It was
mistakenly thought that the chickens were the cause of the odor.

Always remain calm, cool, and collected. When you become upset is when you
are the most likely to make mistakes. Never accuse a city official of being
wrong. Rather, suggest they “consider” your idea. One city official’s idea
of being “grandfathered in” was that the city leg band all the birds. As the
birds die, then the individual would turn in the leg band and would not be
able to replace that bird. When all of the birds were dead then the
grandfathered-in individual would no longer be able to raise poultry. The
official was asked to listen, compare, and consider the following. If the
individual were a business and the chickens were the inventory, the business
would have to close when the inventory was depleted. Usually a business is
grandfathered in until that person dies, moves, or the business is sold—not
until the inventory is gone. The officials saw their error and accepted the
individual’s idea.

Invite the city’s health inspector to come to your place and see first hand
your operation. Without the support of the city’s health inspector, you will
have a very difficult time trying to pursue the matter any further. Show the
health inspector your pens and explain to him/her how often the pens are
cleaned and how you dispose of waste. Explain your insect and rodent control
methods. Show the health inspector how clean your operation really is.

Make your birds a benefit to the neighborhood. Offer extra eggs to the
neighbors. Most people find the fresh eggs to be a treat. If the
neighborhood children want to see your birds, take the time to go with them
and let them see and touch the birds. Let them feel that they are part of
your poultry program. If the neighborhood children don’t like your birds,
their parents probably won’t either.

If a petition is filed against you please remember that most people will
sign anything. You can get a copy of the petition from city hall and
carefully go through it. Check names and addresses to make sure that they
are actual and not invented. Check to make sure the addresses are within
your area. One petition had the forged signature on it of the sister of one
of the city officials.

Come up with your own petition. It is simply a matter of writing your point
of view on a piece of paper and having people sign below it. Take your
petition to all of your neighbors within a two-block radius of your place.
If a neighbor will not sign it, then perhaps you have located the person
making the complaint. If so, ask him/her what the problem is and correct it
as soon as possible.

Try to secure as much local support as possible. If there is a council
meeting scheduled, then make sure to attend it, along with as many other
people as you can muster up. Sometimes there is strength in numbers.

Just because you have raised poultry in a particular area for many years
does not guarantee that you will always be able to enjoy that privilege.
Simply because you are “grandfathered in” does not mean that the privilege
cannot be taken away.

Invite city officials and council members to your house. Show them your
facilities and explain to them how your birds are cared for.

Explain to the city officials what you are trying to accomplish. If you
raise birds to be exhibited, then show them your awards. Explain the
achievements that you have made through your hobby.

If the city officials and/or council members can not or will not come to
your place, then send them a packet of information. Include pictures of your
building, your birds, and an explanation of what you are trying to
accomplish. Include a brief summary of how the birds are judged. Explain
that you are trying to follow a standard of perfection. Include in this
packet written support statements from city leaders and other people who are
aware of your accomplishments, your petition, and any other information that
you may feel important for them to know about.

Hints

Consider your birds as pets, not livestock. When a bird lives for ten or
more years and is cared for the way many people care for their birds, then
they are more than simply farm livestock; they are pets.

Most larger cities allow poultry.

Most cities have no ordinances against crowing roosters. Most noise
ordinances refer to barking dogs and loud vehicles.

Petitions do not generally hold much weight with city officials but they do
usually thoroughly go over them to see if the people who have signed them
are legitimate. City officials also realize that some people will sign
anything. If a petition is signed by a limited number of people, all of whom
live in the neighborhood, then the city officials will take them more seriously.

Make sure the complaint has come from within the neighborhood. Most cities
will not consider a complaint except from a neighbor. A neighbor is usually
within a two-block radius of your home.

Raising poultry is a hobby not a business. If you call it a business, you
may be opening up a whole new can of worms.

Most elections are decided by a very small percent of the people so the more
support you can show at a council meeting or public meeting the more
influence you will have with the city officials.

If city officials receive more than four letters regarding a particular
problem, they will take it seriously.

If your city allows dogs, cats, and other small pets, then they should allow
bantams as pets. Some city governments have been challenged on this
discrimination and have lost. Restrictions may apply, but they should be allowed.

Some cities have tried to include poultry with wolves, alligators, and other
animals that may be dangerous to other people. If you are raising exhibition
birds, you are not raising dangerous animals.

Remember: All states and cities have different laws and ordinances. Simply
because one state does something one way does not mean that another state
will do it that way.