Is it legal to keep chickens in your back garden?
Question by kaiah03: Is it legal to keep chickens in your back garden?
We have a pretty large garden with five hens, all very quiet! We do have neighbours on either side. Apparently, someone down the road complained that we were keeping them to the council (a feud we have going on). We havent heard anything yet, but are wondering if it’s legal to keep chickens in your backyard?!
Can you help? Leave your own answer in the comments!
28 Responses to Is it legal to keep chickens in your back garden?
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In the US it varies by county. Check with zoning and Animal control.
wizjp
October 21, 2013 at 5:02 am
They have to be kept in a pen a certain distance from you house, I think 20mtrs.
MAC
October 21, 2013 at 5:47 am
yes i have 3 and it is legal. Good Luck
Jacsea
October 21, 2013 at 6:23 am
It depends on city regulations.
Desert Rain
October 21, 2013 at 7:19 am
why would u wanna keep chickens in ya back yard ya dirty begger
lizardnotts
October 21, 2013 at 8:06 am
You need to check your local zoning laws. Many areas consider chicken to be livestock. You might also contact your local animal control, they may be able to tell you.
GirlinSac
October 21, 2013 at 8:20 am
depends on wher you stay at
dixon2140
October 21, 2013 at 8:54 am
It depends on how the property you are on is zoned…you could be in trouble.
wifeymommy
October 21, 2013 at 9:33 am
joey and chandler kept a chicken and duck in thier apartment, so as long as your not one of those psychos who was 300 chickens in a tiny house no one should give a crap
islandofspades
October 21, 2013 at 10:19 am
It depends on your local laws. Here, in our area, it’s not legal to keep them in the city limits.
kj
October 21, 2013 at 10:43 am
It’s legal, certainly. What’s their objection? Keeping traditional farm animals like chickens as pets has become quite chic actually.
trollalalala
October 21, 2013 at 11:15 am
its ok to have chickens but as long as you have a chicken coop and have proof that they are harmless to others and themselves
danikakills
October 21, 2013 at 12:04 pm
Unless you are in a rural area, I doubt it!
343
October 21, 2013 at 12:31 pm
providing they are secure and the compound kept clean I do not think there is a problem
A number of answers seem to come from America, so any answer stating zones probably does not apply to the U.K.
barn owl
October 21, 2013 at 12:58 pm
It really depends on where you live. In some places, no problem. In others they have ordinances against “livestock” and in some cases even some types of pets.
I kept chickens in my backyard for years without problem, then again, I get along fairly well with my neighbors. I did have one neighbor who mentioned them (implying he didn’t approve). I responded by giving him a dozen fresh eggs once and awhile. I never heard another negative comment about the chickens from him… 😉
PraiseBob
October 21, 2013 at 1:25 pm
People need to mind there own business, whats wrong with you having chicken’s in you own yard!! First of all, do you own your own property?? Are you within city limits? If your within city limits then you cannot have chickens running in your back yard. If your renting then you have to follow the owner’s lease or agreement between you and him/her. Otherwise the first two…..I think your intitled to have chicken’s as long as the stay on your property.
kitty
October 21, 2013 at 1:54 pm
chickens are not illegal as such however, some councils will object because of the vermin chickens attract.
They are ground feeders and poultrey go hand in hand with rats and mice, and this is usually the problem for neighbours, there is this feud going on as i speak with my partners mothers neighbour, the girl has two chicken a cockerel, who is also causing a great deal of noise, if you have no cockerel then it could be an environmental health debate.
Keep your chicken food in sealed bins, if possible do not feed them on the ground where they can spill food. Ive got my chickens jumping up around 3 foot into a trough for food, i also sweep and clean the yard where they are fed (i live on a farm so no neighbours but rats and mice are a big problem).
If its possible to concrete a run for your chickens and to clean up each night it will reduce the possibility of rats and mice gathering to eat whats left.
Some councils are more strict than other, i lived in perth scotland and they were not tolerated. Dumfries people on housing estates do keep a lot of chickens in their gardens. so its really a council problem. If you can prove they are not a nuisance and that you are taking every precaution to avoid vermin gathering, then you stand a good chance of keeping them.
scotratrescue@btinternet.com
October 21, 2013 at 2:45 pm
Here its fine if you live in country like areas in the city no. Thats how most places work. We has about 16 and 12 ducks and 3 roosters and it was legal then we moved to the city part of the county and got in trouble…not bad though they just said we had to get rid of them or we would be fined. so we gave them all away..
Yexalen
October 21, 2013 at 3:05 pm
I think it depend where u live, in some area, you are not allowed to keep chickens. the house we live in Luton and now, it is clearly explained in the title deed that it is not allowed to keep chickens, but in some other area, people we know, who lives in village location keep poultary in their back yard. it will be nice to find out if you can, check council’ own web site or find it from Local CAB if their is one. I think council has not contacted you probably because it is allowed where u lived.
amtusS
October 21, 2013 at 3:29 pm
depending on how stuck up your neighbors are, yes, or no. I had the same prblem with a old man that moved in next to me, but since my property is big enough, they ruled it legal. The laws vary from county to county though.
MIke
October 21, 2013 at 3:47 pm
this all depends on where you live, you have to check your local zoning laws
patti
October 21, 2013 at 4:28 pm
will aslong has u got nice neighbohs who dont think chickens r smelly and stuff like tha keep them i had a snob of a nurse livin by me and we had 2 get rid of ours now she moved away we can have wha we want and ppl dont mind!
sian b
October 21, 2013 at 4:36 pm
Yes i kept chickens years ago and the house over the back from me has chickens.
barbara c
October 21, 2013 at 4:57 pm
Find out from your local council
Anthony B
October 21, 2013 at 5:02 pm
I’m assuming that you’re in the UK.
Well, given that you don’t have any cockerels, and assuming you’re not in violation of your house deeds or local bylaws (ring up environmental health anonymously to check) then it’s completely legal.
Just make sure that you keep your coop spick and span and you keep their food in a metal dustbin with lid and you should be alright. A few fresh eggs to nearby neighbours can go a long way.
There was one case where somebody won a case like this by proving that their chickens were pets, and they took along a lot of pictures of chickens in pet situations to their meeting with the parish council. They won.
The pictures came from members at http://p072.ezboard.com/bbackyardchickens and if you post then we can help you 🙂
Helena
October 21, 2013 at 5:21 pm
i dont know, might wanna ask the city or something
tomatto85
October 21, 2013 at 5:23 pm
My grandad looked this up last week (his neighbours got some chickens too), it should say under the deeds of your house, some places let you keep chickens and some don’t. As a guideline – urban houses will not, suburban will let you have hens but not cockerals, and rural places let you keep anything. But if there are complaints about the noise then the council will probably ‘reveiw the situation’ to see if they are a problem or not.
clevergirl
October 21, 2013 at 5:37 pm
yes but not a cockeral as your neighbours wont be happy at sunrise!
steven b
October 21, 2013 at 6:15 pm