There's serious resistance to allowing chickens in the towns here

[Kaleva]

I went to the town meeting earlier this month and brought up the idea of considering changing the zoning ordinances to allow residents to keep chickens. Other then the board members and me, the only other person there was a reporter for the local paper.

The reporter told me there were some people in a nearby town who wanted to keep chickens but so many were against it, the proposal didn't get far. I know that in two local towns in the opposite direction, there's a great deal of hostility towards allowing chickens.

I believe that there's a good chance I'll be successful. The town supervisor said he'll have the lawyer who does work for the town at the next meeting and he'll explain what steps need to be done to change the ordinance.

[brewens]

1. I'm in a town of about 35,000 in Idaho and chickens are allowed. I go for a walk every morning

and pass by yards that have chickens. If they were behind a solid fence, you'd never know they were there. There might be a few of those. Withing a mile and a half, there are four that I do see.

[mopinko]

2. tell them they're allowed in chicago. even roosters.

you can have any kind of animal as long as it’s humanely cared for and doesnt create a nuisance. which is to say- deprives someone of the use of their property, not bugs them.
a lot of ppl have goats and pigs.

i actually just got rid of my roosters and working on getting rid of my hens. i got shit, but i also got a lot of love. admit that my whiny neighbors who couldnt take- yes, she can have roosters- for an answer cost the city a pretty penny. but that’s just how city code enforcement works- the city prosecutes the private grudges of neighbors, for the most part.
but that’s on them.

backyard hens add so much to ppl’s physical and mental health, whatever hassle they bring, they ARE a net positive. if we can make it work here, it can work anywhere.
and btw, there are cities all over the world where there are both kept and feral chickens. roosters are hardly the most annoying birds. have you ever heard peacocks?

[Kaleva]

6. I mentioned Chicago and Dallas

I also had the ordinances regarding the keeping of chickens in San Diego, Oklahoma City, and Chappel Hill, NC.. I also mentioned that Green Bay, Milwaukee, St. Paul, Madison WI and Rochester MN also allow chickens but they have rather strict rules and you have to pay for a permit. The point I tried to make was that large cities allow chickens so it shouldn't be an issue for people living in my small town of 86 households either .

It'd be fine with me if there are some rules such as limit on the number of hens, minimum space requirements per bird, hens can't be allowed to free range, no roosters, no slaughtering of birds in town and coops and runs have to be so far from property lines.

[CrispyQ]

3. Our town allows chickens & goats.

Maybe other species, too, but those are the two that live near me. Actually, a couple of places have chickens. One you can see through their fence & see them. I would think gardeners would like them. The goats are in the cul-de-sac behind me & I heard them for a year before I realized how close they were then saw them out front, on leashes, with the home owners.

Good luck on your quest! Chickens are delightful creatures, very social. We had them when I was young on the farm.

[Kaleva]

7. My plan is to have the chicken run in the garden

That way I can easily give them garden waste and weeds. I could move the run from year to year so the chickens could fertilize and de-weed the garden over a period of time.

[Tetrachloride]

4. What do chickens eat ?

https://backyardchickenproject.com/what-can-you-feed-chickens-100-things-on-our-list/

[Kaleva]

5. Thanks for the info!