Hi all,I'm considering getting some chickens and I have a few questions. I am planning on taking the next chicken class, but it's not for a while.Are chickens loud? I don't want to drive my neighbors crazy. We have a block wall, and the nearest neighbors to where I want to keep them are 40-50 feet away. Do they make noises at strange hours?How often do you clean up poop? Mine probably won't be able to roam the whole yard all the time.I read on the chicken site that they need 2-3 feet inside/chicken and 4-5 feet outside/chicken. Is that really enough?Lastly, I copied this from another thread:FOR MESA RESIDENTS-(D) It shall be unlawful to keep fowl, rodents, livestock, horses, or mules in an enclosure within a distance of less than forty feet (40') from another person’s residence, dining, or sleeping quarters that was constructed before the construction of such animal enclosure. (4845)(E) No fowl, rodents, livestock, horses, or mules shall be cooped, stabled, or confined in any building within seventy-five feet (75') from any residence, dining, or sleeping quarters of any other person than the owner. (4845)In "E," do they mean confined all the time? If I had a coop and a fenced outdoor area, would the 40' rule apply to me? I don't have anywhere in my yard that's 75' from every other residence.Thanks!
You need to be a member of AZ Herb Forum to add comments!
I have to admit they do make noise but it isn't much. That was my biggest concern becuase we have an HOA and I didn't even ask them. The noise is never during the dark hours. They are sleeping when the sun is not up. Every once in a while I worry about the noise they make while laying eggs, but my neighbor says she hasn't noticed at all.
I have a compost pile in their coop and once a week or every couple weeks I go in there and rake into a pile and scoop it into the compost heap. I think the spacing you have listed it enough for sure. It's not like they 'play' all they do is search for food or have a dust bath. You know when you give a cat or dog a new toy or space for a dog to run and you feel good because you have made them happy. For our chickens my kids will find a few grasshoppers and feed it to the chickens, they get so excited. or some scraps from the garden, ears of corn that didn't pollinate well. Those chickens come running.
Hens do like to cluck loudly to proclaim that their eggs are better than everyone else's. I think they do this once they're in the actual laying process. I haven't heard them do so at night while my rooster is crowing loudly and lustily.
I would argue that a strict interpretation of the Mesa City Code (is it Code Section 4845, Subsection E?) would mean that no one could have a canary in a cage in their house if it's within that 75 feet (such as in the case of a townhouse, for example). In fact, it'd also mean that if the canary was flying freely inside the townhouse, it would violate the Code every time it flew within 75 feet.
Without getting into a lot of boring quasi-legal arguments though, are your neighbors nice? Would they like some fresh eggs?
If you're really concerned, you might think of Googling the Mesa City Code and seeing if anyone has had to challenge the application of those provisions.
Regarding the space per chicken, I've seen those figures too. I'm wondering if it's OK to have a fairly small indoor space so long as you have a decent-sized outdoor yard for them.
I think I will do some online searching. I talked to an animal control guy today, and he said that the 75' rule pretty much applies in all cases, since they're not legally allowed to roam freely through the yard. It doesn't make sense to me, because the 40' rule specifically says "enclosure." I would think the difference between being in a enclosure and being "cooped" would be that they're never allowed out of the coop. I don't know...
Yeah, we're on a corner and our only next door neighbors are very nice. The people behind us seem pretty nice too, although I don't know them. There are two other houses close to where the chickens would be, and I don't know the people at all. I haven't really seen them or anything. I think I'll just go talk to all the neighbors and make sure they're cool with it. I don't want to have to get rid of the chickens after I've raised them and everything, and it sounds like the city could make me do so if someone complained.
Replies
I have a compost pile in their coop and once a week or every couple weeks I go in there and rake into a pile and scoop it into the compost heap. I think the spacing you have listed it enough for sure. It's not like they 'play' all they do is search for food or have a dust bath. You know when you give a cat or dog a new toy or space for a dog to run and you feel good because you have made them happy. For our chickens my kids will find a few grasshoppers and feed it to the chickens, they get so excited. or some scraps from the garden, ears of corn that didn't pollinate well. Those chickens come running.
They sound fun and fairly low-maintenance. My kids would love feeding chickens! Thanks for the input.
I would argue that a strict interpretation of the Mesa City Code (is it Code Section 4845, Subsection E?) would mean that no one could have a canary in a cage in their house if it's within that 75 feet (such as in the case of a townhouse, for example). In fact, it'd also mean that if the canary was flying freely inside the townhouse, it would violate the Code every time it flew within 75 feet.
Without getting into a lot of boring quasi-legal arguments though, are your neighbors nice? Would they like some fresh eggs?
If you're really concerned, you might think of Googling the Mesa City Code and seeing if anyone has had to challenge the application of those provisions.
Regarding the space per chicken, I've seen those figures too. I'm wondering if it's OK to have a fairly small indoor space so long as you have a decent-sized outdoor yard for them.
Yeah, we're on a corner and our only next door neighbors are very nice. The people behind us seem pretty nice too, although I don't know them. There are two other houses close to where the chickens would be, and I don't know the people at all. I haven't really seen them or anything. I think I'll just go talk to all the neighbors and make sure they're cool with it. I don't want to have to get rid of the chickens after I've raised them and everything, and it sounds like the city could make me do so if someone complained.
Thanks!