I most likely will have to give up poultry....

[Guest]

All:
 
Now one of my stupid neighbors -- I don\'t know which -- filed a complaint against me for \"odor\" in the yard. The inspector came out today and on the violation notice said he found a large number of birds in the coops/pens, but no odor, and no roosters. Hopefully nothing will come of it, but I have my doubts.
 
It seems that I\'ve made it to the radar screen and now they\'re coming after me. Of course, they\'re getting revenue from each violation they rack up. I also would really like to find out who is filing these complaints and take revenge somehow.
 
Revenge or not, it appears at this point, my hand is being forced and I\'m going to have to re-home my entire flock, dismantle the coops, and give up poultry until some point later in my life if and when I move to a more poultry-friendly area. If I have to spend every moment with my birds wondering if I\'m going to be turned in for something, what should be a joyful hobby is now a miserable occupation.
 
My wife is in MX now, and she agreed that at this point the entire flock should be re-homed. Of the entire flock, I\'ll miss Marilyn the most -- this wheaten Ameraucana runs to me and roosts on my leg. She is so affectionate. I\'ll keep you posted over the weekend on what my final decision is. My mother says to get rid of the 10 babies I have and keep the adults. I think if even one bird remains, I\'m going to have a problem with these worthless people who live behind me. My wife agrees. It\'s not right for the birds or for us.

If I do anything, it will be done this Sunday morning; first the re-homing of the flock; and then the dismantling of the grow-out coop (which is my old warped brooder box with doors).

The main coop, I can keep if I remove the ramp, clean out the contents, bleach it down, and perhaps use it as a second storage shed or potting shed. I put a lot of money and effort into building it and I\'m not going to dismantle it for anyone.

If I do it, my birds will go to the farm in Columbus, NJ where the 10 cockerels went.  At least there, they\'ll have the space to play and they\'ll all be together.

I\'ll let everyone know my final decision by the end of Sunday.

[Guest]

Ron,

I am so sorry to hear of this! I know how hard you worked for your birds (and the money you spent!) It must be heartbreaking for you...



Will you be able to go and visit the flock where they\'re going? Perhaps that will allow you to continue to get your \"chicken fix\", and if you move somewhere someday where you can have birds, then you could get offspring from your orignial birds (if they are no longer around.)

Let us know how it goes, and know we are thinking of you and hoping all will be well.

[Guest]

Ron,

Could you scale back to just a few birds (pets) on your place and see if there is a farmer or rancher willing to let you do your work on their place. You could barter for the eggs the birds lay and any extra males they would want to butcher and eat. If you pay for the feed, they may take care of the birds.

You need to get a copy of the ordinances and know exactly what they say. Do not go the revenge route. That will escalate and cause you more problems. As long as you know the rules, and stay within the rules they can not touch you.
The inspector has cleared you already. The people that filed the complaint are probable angry that they did not get their own way.

Find people around you that enjoy your birds. Give people eggs and let the children in your neighborhood see and hold the baby chicks. If you win over a few neighbors, they will help you with your cause.

It would be nice to find out who filed the complaint and talk to them. If you could find out why they filed the complaint then you could do something to aleviate their complaints.

My father in law runs a kennel and his neighbors were constantly complaining about the barking. But once he got to know his neighbor they stopped complaining.

Make some cookies with your eggs and start visiting your neighbors. Maybe one visit with cookies or bread will change their minds. Or better yet have a barbeque and invite the neighbors. Throw some horse shoes or darts or what ever you do in your part of the country.

Tim


If you want to learn some chicken genetics go to :
http://home.earthlink.net/~100chickens/id5.html  
 

[Guest]

Well...the problem is, I am really in an urban area. The houses are very close. I just re-finaced this house and I have low taxes, so I can\'t just pack up and move. The problem is -- as a hobby farmer -- I work all day. So this means, the birds are holed up in a pen all day long until I come home and let them free range my yard.

The law says that I can keep an unlimited number of hens, but the place must be kept odor-free, and the birds have to be locked in a pen. Once they free-range the yard, I\'m breaking the law.

My pen abuts the back of the neighbors\' property. Chickens, unfortunately have a way of coverting a pound of feed to 10 lbs of manure (OK I\'m exaggerating). Now, I spend an inordinate amount of time and water keeping the place clean. But, it\'s not good enough. Sometimes, odors happen, and if the wind blows it back to the neighbors, I\'ll get turned in.

I\'m willing to do things like getting up early every morning to unlock the coops; being home at a reasonable hour to re-lock them; arranging my family as \"chicken sitters\" when we go away...and all the work that goes with it. As Laura said, I have spared no expense -- all my birds have pet status.

But, I\'m not willing to take time off from work to run to Lower Manhattan to answer health violations, and then have to pay $200+ for the honor of appearing before a judge. As much as I want to stick it to the neighbors in the back, it\'s only going to blow up in my face, and end up costing me a fortune to boot. I don\'t want to be involved with lawsuits or any other type of nonsense. Fortunately, no harm has come to the birds. I want to keep it that way.

The good news is, my flock will join the roosters that I left at the farm in Columbus, NJ. They\'ll all be together -- on a proper farm -- and I can visit them at any time. I go down there all the time, because I fly airplanes out of Flying W Airport (N14 on the Washington Sectional), which is near the farm. The birds will have many acres to play on and will be in the right environment. My little backyard patch doesn\'t cut it anymore.

I thought hard about this -- I discussed it with my wife -- and really, this is the right thing for me to do -- for the birds; and for my wife and myself, considering where we live and the lifestyle we keep. Given what typically happens with chickens that farmers cannot keep any longer, I am blessed that I can bring them to Cresecent Farms in Columbus, NJ and visit them whenever I want.

Poultry and urban areas just don\'t mix. I tried to make it work, but despite my best efforts, it didn\'t work out. I feel sad, but I know that this is the right thing to do. Keeping them here will only be unfair to the birds; it will cost me alot more money -- and in the end, I\'ll have to do what I\'m about to do tomorrow. Best to do it and be done with it; especially considering that the entire flock -- all 27 of them -- will stay together in a proper home.

--Ron

[Guest]

One more thing, I forgot to mention and it\'s of critical importance. Complaints re: livestock, health issues, etc. are kept anonymous in NYC. This means, I\'ll never know who lodged the complaint. It also means the complainer can hide behind their anonymity filing anonymous complaints as the mood strikes. So long as I have even one chicken back there, this danger always exists. I could end up in a situation where my yard becomes Grand Central Terminal for the Dept. of Health and my life is puncuated by visits to 66 John St. with ever-increasing fines.

As such, I don\'t know who filed the complaint, but I have my suspicions. My wife and I once observed one of the lovely neighbors chasing a wild pheasant with a stick, trying to harm the bird. The pheasant visited my yard twice in as many years (and will always be a welcome guest).  I\'ve also heard a woman in the back screaming out (I\'m not sure if at me) on occasion.

Unfortunately, the laws are written against poultry in the city, even though hens are legal. I have Pentecostals across the street who can make a ruckus till midnight; barking dogs are OK; people can honk car horns at 0500 to alert their pick-ups that they\'re there (but a rooster can\'t crow); and it\'s OK for feral cats to use my property for their toilet. But, poultry poop is anathema. Oh well, my ranting is not going to solve anything. The point of the post was just to inform everyone about the anonymous complaint system here. The time draws near to do what must be done. I\'m going to go downstairs soon and try to enjoy the last afternoon I\'ll have with my birds.

--Ron

[Guest]

Oh Ron I am SOOO SOrry!!!  :stare:
That is really tough to have to deal with, for sure.  I sometimes forget that there are also many who keep poultry in non-rural places!!   Well, darn it, too bad you couldn\'t brave the wilderness of NO cell phones, NO Satellite TV, NO high-speed-internet... you can have ALLLL the poultry you want out here in  the middle of the woods in Kansas!!  

[Guest]

KStornado, I could never be land-locked. I need the ocean near me. Aside from being a once and future hobby chicken farmer, I\'m also a big salt-water fisherman. My wilderness destination of choice would be Los Barilles, MX on the East Cape of Baja California Sur. I could keep a million chickens there, and then go out and catch marlin, mako shark, swordfish, and yellowtail tuna. I could have a plot of land large enough to keep a small plane and be able to fly around. Now, that\'s living!

Anyway, I did the deed today and started the clean-up effort in the yard. The first priority was dismantling the brooder-cum-baby-coop; hosing down everything, bagging all used bedding, and thoroughly hosing the hydrated lime job I put down last night in the back pen. Now, I\'m going to let that pen dry out (because I practically flooded it and take it from there. I have at least 10 contractor bags full of stuff to take out. The clean-up effort will take at least a week or two. The adult coop will be washed (with clorox like Laura taught me), and I\'ll use it as a second small shed or potting shed.

I\'ll be able to visit the birds anytime I want, so I can have my fix and not break my bond with the birds entirely. They\'re all together, so I ultimately did not have to break the flock. They\'re the only flock there -- they have the run of the farm as far as chickens go. I\'m grateful to the Van Maters of Crescent Farms, Columbus, NJ for having taken all these birds under his wing. I can rest easy knowing that they have a good, safe home. Considering the typical outcome of such situations, I truly can count myself and the birds among the blessed.

At least when I visit and sit on a bale, Marilyn will come running to me, roost on my leg and let me pet her, just as she did here. I named her after Marilyn Monroe and she truly is the Marilyn Monroe of the flock.

Laura...at least two of the roosters I left two weeks ago are dead ringers for George and Junior. The legacy of George and Junior lives in Columbus, NJ.

I\'ll still be around -- I may have given up my flock, but I\'m not going to quit the board. I\'ve formed some good relationships here; and when I start-up in poulty in a different place, I hope to do a better job at it than I did on this run. I\'ve learned some painful lessons along the way, but I also had many joyful moments with the flock.

Now...onward and upward.....

--Ron