Backyard chickens-who has them and do your neighbors care?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The smell is terrible especially after rain

How many chickens does your neighbor have?

[Anonymous]

Not OP but my chickens come next week!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:disgusting and thank GOD illegal in fairfax county

please explain this. how so? and what experiences have you had that render this conclusion?

We lived next door to a neighbor who had 5-6 chickens. They would often get out and run around the nearby yards picking up all the grass and ground until it was bare dirt. Chickens shit all over the ground so there was always a stench coming from the neighbor's yard , especially when it rained. Eventually enough neighbors were fed up and called Fairfax county zoning. Zoning came and made them get rid of all of the chickens.

"The keeping of livestock or domestic fowl is allowed as an accessory use on any lot of two (2) acres or more in size. "
http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dpz/faqs/zoning.htm#animals

Hmm. Didn't realize the FC laws. A neighbor of ours has chickens and has no more than half an acre and they're always out running around in the neighborhood... the kids actually get a kick out of seeing chickens in the street. Weird sight. They don't bother me because they're around the corner from us - maybe if they were next door they would!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The neighborhood foxes will appreciate it. Can't eat rabbit every night.

Yep. We're in Chevy Chase, MD. There have been several fox and coyote sightings. One of the things that attracts them is available food sources. I'm sure they would love chickens.

We're in Barnaby Woods and see our local fox pretty much every other day. Maybe it's two or three foxes. Beautiful grey foxes, they climb trees.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The neighborhood foxes will appreciate it. Can't eat rabbit every night.

Yep. We're in Chevy Chase, MD. There have been several fox and coyote sightings. One of the things that attracts them is available food sources. I'm sure they would love chickens.

We're in Barnaby Woods and see our local fox pretty much every other day. Maybe it's two or three foxes. Beautiful grey foxes, they climb trees.

They are beautiful and they do indeed climb trees. They also love grapes and I have yet to beat them to the ripe grapes on my vine. This year I may succeed.

[Anonymous]

I live in San Francisco and we have chickens. Neighbors don't mind at all. I trade organic eggs for organic homemade jam with a neighbor. My 2 yr old's very first jobs were chicken-related.

[Anonymous]

So funny that people find them disgusting and a sign of poverty. In my mind they're kindof bougie!

[Anonymous]

I have seen them in the Langley Forest neighborhood of McLean, no joke, but not recently.

[Anonymous]

I think free range when you have a back yard smaller than your house is inconsiderate to your neighbors, and this is coming from someone with 4 chickens on 1/3 acre property. If you have a small property, consider coturnix quail. Quail eggs are delicious and good for hay fever. You can't free range them, but if your backyard is tiny, you can't rightly call it free range unless you have some tiny little bantam chickens.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Back in the day, having to keep chickens on your property was a sign of poverty and was a source of shame.

Just saying.

Yep. And back in the day women couldnt vote and there was no air conditioning. Awesome.

[Anonymous]

We have 6. I built the coop. I let them out to wander every evening. I give the neighbors eggs when I have extra. All the kids love to come over and get the eggs.

The whole "source of shame" line of thinking is a little odd.

I'm in an upperclass neighborhood - not ubber rich but quite nice with larger acre+ wooded lots. It has been a lot of fun.