Backyard Chickens in DC

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, you cannot have chickens in DC.

You can ride an ATV recklessly and noisily through the city. You can sell drugs by rec centers and schools. You can blare loud music for hours. You will be treated with understanding if you carjack someone.

But backyard chickens are too dangerous for and disruptive to our way of live.

No, all of the bolded things are illegal too. Terrible people just do them anyway, like people are encouraging OP to raise chickens in her yard anyway even though it's against the law.

Please cite the law that forbids this. I know people who do it and they are hardly law breaker types.

Sure: WASHINGTON D.C. CODE § 8-1808 http://dccode.org/browser/#/8/8-1808

"h(1) Except as provided in this subsection, no person shall import into the District, possess, display, offer for sale, trade, barter, exchange, or adoption, or give as a household pet any living member of the animal kingdom including those born or raised in captivity, except the following: domestic dogs (excluding hybrids with wolves, coyotes, or jackals), domestic cats (excluding hybrids with ocelots or margays), domesticated rodents and rabbits, captive-bred species of common cage birds, nonpoisonous snakes, fish, and turtles, traditionally kept in the home for pleasure rather than for commercial purposes, and racing pigeons (when kept in compliance with permit requirements)."

I think this is the line in the law that is debated. Some say that this could be read to include chickens.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, you cannot have chickens in DC.

You can ride an ATV recklessly and noisily through the city. You can sell drugs by rec centers and schools. You can blare loud music for hours. You will be treated with understanding if you carjack someone.

But backyard chickens are too dangerous for and disruptive to our way of live.

No, all of the bolded things are illegal too. Terrible people just do them anyway, like people are encouraging OP to raise chickens in her yard anyway even though it's against the law.

Please cite the law that forbids this. I know people who do it and they are hardly law breaker types.

Sure: WASHINGTON D.C. CODE § 8-1808 http://dccode.org/browser/#/8/8-1808

"h(1) Except as provided in this subsection, no person shall import into the District, possess, display, offer for sale, trade, barter, exchange, or adoption, or give as a household pet any living member of the animal kingdom including those born or raised in captivity, except the following: domestic dogs (excluding hybrids with wolves, coyotes, or jackals), domestic cats (excluding hybrids with ocelots or margays), domesticated rodents and rabbits, captive-bred species of common cage birds, nonpoisonous snakes, fish, and turtles, traditionally kept in the home for pleasure rather than for commercial purposes, and racing pigeons (when kept in compliance with permit requirements)."

I think this is the line in the law that is debated. Some say that this could be read to include chickens.

If they were being disingenuous, sure. But chickens are not common cage birds. Parakeets and cockatoos are. The things you keep chickens in aren't even called cages.

[Anonymous]

I live near chickens and they are loud.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Racing pigeons? I want to hear more about these racing pigeons...

I want to hear more about the ocelot-cat and margay-cat hybrids.

[Anonymous]

Finally a rule in DC that makes sense.

[Anonymous]

In a urbanish area you should own three hens and of course no roosters. Chickens prefer to live in a large group and three is enough to keep them happy without too much noise or waste. Some breeds are much quieter than others so do your research. The only time my chickens were loud enough to hear from inside the house was when a fox was standing outside their coop looking at them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Finally a rule in DC that makes sense.

There's nothing about chickens that makes them inherently more objectionable than other birds or even mammals that people keep as pets. It's when they're kept in large numbers and under unsanitary conditions that they become a nuisance.

[Anonymous]

Our DC neighbors have 3 or 4 hens. The kids love to visit and feed them. They're so much less a nusiance than the barky dog on the other side of the house. No smell and barely any sound. The neighbors asked us first if we minded them building a coop and occasionally share eggs with us. My understanding is that it is legal but that status could be changed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Finally a rule in DC that makes sense.

There's nothing about chickens that makes them inherently more objectionable than other birds or even mammals that people keep as pets. It's when they're kept in large numbers and under unsanitary conditions that they become a nuisance.

The fact that they're always outside and not kept in your house is what makes them inherently more objectionable than other birds and/or mammals that other people keep as pets. I don't particularly love the idea of rats as pets but if they're in your kid's bedroom what difference does it make to me?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I read an article several years ago about how it is basically a legal gray area in DC, but instead of finding that, I just came across this hilarious opinion article on the topic:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/all-opinions-are-local/wp/2017/04/26/why-d-c-should-ban-those-horrible-dangerous-backyard-chickens/

Love this!

[Anonymous]

I have backyard laying hens. However, you can't see into my backyard at all from any angle any time of year. I keep their wings clipped so thry can't jump high or fly, so they roam the yard a few hours a day and keep the yard free of ticks and big bugs. I also don't invite a$%holes to my home who might tattle.

[Anonymous]

If it is any consolation, I used to live in a small town in frederick county (rural...not remote rural but a rural history for sure). The town was split, it was a very big issue but ultimately backyard chickens were banned about a decade ago. I am Frederick now (not downtown) and they are allowed with certain specific space requirements. My neighbor's daughter two doors down had them (no rooster), her neighbor hated them, reported it, chickens had to go. This is a hot issue in a lot if areas.

[Anonymous]

There was an episode of keeping up with the Kardashians years ago where Kris Jenner wanted chickens in her backyard and (then referred to as) Bruce said, "she wants chickens because her rich friends in Beverly hills have them....they are disgusting, dirty animals." Whether that is true, I cannot say, but it was funny.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I read an article several years ago about how it is basically a legal gray area in DC, but instead of finding that, I just came across this hilarious opinion article on the topic:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/all-opinions-are-local/wp/2017/04/26/why-d-c-should-ban-those-horrible-dangerous-backyard-chickens/

Love this!

Paywall - what does the article say?

[Anonymous]

A friend got three then they were devoured by racoons. Not for the kids to learn about.