Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Poultry and Pets => The Hen House => Topic started by: tosca100 on March 15, 2012, 14:07
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Hi
My wife normally does all the chatting on this forum, but I thought I would pose a question following continued disappointment in selling our house prevents us from moving to a new location.
We live in a 1970's semi detached house that backs onto a playing field and has a public footpath along the side of it. Within our house deeds it does state no livestock (including poultry, pigeons but wewould like to keep a couple of hens. which is one of the reasons why we have been looking to try and move.
The garden we have is 30'x 40' and has an enclosed driveway at the side of the house that connects to a garage that is used as a storage/workshop shed. We have a small area that we exclusively use for a vegetable patch.
I have done some research to find if the clause in the deeds can be upheld and am also aware that the Allotment Act 1950 states that poultry can be kept on allotments, but am still unsure as to if keep a maximum of 3 hens for egg laying at our property without breaking the law. I find the whole thing very frustrating that people can keep noisy dogs next door but you cannot keep hens
We would envisage keeping them in at night in a coop in the garage that then connects to an outdoor run for confinement when we are not in.
Please can anyone advise on our predicament and also suggestions as to breeds that are less likely to cause offence to the neighbours (noise and restircted flight) if we were to go and be able to keep hens.
Thanks from Mr Tosca
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hi Mr Tosca, there have been a few cases of people winning cases allowing them to keep hens as they have regarded them as pets rather than livestock (registering them with a vet as pets may help).
If it was me I would ask the neighbours if they minded you keeping 3 hens (and point out you certainly wouldn't have any cockerels), and the occasional bribery of a few fresh eggs goes a long way to help the situation :). Have them in an enclosed covered walk in run so it doesn't matter if they can fly but please be aware that all hens can be noisy when they have laid an egg, want to lay an egg or just want to get your attention ::)
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A guy at the back of me has 20 in his garden and to be honest the only time we here them is as joyfull said when they've just laid etc. Ive just been over chatting to him as ive been looking into keeping chickens for a while now and Im even more determined to do it now. .Im just a bit skint at the moment to get set-up but its going to happen this year.
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A guy at the back of me has 20 in his garden and to be honest the only time we here them is as joyfull said when they've just laid etc. Ive just been over chatting to him as ive been looking into keeping chickens for a while now and Im even more determined to do it now. .Im just a bit skint at the moment to get set-up but its going to happen this year.
I have seen full setups including hens free to good homes so you might want to search the net to see if anyone locally if offering free or reasonably priced setups.
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I agree with Joyfull to have a chat with your neighbours first.
We have had people comment on the noise of our hens but in a good way. They say they love the sound and it reminds them of their youth. Our close neighbours buy our excess eggs which they love as they are cheaper and nicer than the supermarket eggs.
I can sympathise with you about moving as we have tried over the last 2 years and either have had a buyer but no where we like or somewhere we love and no buyer. This is the case now, we have seen somewhere, had a buyer but they then viewed other properties and have gone after another one. I have my fingers crossed that they get a bad survey so they might come back to us (I can but hope). :wub:
Hope things work out for you. :)
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The Allotments Act 1950 in fact allows the keeping of hens and rabbits on any land (not just allotments), irrespective of restrictions in land owning documents. The only proviso is that they must not cause a statutory nuisance e.g. noise and smells.
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We've got 5 in our back garden instead of down on the allotment, it makes it way easier to look after them (mainly for when we finish work).
We've never did check our deeds when we got ours, never thought we would have to. :blush:
We can't see any negatives in keeping chickens (better than rabbits) - we've found them 'therapeutic', they interact with you, and the eggs? they speak for themselves. :D
You may even catch your neighbours 'chatting' to them when you're not looking ;) we did :lol:
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Hi
We have bantums (silkies) and rhode island reds - although one of them crows a bit but is not a cockerel. Our neighbours complained to the council - but not for the chickens but for the rats - which we were cross about as the house next door has had rats for years before we had chickens! Although having chickens probably did not help it was not our problem originally. We have two cats now and there does not appear to be a problem although the relationship with the neighbours will never be the same.
The council came around and checked on the chickens. Luckily we rehomed the cockerel before they complained on that as when you buy the chickens too young you cant tell. I would suggest you ring the council and ask their advice on it. Keeping chickens is becoming ever increasingly popular and much more interesting than keeping rabbits and other neighbours may actually have them. Good luck
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Hi, we are also not allowed to keep hens as per our deeds, but we do :tongue2: We have 2 currently and have only ever had a max. of three as they produce more than enough eggs for our families' needs. I've always wanted hens at my home, as I grew up with many at my parents' over the years, they still have lots now. So when the opportunity arose to take on a bullied hen of my dad's that he reintroduced twice with no joy I jumped at the chance of taking on the already rehomed barn hen, we got another to keep her company and then another and so it went on! It was a bit out of the blue we never consulted our neighbours but we get on well and our hens have never caused any probs. they even care for them when we are away :) I guess it kind of depends on the relationship you have with your neighbours. I would completely agree with the others 3 hens really don't cause alot of noise, smell etc and they are great to see dotting about the place :) good luck
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We are allowed hens here, but I know my neighbour doesn't like it.
My justification is that they are less noisy than the 3 dogs that back onto us (that bark every time someone passes even at night), and we keep them clean so they don't smell, but if the food encourages rats it is no more so than a rabbit would.
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Hi as said the alotment act does allow keeping chucks on any land including gardens, the only time you couldnt is if you rent the property and it states in your tenanancy that you cant as this is a legal document and could leve you open for the landlord to end the tenancy. you can read all rules and regs on the DEFRA web site hope this helps :D
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Talk to your neighbours to keep things open, above board and friendly. It would only be a problem if one of them tried upholding the clause in your deeds anyway (notoriously difficult and very expensive for someone to do). As Yorkie says the law supports you anyway. :)
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Hi as said the alotment act does allow keeping chucks on any land including gardens, the only time you couldnt is if you rent the property and it states in your tenanancy that you cant as this is a legal document and could leve you open for the landlord to end the tenancy. you can read all rules and regs on the DEFRA web site hope this helps :D
Just to clarify. The tenancy cannot overrule statute, even though it is a 'legal document'. The tenant is not bound by the clause. So, even if the tenancy says you cannot keep chickens, the Allotment Act overrules it and therefore permits the keeping of hens.
However, as Tony says, the landlord can always choose to serve notice of intention to repossess - so it would be a tactical own goal to do something which the landlord does not like.