[Durhamlion]

Hello to all,

I have been looking for a new pet for our family for a little while and would love to keep some banties (only 3 mind). Rang the council they had no issues - great.

I then remembered out house is leasehold, emailed the leaseholder and they replied saying no problems, I then told the kids to see their reaction and they were over the moon with the idea of having 3 little banties to look after.

Then the bombshell, I received another email from the leaseholder saying that they had got it wrong and in the terms of the lease "domestic pets only" were allowed so sorry no chickens!!

I can buy out the lease, and keep them with no problems, but at a cost of £700, which I dont have to hand right now, so does anyone know if there has been a legal case where chickens have been regarded as a domestic pet / animal?

Thanks in advance

[poultrygeist]

Hi again.

We've had this discussion before and I think the outcome was, that although many of us see our chickens as pets, and for many they could be nothign else, it is near impossible to convince the authorities.
If you have fancy breeds that are not renowned for their egg laying, you may be able to argue the point but they may well claim that anything that lives in the garden is livestock.
I wish you luck and hope someone can help you along.

Rob

[chooknewbie]

do pet shops sell chickens?

[GrannieAnnie]

We did have a member quite recently here, or she was on the RC site who said she lived in a housing assoc place I think it was, adn she was told she could keep up to 3 'Ornamental' poultry, but not common or garden chickens!! 

Stupid idea!!!!  Everyone should be allowed to keep a few chooks!

[Aunt Sally]

I presume the ban is for three reasons, cockerels, vermin and smells -  none of which should be a problem if you don't have a cockerel and husbandry hygiene is good !

[upert]

you should've just got them and not told 'the man'.

[karlooben]

it would not surprise me if some pet shops did sell chickens etc, garden centres certainly do , now do they class them as selling as pets or livestock??? . i would say get them  but could u take that risk of getting them then having the kids get to attacjed to then find out u got to get rid of them . but there is a solution get yoursel an allotment if thats at all possible for u .

[chooknewbie]

well... it just baffels me that if they are sold in pet shops / garden centres, then surely they are becoming recognised as pets...its not like you see these places selling cows sheep etc....they sell pets   n'est pas!!

[Ice]

If you get on well with your neighbours and there would be no problem with them I would be tempted to get some anyway.  Just don't mention that you are not allowed to keep them to your neighbours.  I doubt the leaseholder would be round to check up.  It's hardly the crime of the century.

[Lady Lottie]

I had the same dilemma.  My house isn't leasehold its freehold but the deeds do state that you are not allowed to keep poultry.  I just figured I would take a chance as who on earth would bother to demand to see the deeds to my house or be spiteful enough to cause me bother over a coupla lovely chooks.

As far as the legalities went nobody said a dickie bird - I think really these little clauses are there to stop people keeping noisy cockerels. 

BUT

I ended up having my two chookies adopted because the neighbours started moaning about seeing a rat - yes singular. for gawd's sake.....  I NEVER saw any evidence of rats in my garden at all, it was just the townie, narrow minded neighbours whining cos they obvioulsy didn't like us having chooks in the garden.  It transpired later that next door but one were puttin out MEAT PIES "for the fox" - if there was a rat, do you think it was more interested in the meat pie or the chicken feed...? Humph!!   eejits....

Anyway, my point is, imo, you could have pleaded ignorance and not told the lease people but too late for that now.  So, as long as your neighbours won't moan (maybe they can be pacified with the promise of a few eggs...? ) I would still get some.  Also though, I did underestimate how noisy a chicken can sound in a very quiet cul de sac - one of mine was very vocal and I'm sure this is what the neighbours didn't like - though they didn't have the nuts to tell me in person.  No noisier than a dog barking really but in suburbia its a sound that isn't that common (where I live at least) so its probably more noticeable I suppose.  And so long as you clean up after the ENORMOUS AMOUNTS OF POO (I joke not - be prepared) that these little birds produce there shouldn't be a problem with smells.

Good luck. Chooks are great, I cried buckets when mine went and I'd only had them six months.  I really miss them *sniff*

[Lady Lottie]

Oh my goodness....I suppose if you're desperate you could try this - never hear the like!!

This from: www.freewebs.com/professorchicken/coops.htm

House Chickens
I feel that we ought to give a mention here to chickens that live inside people houses.

Why?
Some house chickens have come inside during an illness and never quite wanted to go back outside with the riff-raff again. A person I know lives in a city where, if her chickens are outside, they are classed as livestock, and if they are inside they are pets. Others know that chickens are just plain illegal in their town and don't want to risk having them outdoors where neighbours can complain. Many say that it is great having a chicken inside, and apparently they love to watch TV!

How?
How, I hear you ask, do you stop them pooping inside the house? Well, the lovely people at www.chickendiapers.com have invented chicken diapers. They work by catching the poo in a pouch at the back. This can be kept clean by using part of a sanitary towel. However, you have to check that your hen hasn't laid an egg in there! Overnight, they are normally put in a puppy cage or similar.    :blink:

[karlooben]

nappies for chickens  ummmmmmmmmm what has the world come to 

[poultrygeist]

 

Fantastic find Lottie !! 

Only in America. :blink:

Rob

[Lady Lottie]

  I can just imagine me trying to persuade Suki (the noisy chook I used to have) to wear one of those! She'd have tried to peck my eyes out first! lol  I mean how undignified - lol...tch!

[Ice]

A cork might be cheaper.