Part I
Choosing Chickens
In this part . . .
The chapters in this part focus on some basic chicken information, such as chicken biology and different breeds of chickens. We try to infuse you with our love of chickens but give you enough information to make sure that chicken-keeping really is for you. If you’re new to chicken-raising, you may be anxious about buying chickens, and so in Chapter 4 we discuss what you need to know about acquiring chickens.
Chapter 1
Enjoying Chicken-Keeping
In This Chapter
Looking at the law and chicken-keeping Considering the commitments you need to make Being mindful of your neighbours We’ll come straight out with it – we love chickens and we hope that you’re reading this book because you love chickens, too; because, as a chicken-keeper, you’ll have their welfare at the forefront of your mind. We discuss a very basic issue in this chapter – one that you need to consider before you do anything else. Should you even keep chickens? Chickens make colourful, moving lawn ornaments and they can even provide you with your breakfast. But they do take some attention and expense, and you need specific knowledge to care for them properly.
Consider this chapter as chicken family planning. If you read the information here and still believe that you’re ready to start your chicken family, you have the whole rest of the book to get all the information you need to begin your adventure.
Dealing with the Legal Issues
Various rules have been put in place over the years to combat the problems associated with chicken-keeping. In this section, we look at those rules – and how to overcome them responsibly.
Plenty of small home-owned flocks are happily clucking and scratching around gardens all over the country. All the legal stuff you have to think about before kick-starting a chicken-keeping hobby can sound a bit daunting, but don’t let it put you off if you’re keen. ‘Forewarned is forearmed’, and knowing about the potential problems of a crowing cockerel, for example, may just save you from experiencing the hassle first hand. Knowing what info you need
To know whether you can legally keep chickens, first you need to know what can stop you from doing so. Therefore, before you go to the expense of setting up your chicken-keeping operation or get the kids too excited about the new hobby, check the following:
Covenants written into your house deeds. About 100 years’ ago people kept chickens in urban backyards as commonly as in farmyards. In fact, chickens became so common that they began to pose problems in densely populated areas when people didn’t look after them properly, which caused bad smells and attracted vermin. To combat these problems, rules against chicken-keeping were written into some house deeds as new dwellings were being built around the turn of the last century. Although this situation is thankfully quite rare nowadays, you need to check that your house deeds don’t contain such rules. If you live in a terraced row or a street of similar houses, the chances are that all the houses are bound by the same rules.
If you bought your house before you got interested in chicken-keeping, rules concerning chicken-keeping may not be something that you checked. Anything that says keeping poultry isn’t allowed on your property should be written into the deeds quite clearly, and so now is the time to read them thoroughly.
Restrictions in house deeds may often be outdated, for the current era in which people keep chickens for pleasure rather than for bulking out a meagre diet, and rules may be relaxed in your area or people may be unaware they exist. If your chicken-keeping creates any problems for other people, however, those rules can be used against you.
Local council by-laws. Consult with your local council to check that no by-laws exist that prevent anyone in your area from keeping livestock at their property. Tenancy agreements. If you rent, your landlord may have written a ‘no pets’ clause into your tenancy terms. If so, check whether this covers chickens too – it may be that ‘outdoor’ pets aren’t viewed as a problem. The law. Laws exist that govern what you’re allowed to build (relevant if you’re thinking of going for a solidly constructed chicken palace). Other relevant laws concern pollution of ground water from poor storage of manure (the Environment Agency police this area — see its website at www.environment-agency.gov.uk for more information) and obligate you to treat animals well. They also restrict who you can and can’t sell chicken-related produce to. Rules also exist that concern noise levels – the Environmental Health Department of your local council has a duty to investigate any noise pollution complaints. Remember that cockerels can be very loud! If your flock consists of 50 or more chickens, you’re obliged to register with the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), and to bring to its attention any unusual deaths or diseases in wild birds near your chicken-keeping venture. If your chickens have a disease problem, your veterinary surgeon informs DEFRA if he thinks that the problem is significant. (Chapter 11 deals with ‘notifiable diseases’.)
Finding the info
House deeds are usually held for surety against a mortgage by the solicitor or bank that arranged your mortgage for you. The information is available, but you may have to give the office where the deeds are held some notice if you want to study them or copy some of the details. For a fee, and if your property is registered, you may be able to find the information you need at www.landregisteronline.gov.uk.
If you’re unlucky enough to find restrictions in your house deeds, you can look at getting the rules changed – if you’ve come to an agreement with neighbours, and particularly if someone else living in your street already has chickens. Check to see if you can get a free half-hour consultation with a solicitor to find out whether making the change is worthwhile and possible, being an outdated situation. Someone else living nearby may already have done so, which can help your case along. For checking the rules regarding ground water, rivers and streams, the Environment Agency is the place to go. Environmental Health Officers have a few roles, too – food safety, pest and vermin control as ...
