How to keep chickens without running a-fowl of local laws

July 17, 2017 at 12:00a.m.

youngstown

Rules for keeping chickens vary throughout the Mahoning Valley, so if you don’t want to run a-fowl of local laws, it’s best to check with your local zoning office.

In Youngstown, residents who wish to keep farm animals, including chickens, should request a property inspection from the health commissioner. The health commissioner will submit a report to the city planning commission. The commission makes a recommendation to city council, based on factors including whether the animals would affect the community’s health or unduly disrupt neighbors. City council ultimately votes on whether to grant a permit.

Carrie Anderson went through that process when she used to live in Youngstown. Anderson, who now lives in Boardman, began researching chickens about a year ago because she thought the eggs-perience would be beneficial for her daughter, Madeline.

The family keeps five female chickens – nicknamed Ginger, Miranda, Susie, Hazel and Jerry Seinfeld Jr. – in a coop behind its Ron Park Place home. Madeline, 10, cleans the coop twice a week. There’s also a fenced-in area around the coop, which gives the chickens more room to stretch their wings.

“They have a nice life,” Anderson said of her chickens. “We spoil them.”

For the most part, Anderson says the birds are quiet and haven’t ruffled any feathers in the neighborhood. Her next-door neighbor also keeps chickens.

Anderson had chickens when she was growing up in Fowler Township and prefers the taste of home-raised eggs to store-bought ones. She says the eggs, which don’t need to be refrigerated, are creamier and have more vibrantly colored yolks.

It irks Anderson when people view chickens as dirty. In reality, she says, the chickens are safe and help out by eating the bugs in her yard.

Boardman Township Administrator Jason Loree said chicken questions from residents are always peeping up.

“For whatever reason, chickens seem to be kind of a hot thing right now,” Loree said.

Boardman prohibits roosters but has no limit on the number of female chickens someone can own. The chicken coop must be at least 100 feet away from a neighboring property. The township does not require a permit to raise chickens, but residents should seek a permit before building any new structure, including a chicken coop, said Zoning Director Krista Beniston.

Boardman trustees plan to review the township’s zoning ordinances this year, and that process may include taking a second look at chicken rules.

Meanwhile, in Struthers, chickens are a cocka-doodle-don’t. Punishable as a minor misdemeanor upon the first offense, a city ordinance prohibits keeping farm animals, including fowl. Safety-Service Director Ed Wildes said the city has four cases pending against residents who have been cited for keeping chickens. Wildes anticipates the cases will be resolved after a court orders the residents to give up the animals and pay a fine.

In Campbell, the situation is a bird of a different feather. Residents can keep up to six chickens but only after obtaining a permit from the board of health. The coop must be at least 100 feet from an occupied dwelling.

Even in areas that allow chickens, residents should be aware of a flock of related ordinances. Most municipalities have established misdemeanor penalties for when animals, such as chickens or dogs, escape onto someone else’s property. There also are “nuisance ordinances” against animals that create excessive noise or “noxious odors.”

To avoid any cluck-ups, local officials advise doing some research before your chickens come home to roost.