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McChook

A license to keep chickens? Is it true?

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Hi everyone

 

I was talking to a lady today and mentioned I was about to start keeping chickens. She asked me if I have my licence ready? This is the first I've ever heard about needing a license to keep chickens - do I really need one? Is there such a thing? If I do need one, where can I get it?

 

Advice needed please!

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she's talking thru her derriere

 

 

I must admit that had me in a chuckle... choked on my drink here... :lol:

 

No licence is needed... You are thinking of keeping them as pets, not as an international commercial venture, so nothing to worry about... this lady might have been dramatising, or might really have thought you need a licence...

 

No one here has one, and from my understanding most city councils allow people to keep up to 6 hens without problem.

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Know what you mean McChook. I flinch every time my chickens go "cluck" in case my neighbour complains! We have a few neighbours, most of whom never even knew we had a dog, but one complained (elderly "gent"), due to a lack of things to do probably! They at at the opposite end of the garden, but I still worry the council might be round! :evil:

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There are rules about large flocks ... not the size that you can get in an Eglu or Cube, though!

 

The only likely restrictions would be attached to your house, either through covenants on the title from when it was first built, or on any lease or tenancy agreement. The Council will usually only get involved if there is a complaint about noise or environmental health - otherwise they are not interested.

 

Even then, it usually turns out to be a storm in a tea-cup - unless you have cockerels, even a very noisy chicken isn't likely to be loud enough to break any rules.

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As long as you live in Birmingham UK and not Birmingham Alabama, you are OK.

 

But things are different in some states in the USA: you do need to have a licence there, even for a couple of pet chickens, and Omlet have a page about it.

 

But in the UK, do check your deeds if you live in a private house or with your landlord if you don't: they can scupper your hopes.

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Small holdings usually have to register if they keep any livestock, they get some agricultural number. I think what constitutes a smallholding legally has more to do with planning consents; and secondly is related to running as a business/trading from the premises. Separate from keeping a few chickens in a domestic back garden and selling some eggs over the garden gate.

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I had the same thing from a friend who told me I had to ask the local council for permission to keep chickens. Apparently someone she knew had to get rid of theirs when the neighbours complained about the noise and the smell. I ignored it but did cause a couple of sleepless nights worrying whether I was doing the right thing so understand your worries.

 

Unfortunately chickens seem to polarise people - they either think it's brilliant and love them or they think it's disgusting (and it's not obvious who falls into which camp! The two people I thought would disapprove think it's a brilliant idea)

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we have 6 hens in our garden and warned all our neighbours bar 1 we don;t see eye to eye with...she lives next door, and she's a complete moo.... she blocked us in our drive all day the day she moved in and flatly refused to move even when my little girl did not come home from school..I was frantic with worry, but would she move?????no chance, then one day I came home and found she had cut a big hole into my hedge in the garden, so she could "get some cuttings" off of my plants, :evil: then to top it all off, I came home to find half a dozen builders tramping through my back garden with wheel barrows and cement mixers and using my outdoor water tap, because "I DONT WANT THEM TRAMPING THROUGH MY HOUSE IN MUDDY BOOTS" WAS WHAT SHE SAID :evil::evil::evil: SO....needless to say we have ripped the rest of the hedging out, it's no use with gaping holes in it is it guys????? and replaced it with 4foot walls and 6 feet high panels...... NOW GET IN OUR GARDEN "Ooops, word censored!"!!!!!!!!!!! :lol::lol: anyways she has never spoken to me since and I have happily lived in peace since that day..., right back to the subject, we have not told her we are hoping she will report us so we can have a good laugh when she is told to *** off!!

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we have 6 hens in our garden and warned all our neighbours bar 1 we don;t see eye to eye with...she lives next door, and she's a complete moo.... she blocked us in our drive all day the day she moved in and flatly refused to move even when my little girl did not come home from school..I was frantic with worry, but would she move?????no chance, then one day I came home and found she had cut a big hole into my hedge in the garden, so she could "get some cuttings" off of my plants, :evil: then to top it all off, I came home to find half a dozen builders tramping through my back garden with wheel barrows and cement mixers and using my outdoor water tap, because "I DONT WANT THEM TRAMPING THROUGH MY HOUSE IN MUDDY BOOTS" WAS WHAT SHE SAID :evil::evil::evil: SO....needless to say we have ripped the rest of the hedging out, it's no use with gaping holes in it is it guys????? and replaced it with 4foot walls and 6 feet high panels...... NOW GET IN OUR GARDEN "Ooops, word censored!"!!!!!!!!!!! :lol::lol: anyways she has never spoken to me since and I have happily lived in peace since that day..., right back to the subject, we have not told her we are hoping she will report us so we can have a good laugh when she is told to *** off!!

 

What an awful women! Here Here to not telling her you are getting chickens. I'm so glad we have nice neighbours, but god bless you with yours!

 

Michelle

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we have 6 hens in our garden and warned all our neighbours bar 1 we don;t see eye to eye with...she lives next door, and she's a complete moo.... she blocked us in our drive all day the day she moved in and flatly refused to move even when my little girl did not come home from school..I was frantic with worry, but would she move?????no chance, then one day I came home and found she had cut a big hole into my hedge in the garden, so she could "get some cuttings" off of my plants, :evil: then to top it all off, I came home to find half a dozen builders tramping through my back garden with wheel barrows and cement mixers and using my outdoor water tap, because "I DONT WANT THEM TRAMPING THROUGH MY HOUSE IN MUDDY BOOTS" WAS WHAT SHE SAID :evil::evil::evil: SO....needless to say we have ripped the rest of the hedging out, it's no use with gaping holes in it is it guys????? and replaced it with 4foot walls and 6 feet high panels...... NOW GET IN OUR GARDEN "Ooops, word censored!"!!!!!!!!!!! :lol::lol: anyways she has never spoken to me since and I have happily lived in peace since that day..., right back to the subject, we have not told her we are hoping she will report us so we can have a good laugh when she is told to *** off!!

 

 

What an awful woman.Are you sure you really want chooks-a herd of Fresian cows meandering in your garden would wind her up better... :wink:

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I spoke to a guy yesterday who was doing some gardening nextdoor-but-one, he spotted the chooks and said how lovely and healthy they looked. He said that he has 6 as that's the most that you're allowed? Doesn't really matter either way for me with 3 but it all sounds very confusing.

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