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Old 02-19-2012, 01:08 PM
 
Location: Austin, TX
16,787 posts, read 48,822,728 times
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I found some additional information on the code requirements for chicken coops.

http://www.amlegal.com/nxt/gateway.dll/Texas/austin/thecodeofthecityofaustintexas?f=templates$fn=defau lt.htm$3.0$vid=amlegal:austin_tx$anc=

Quote:
§ 3-2-16 ENCLOSURE FOR FOWL. An enclosure used to keep two or more fowl must be located at least 50 feet from a residence or business, excluding the residence or business of the fowl’s owner or handler.
Source: 1992 Code Section 3-2-26; Ord. 031009-9; Ord. 031211-11.
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Old 02-19-2012, 03:20 PM
 
170 posts, read 444,907 times
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Despite what the city of Austin might say, HOA rules would "trump" those rules. We had this issue in our neighborhood and it got kind of ugly. Be sure that you understand the HOA rules that may apply if you want backyard animals of any sort.
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Old 02-19-2012, 03:35 PM
 
Location: Where I live.
9,191 posts, read 21,781,606 times
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Now y'all have made me want to see about raising chickens, LOL!!

These excerpts made me LOL......too funny....!

I lived in the country and was considering having some, but I worried that they might be stinky, or that I would attract more foxes or coyotes, etc. I also could not kill one, so unless I left the old ones unprotected, so they would get eaten, I feared I would probably wind up with a bunch of old hens that I had to feed and clean up after.

All great information. You could bury your chickens I guess but you might feel guilty eating other chickens with them in the backyard maybe. I could see having a hard time with older chickens but no worse than having any other old pet. Some great links - thanks for the info! What would having a coop in the backyard do to the value of a half million plus home now?
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Old 02-19-2012, 03:41 PM
 
Location: Volcano
12,969 posts, read 28,263,461 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by balor123 View Post
What would having a coop in the backyard do to the value of a half million plus home now?
I know someone who lives in a $2 million house, and he always offers me a fresh egg from his coop whenever I'm there for breakfast.
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Old 02-19-2012, 03:57 PM
 
Location: Austin, TX
16,787 posts, read 48,822,728 times
Reputation: 9477
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cathy4017 View Post
Now y'all have made me want to see about raising chickens, LOL!!

These excerpts made me LOL......too funny....!

I lived in the country and was considering having some, but I worried that they might be stinky, or that I would attract more foxes or coyotes, etc. I also could not kill one, so unless I left the old ones unprotected, so they would get eaten, I feared I would probably wind up with a bunch of old hens that I had to feed and clean up after.

All great information. You could bury your chickens I guess but you might feel guilty eating other chickens with them in the backyard maybe. I could see having a hard time with older chickens but no worse than having any other old pet. Some great links - thanks for the info! What would having a coop in the backyard do to the value of a half million plus home now?
I don't think most of those homeowners would care if the coop were properly sited and screened. I'd love to have a few quail and guinea hens running around.

Racoons, which are all over Austin, love to eat fowl, so build your coop with this in mind (the following might be gross for some). Friends who had a coop said:

Spoiler
The racoons would reach through the chicken wire on the cage and grab a chicken, dismembering it piece by piece so they could pull them through the chicken wire.


These friends lived down across IH-35 from Onion Creek, they primarily had horse stables, but had all kinds of critters roaming around, ducks, geese, chickens, a goat, donkey, and horses as well as dogs and cats. It was a fun place to visit.
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Old 02-21-2012, 09:46 AM
 
547 posts, read 1,429,279 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by senormatt View Post
We're in south central Austin, 78704 area and have 3 hens fenced off in our side yard where they have a good amount of space to run freely. They make great, low maintenance pets and we're always encouraging others to go for it. They will turn your grass to dirt though, which is why we fenced them to stay in our side yard. But they repay us with eggs. Time commitment needed is very little. With our setup we can go on a weekender and keep them locked in their run and not worry about them.

We use Coyote Creek's organic feed available at Buck Moore and Callahan's. They have an old fashioned organic no-soy version we've been using. We also spoil them and buy them organic collard greens from the store to treat them throughout the week, and other misc veges from our garden - they love tomatoes. An interesting note to any allergy sufferers - my wife is convinced the eggs help with her allergies.

Someone down the street has about 8 or so hens and a rooster that they allow to free range through the neighborhood. There's no HOA that I know of and besides I don't think anyone minds them. We love when we see them out grazing around when we go on a walk.
I too live in 78704 and wonder if I've seen your place, as there is a house on a corner lot with an Eglu Chicken coop (Chicken Coops | Beehives | Chickens | Rabbit Hutches | Omlet US) in the yard.

We too are thinking about getting a coop in 78704, and already have several garden beds. Chickens were kept on our property by renters before we bought the house. I've never seen the ones roaming free though...would love to see that!
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Old 02-21-2012, 09:48 AM
 
35,095 posts, read 50,961,628 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by balor123 View Post
Someone I know mentioned that chickens are very easy to take care of and produce lots of eggs. Do any of you have experience with it? I saw one on House Hunters earlier this week as well. Some thoughts:
  • Is a permit needed and can I get it?
  • I wouldn't want to feed them corn. If I let them out periodically, then will they find enough to eat?
  • Are they really that easy to take care of?
  • Are they loud or any other concerns that I should consider?
  • Am I insane?

Unless you have someone who has chickens to teach you everything you need to know about chickens don't get them.
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Old 02-21-2012, 10:05 AM
 
Location: Chicago, IL
1,342 posts, read 1,349,761 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by buffettjr View Post

We too are thinking about getting a coop in 78704, and already have several garden beds. Chickens were kept on our property by renters before we bought the house. I've never seen the ones roaming free though...would love to see that!
Maybe someone else has mentioned this before, but speaking from experience, if you have any gardens/landscaping that you would like to keep intact, do NOT let the chickens have access to it -- put a fence around either the chickens or the gardens. They trash gardens mercilessly.
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Old 02-21-2012, 11:42 AM
 
Location: Holly Neighborhood, Austin, Texas
3,982 posts, read 6,693,790 times
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I've heard that some neighborhoods have prohibitions against roosters and that Crestview falls under this. Anyone know about this? I would hate to live next to someone who has rooster(s).
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Old 02-21-2012, 02:46 PM
 
252 posts, read 715,827 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by buffettjr View Post
I too live in 78704 and wonder if I've seen your place, as there is a house on a corner lot with an Eglu Chicken coop (Chicken Coops | Beehives | Chickens | Rabbit Hutches | Omlet US) in the yard.

We too are thinking about getting a coop in 78704, and already have several garden beds. Chickens were kept on our property by renters before we bought the house. I've never seen the ones roaming free though...would love to see that!
We have an Eglu, but we're not on a corner lot and it's hidden from view in the backyard. We're in the Galindo area. We've never been able to see the coop of the roaming chickens b/c their yard is very heavy brush. Surely the owners must have a coop to protect them at night though. Some days they cross the street on their own for some green grass ranging and it does make us smile every time we see them out. The large beautiful rooster has so far taken care of his hens very well, even on their field trips across the street every now and then. He's very proud and they all have a lot of personality.


Quote:
Originally Posted by CSD610 View Post
Unless you have someone who has chickens to teach you everything you need to know about chickens don't get them.
Not true (well maybe before the internet) - it's easy to learn on your own. Everyone can get chickens b/c there are great resources where you can meet hundreds of people who have chickens to teach you everything you need to know. Plus it's pretty simple having chickens. There's a local Backyard Chicken meetup group with a bunch of active members at The Austin Backyard Poultry Meetup Group (Austin, TX) - Meetup

Or you can learn in the comfort of home reading the forums at Raising BackYard Chickens, Build a Chicken Coop, Pictures of Breeds

Quote:
Originally Posted by verybadgnome View Post
I've heard that some neighborhoods have prohibitions against roosters and that Crestview falls under this. Anyone know about this? I would hate to live next to someone who has rooster(s).
It does seem like it would be worrisome living next to someone with roosters, but just my experience so far they really don't seem to be as noisy as you'd imagine. We actually rarely hear the rooster that lives a few houses down - he very rarely crows, and when he does it only lasts a few moments. I've been to a bunch of coops/farms around Austin - probably seen a dozen roosters - and I honestly haven't met one who was annoyingly loud. They also seem to crow a few times throughout the day. I have neighbors with yapping dogs that are much worse.
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