Do people own livestock in the Phoenix area? (Glendale, Chandler: condos, houses)

[ak.nessa]

I am sure some people own a horse or two, but are there any livestock out there in central AZ? I am guessing with the lack of grass it would be pretty difficult to own a "herd" of anything down there. Just curious if anyone is into homesteading and stuff like that. I am trying to get an image of what it's like - I have lived in the high desert in Oregon where there is a plethora of livestock (goats, cows, horses, llamas, etc) - all made possible with irrigation (the natural environment is arid, dusty, sagebrush and juniper trees only). But it seems Arizona is much drier so I'm not sure how common it is for someone to own animals other than dogs, cats, and other small house pets. Someday I'll make a trip to drive around the Southwest because I am super curious about what it looks like and how people live compared to the Pacific Northwest. Up here in interior Alaska, pretty much NOBODY appears to have livestock. Maybe a cow or two but they are absolutely miserable and look half-frozen and depressed!

I would love to see pictures of the rural areas and smaller towns outside of Phoenix. Pictures will definitely help me get a feel for what AZ looks like in person . I am assuming it's just endless desert, with mountains in the distance. But I am just curious if anyone has livestock!

Thanks guys!

[acrylic]

Since copyrighted images aren't allowed on the site, I'd suggest typing in key words into google images.

Just a side note though: Arizona isn't all a desert. Infact, its landscape is so varied.

Arizona - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and Arizona Photos, Arizona Stock Photos can give you a slight idea of what Arizona as a whole is like in landscape.

[observer53]

If your question is about the Phoenix area, and you are talking cows, sheep, goats, etc. There are some what we call "ranchettes" particularly out to the far west side, and some down in the southeast Valley, where people have some livestock... (those properties are irrigated, too) not large herds of cattle, mind you, but they are there. There used to be some llama breeders up on the north side, north of Carefree Highway, and goats as well. It's not quite the same as the areas of Oregon you describe. Further north, and I would think in southeast AZ as well, there are smaller towns with a more rural atmosphere and a little more forgiving climate for livestock.

[canudigit]

When we lived in AZ, one of the most unusual things that I discovered was that people in the city keep horses. I don't mean that they own them and board them out in the country, but that there are actually parts of Phoenix and its suburbs where people are allowed to have horses right there in a paddock in their back yard. It's not everywhere, or even in most areas, but it's there. I can remember driving down one of the number avenues, it seems like it was 51st or 57th, to get to Thunderbird Hospital from Arrowhead Ranch in Glendale, and there would be small houses with a couple of horses fenced in the back yard right there along this busy four lane street in Phoenix. And then on certain days of the week, farmers would bring bales of hay and set up a little market right at a busy city intersection and sell hay to those folks who had horses in the city. I guess that's one way to have your cake and eat it too, having a horse in the city limits. I always wondered if those people did much riding or if it just got to be too big of a hassle to have to trailer your horses and take them out somewhere where riding was allowed. It was interesting!

[Ponderosa]

There are quite a few places that keep animals around 99th Ave/115th and Southern (about 15-20 minutes from downtown!) in a area known as Holly Acres. These lots have irrigation. I have seen chickens, goats, ostriches, llamas, horses, sheep, you name it there. As the poster above said, these little rural gems can be found throughout the metro area. Once upon a time, they were outside of the city and over the years development has swept past and surrounded them.

[LocoAZnative]

There are standouts that have sheep and goats. right by my house in Tempe Near Southern and Hardy right in a residential neighborhood there is a house that has sheep and goats. I don't think they sold out to the developers in the 70's when the built the neighborhoods. Also frown up near 5th St and Priest there was a house that have goats. They had them til last here when the sold to developers and now there are condos there.

[Visgraf90]

I believe there are some properties in North Central Phoenix where the owners have some sort of livestock to maintain their zoning status.

[Peg Fife-Bell]

Originally Posted by ak.nessa

I am sure some people own a horse or two, but are there any livestock out there in central AZ? I am guessing with the lack of grass it would be pretty difficult to own a "herd" of anything down there. Just curious if anyone is into homesteading and stuff like that. I am trying to get an image of what it's like - I have lived in the high desert in Oregon where there is a plethora of livestock (goats, cows, horses, llamas, etc) - all made possible with irrigation (the natural environment is arid, dusty, sagebrush and juniper trees only). But it seems Arizona is much drier so I'm not sure how common it is for someone to own animals other than dogs, cats, and other small house pets. Someday I'll make a trip to drive around the Southwest because I am super curious about what it looks like and how people live compared to the Pacific Northwest. Up here in interior Alaska, pretty much NOBODY appears to have livestock. Maybe a cow or two but they are absolutely miserable and look half-frozen and depressed!

I would love to see pictures of the rural areas and smaller towns outside of Phoenix. Pictures will definitely help me get a feel for what AZ looks like in person . I am assuming it's just endless desert, with mountains in the distance. But I am just curious if anyone has livestock!

Thanks guys!

Sorry no pix available, but yes, people actually have livestock. There is a dairy not two blocks from where I live. I happen to live in the south part of Phoenix adjacent to Laveen, which until a few years ago was nothing but dairy's and cotton fields. My personal horse is stabled where I can see him every day along with six others, it happens to be the property that makes up my front yard. The next neightbor has a few cattle and lots of chickens.

There are still places further away (west and south of the I-10 freeway) from the downtown area of Phoenix where livestock is kept. It's is still rural here when you look for it. Also many places in Glendale and Peoria are zoned for livestock. As another poster mentioned, there are pockets through out the metro area where livestock, more often than not horses are kept.

It's not the dry arid place you think it to be. Come for a visit and see what we have here.
Peg

[GHF]

I looked up zoning laws for poultry inside city limits in the PHX area and it appears that Chandler prohibits their keeping, but others are fine with it. I wondered about keeping a rooster in the flock, would that be prohibited or not? I like the crowing, but not everyone does and often they are forbidden even if hens are fine. Does anyone have any ideas about the legality of the roos?

[Peg Fife-Bell]

I can't answer about chickens and roosters inside city limits anywhere in the metro area. Personally, I don't have a problem with roosters, other than they can be aggressive, but as far as their natural instinct to crow at ungodly hours of the day/night, I don't have a problem. I guess it's because I grew up on a farm.

FYI, there are still pockets of areas in the metro area where horses still have 'the right of way' over and above motorized vehicles. Common sense prevails, though where you would ride a horse. A particularly 'spooky animal' could be a hazard in an area with a lot of traffic.

Slowly the areas where people can keep horses or livestock are going away, encroached by new housing developments where the new neighbors don't like the 'smells' associated with livestock or horses. My question would be???? Did these people check out the area before they moved into it?

'Nuf said.
Peg