Chapter 1
Laws and Regulations Governing Backyard Poultry in the United States

J. Bruce Nixon

Animal Emergency Hospital of North Texas, Grapevine, TX, USA

Introduction

When a veterinarian is presented with the task of caring for a client's backyard flock, many daunting obstacles will eventually become evident, including questions of legal and regulatory requirements and obligations. While the appropriateness of whether or not to extend your professional services to these clients is a personal choice, legal requirements of the veterinarian and your client are mandatory. Violations of law may have criminal consequences and regulatory violations may carry punishments of fines and/or reprimands. It is even possible for a client to have their backyard flock depopulated and/or quarantined against their will. As in almost every area of modern veterinary practice, civil liability is always a threat.

For the veterinarian, there is no substantial legal requirement specific to practicing on poultry other than state licensure. Providing standard of care to backyard poultry is the primary issue of concern and this determination falls squarely within each state's veterinary licensing body. While backyard flocks are gaining in popularity with a concurrent rise in the number of veterinarians seeing such patients, these relationships are still relatively rare within a given practice area, even in major metropolitan cities. If a standard of care complaint is lodged with a state licensing board, its members must decide whose standards you will be held against. For instance, if a small flock under your care succumbs to Marek's Disease, any commercial poultry veterinarian would consider it standard practice to have had a vaccination protocol in place. While it would seem unreasonable to hold a veterinarian who occasionally practices on small flocks to such a standard, it is not an impossible scenario. Even if the licensing authority dismisses such a complaint, a client is still free to sue for civil damages. This sort of risk is ever-present in modern society however, and hopefully will not dissuade those inclined to enter this new and growing area of veterinary medicine.

It might also be helpful for the veterinarian to know exactly who would be defined as a specialist, or expert in poultry, backyard or otherwise. Unquestionably, boarded members of the American College of Poultry Veterinarians are considered veterinary poultry specialists and most members spend their careers managing poultry. They work in academia, government, industry, and the private sector. Most of these veterinarians are also members of the American Association of Avian Pathologists. Because most of these veterinarians are working with large commercial flocks they may not be readily accessible to most backyard poultry enthusiasts. Many veterinarians working with the occasional backyard chicken may not even be aware of their existence. It is obvious that their assistance, when sought, can be invaluable.

The largest veterinary avian community (by membership) is the Association of Avian Veterinarians (AAV). Its membership is primarily composed of veterinarians working with companion birds, but is by no means confined to it. In fact, there is no avian Family that is excluded by AAV. Historically, psittacine birds have comprised a very large percentage of the species seen by AAV members, but they have always worked with passerines (finches, canaries), ratites (ostriches), columbiformes (pigeons), and others. Backyard chicken care is a rapidly growing topic within the AAV. Some of its members are board certified as avian specialists by the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners.

The more common legal issues for the practitioner involves our role as an advisor to our clients, informing them of their own legal responsibilities. Many clients will enthusiastically and quickly form their own backyard flock and invest a substantial amount of time and financial resources into their new hobby without a moment's thought that they may have already grossly violated the law. To the best of our ability, it is our professional duty to at least provide them with some guidance on applicable laws, much as we inform clients of leash laws and local ordinances that may forbid certain types of pets.

Homeowners and neighborhood associations

Covenants, conditions, and restrictions (CC&Rs) are limitations and rules placed on a group of homes by a builder, developer, neighborhood association, or homeowners association. Most established neighborhoods and subdivisions, and practically all townhomes and condominiums have CC&Rs. This is the first place for a prospective backyard poultry client to look for obstacles. When clients purchase a home in a covenant-protected community they enter into a contract with the Homeowners or Neighborhood Association. The owner agrees to be bound by the restrictions contained in the community's governing documents, which include the declaration of covenants, conditions, and restrictions that are recorded with the Clerk's Office of the county in which that community is located. Those restrictions are legally binding upon all property owners in the community.

Even when a town, city, or county adopts an ordinance allowing backyard flocks, such permissiveness does NOT trump that contractual agreement between the owner and the association. So even if your client lives in a city that expressly allows (even encourages!) small backyard flocks, a prohibiting clause within the client's CC&Rs will take precedence and the client will not be able to proceed with establishing their flock. The more restrictive rule applies, and HOAs can and do exist in rural settings, even within land zoned for agricultural use. Also, if the homeowner is seeking to build a coop, they must first comply with requirements for pre-approval of construction of enclosures with the Homeowner's Association (HOA) before obtaining any necessary building permits from the city or county.

Some HOAs are extremely active, while others seem to be almost non-existent in reality. These neighborhood associations usually have no real policing powers but can appeal to civil courts to force compliance upon an uncooperative member. Monetary penalties can show up as a lien when a property is sold. On the other hand, HOA rules can be the easiest and least complicated to amend or create. A simple appeal directly to the HOA board or a letter of support from the neighbors bordering a potential small coop is often all that is needed to gain permission. Another common tactic is for homeowners to get themselves elected to the HOA board, which can be surprisingly easy to accomplish. Once elected, it is a simple matter to add poultry issues to the agenda and only a majority of the existing board members need be convinced of the need for a rule change.

Renters should also note that although their lease may not specifically prohibit chickens, the owner of the property is likely bound by such an agreement and subsequently anyone occupying the property is bound by the same. Even a willing and accepting landlord may not be aware of such restrictions and a renter may risk asking for a copy of HOA rules rather than risk the demolition of a newly constructed coop and re-homing of just-bought chicks. It would be wise for a renter not to assume poultry ownership is acceptable in the absence of specific restrictions, but inquire ahead of time.

Are backyard chickens pets or farm animals?

Because many municipal officials and members of HOAs lack agricultural knowledge, they lack a basis for understanding whether chickens can peacefully co-exist with their constituents in a cosmopolitan area [1]. Few things excite people as greatly as the goings-on in their neighborhood. It is often the case that the set of rules that apply to backyard chickens is determined by whether chickens are defined as pets or livestock, as some may believe that chicken raising and other agricultural practices involving animals simply have no place in the modern city. Some cities define chickens as domestic animals or pets, and thus subject them to the same enclosure and nuisance regulations as other domestic animals such as cats and dogs [2]. Other cities specifically define poultry as farm animals [3], and hence are subject to the same laws and regulations that apply to cattle and swine. Some owners may be shocked to find that their hometown outlaws chickens as dangerous animals, placing them in the same category as lions, tigers, bears, and sharks [4]. A novel way to address the issue is to treat chickens as a separate category of animal, giving homeowners, city inspectors, and animal control officers clear guidelines on how to approach and handle personal flocks [5]. In at least one instance, a city allowed a homeowner to keep her chickens because the owner herself considered them to be pets and the chickens did not create a nuisance [6].

Once the HOA/neighborhood association hurdle is cleared, the next step is to review city codes and ordinances. Internet access to city records is now almost universal even in small towns and although this has simplified access, it can be bewildering to find the appropriate and applicable ordinances. Interestingly, most large American cities have at least some provision that allows for backyard poultry, and smaller jurisdictions seem to be the most restrictive [7].

Navigating city charters and ordinances

Zoning and the law of local government often are regarded as subjects that are arcane and parochial. It is best to avoid projecting what you expect to find (and where), and simply be...