Today started off on a less than ideal note when I did terribly on my midterm (not yet confirmed) and on my way home was greeted with a parking ticket (the lame 48 hours in the same spot kind). Historically, the opening round of the NCAA tournament is an enjoyable one for me, so I knew drastic measures must be taken to improve my mood. Fortunately, my day started to improve after I blew off the rest of my afternoon to run the arboretum and enjoy the March heat wave/Seasonal Affective cure we’ve been having lately. My day improved further when, at the end of my run, I passed a chicken just hanging out on someone’s front lawn. It caught me by surprise to say the least. I did remember that two of my friends actually built a chicken coop in the backyard of their Madison house, however. After some research, I discovered the sites thecitychicken.com (which has a page entitled, Chicken Laws) and http://www.madcitychickens.com. It turns out that section 28.08(2)(b)8.j of the Madison Zoning Code states:
j. Keeping of up to four (4) chickens on a lot with up to four dwelling units, provided that:
i. No person shall keep any rooster.
ii. No person shall slaughter any chickens.
iii. The chickens shall be provided with a covered enclosure and must be kept in the covered enclosure or a fenced enclosure at all times.
iv. No enclosure shall be located closer than twenty-five (25) feet to any residential structure on an adjacent lot.
v. The owner, operator, or tenant obtains a license under Sec. 9.52, MGO.
vi. The applicant for a license notifies all residents within two hundred (200) feet of the lot.
vii. Not more than fifty percent (50%) of the residents notified in vi. above object within fourteen (14) days of notification.
So if you’re a Madison resident and have ridiculous amounts of free time, why not raise your own chickens? Actually, I can think of a few reasons why not…
We can keep 6 chickens in Boulder. Hope you’re ready for a little coop building!