Tenant wants a chicken coop....

[Thomas J Monson]

Tenant has requested permission to get a chicken coop. My initial thought is no... anyone have experience with this? Just seems dirty and unnecessary. This is in a duplex with a good size back yard. Thanks!

[Jane S.]

my tenants have a large back yard and the chicken house he built is very nice looking, its at the rear of the yard backing up to a right of way and there is NO SMELL and NO MESS. They have a couple of toddlers. the chickens are mostly in their enclosure. Our town allows about a dozen hens per family but no rooster. As far as I can tell the tenants take excellent care of their animals/garden and learned all about them before they got their chicks. The eggs they gave me are really small, though. The chickens are very pretty and healthy, (spoiled probably) not noisy. as long as your tenants are smart about it, and know the city rules, I think you should consider it. The only worry is predator birds like owls, falcons etc. or egg-suck dogs. (I had one of those) These same tenants grow lovely veggies in summer, which I also enjoy. The property they live in was used by the original family that sold it to me who did similar things so they are carrying on the tradition. I think it's great for the kids to experience small scale farming, the property came with a huge compost heap that got used up quickly. I discovered some vintage plants that survived for decades. I have another rental across the street from a loud and noisy turkey pair. Havent seen them, they hang out behind a high fence. Both houses are inside city limits. As you can tell i am in favor of pulticulture! There are enough folks doing this that your tenants can get advice etc. Don't know about goats. I know they wander in and out of my friend's house. very cuute.