Have You Thought About Getting a Chicken?
Whether you are living in a high rise community with a rooftop urban garden or you live on property with a little bit of land, I think you can all agree one of the best additions you can make to your urban farm is chickens. And the best reason to have a chickens is for the farm fresh eggs.
But, just because you want chickens doesn't mean your city will allow you to have them in your backyard.
Each city has their own ordinances and there are maximum allowable limits on how many chickens you can have in your backyard. Here's a few cities in King County you may be interested in...
Bellevue: 6 chickens. Click Here for Bellevue Restrictions.
Issaquah: 1 chicken for every 2000 sq ft of land. Click Here for Issaquah Code.
Redmond: 0 - 10 chickens, depending on zoning. Click Here for Redmond City Code.
Kirkland: 3. Click Here to read more.
Seattle: 8 chickens. Click Here to Read more.
Sammamish: 3, if less than 3 acre site. Click Here for Sammamish Code, and search for code 21A.65.020.
Unincorporated King County: It depends, based on the size of the parcel. Check here for more information, section 21A.30.020.
Somethings you may want to consider before you invest in chickens and a chicken coop:
If you live within an HOA, you will most likely have further restrictions. Check with the Association's CCRs and their Rules and Regulations.
Another important factor in owning chickens is creating a coop. There are usually additional restrictions including setbacks for the coops, sizing limitations and/or will a permit for such structures.
Here's a quick tip for those who don't own chickens yet. Make sure the structure you put your chickens in at night is enclosed on all sides, as there are many predatory birds like chicken hawks in Western Washington.
Some cities will not allow roosters, only hens.
If you're thinking of dabbling in Urban Farming before, here's a website that provides many resources that you may be interested in if you plan on adding a chicken coop to your backyard:
If you ever want to chat about chickens, I can tell you first hand about our experience.
We started with about 100 baby chicks that we ordered and were delivered by mail, if you can believe that! We bought them to use up some of the spent grain from our brewery.
We have about 50 hens, and they just started laying eggs, even though I understand that they may not lay as many eggs in the winter.
It's been an adventure, and I highly recommend giving it a try!
One day, I will tell you about our other farm adventures, but until then, happy farming!
Kristin Bushnell is Designated Broker of Bushnell Real Estate Solutions and Co-owner of Bushnell Craft Brewing Company in Redmond, WA. Check out my profile here.
If you are ever interested in chatting about real estate, contact me at kristinbushnell@gmail.com or call me at 425-559-1355. I'll buy you a beer (or non-alcoholic beverage, if you prefer!), and we can chat about real estate until your heart is content.
