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Chicken Little
updated: Oct 19, 2012, 4:00 PM

What are the requirements for chickens in Santa Barbara County (and also in neighboring counties?

Does anyone know of a home for a very gentle Silkie chicken who happens to be a rooster? He was rescued from a construction site where he had been abandoned 5 days earlier and brought to a friend's coop in Noleta. From being very shy and frightened, he's adapted to the other chickens. He's very gentle with chickens and people, liking to be held. Unfortunately, though he is quite quiet and is inside at night, he has to leave. Is there a kind farm in the County, roosters aren't allowed within SB city limits, that could give him a good home?

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Comments in order of when they were received | (reverse order)

COMMENT 333419P	2012-10-19 04:44 PM
Oh. Never mind. A Rooster? Good luck... I'd cook him. I'm NOT being callous, but it's darn hard to place a rooster. Seems SB is overrun with them. ;-) It's county zoning law. Here's the link: http://documents.coastal.ca.gov/reports/2010/8/Th17b-s-8-2010-a4.pdf Sec. 35-71.12 Animals. Go to page 54. Here's the text, which I don't think I'm allowed to post. There may be more: Small non-hoofed animals (e.g., chickens, birds, ducks, rabbits, bees, etc.) shall be permitted provided that: a. Such small animals are for the domestic use of the residents of the lot only and are not kept for commercial purposes. b. The keeping of such small animals is not injurious to the health, safety, or welfare of the neighborhood and does not create offensive noise or odor as determined by the Director after advice from the County Public Health Department. c. Enclosures for such small animals shall be no closer than 25 feet to any dwelling located on another lot. d. No rooster or peacock shall be kept or raised in a residential zoning district except on a lot of one acre (gross) or more where all adjoining lots are of equivalent size or larger. This shall not apply to lots located within the Montecito Planning Area. 6. Odor and vector control. All animal enclosures, including but not limited to pens, coops, cages and feed areas shall be maintained free from litter, garbage and the accumulation of manure, so as to discourage the proliferation of flies, other disease vectors and offensive odors. Sites shall be maintained in a neat and sanitary manner. 7. Storage and disposal of manure. Persons keeping livestock in enclosed corrals or barns, rather than open pastures, shall remove and store or dispose of manure to prevent unsanitary conditions and breeding of flies. Manure shall not be allowed to accumulate so as to cause a hazard to the health, welfare or safety of humans and animals, or contamination of surface or subsurface water quality. ZONING DISTRICTS - R-2 Article II - Coastal Zoning Ordinance 55 Published September 2006 8. Erosion and sedimentation control. In no case shall an animal keeping operation be managed or maintained so as to produce sedimentation on any public road, adjoining property, or in any drainage channel. In the event such sedimentation occurs, the keeping of animals outdoors on the site shall be deemed a nuisance and may be subject to abatement in compliance with Section 35-185 (Enforcement). 9. Drainage. Where livestock are kept in enclosed corrals or barns, provisi... [ more ]
COMMENT 333423	2012-10-19 04:55 PM
Chickens make eggs. Roosters make enemies.
COMMENT 333449	2012-10-19 05:56 PM
Coq au Vin is about the best thing you can do with a rooster in California. If you bought it as a chick, most places would take the return as no one allows them.
COMMENT 333450	2012-10-19 05:56 PM
He is very handsome, I hope he gets a good home.
COMMENT 333455P	2012-10-19 06:09 PM
Call La Purisima Mission. They might be able to provide a home for the little guy.
COMMENT 333458P	2012-10-19 06:19 PM
Finding a home for a rooster sounds humane, but I think it would be more humane in the long run to cook it.
COMMENT 333460	2012-10-19 06:25 PM
It's really creepy that someone who is well-meaning and kind to animals and is looking to try and re-home this rooster would be met with the whole "let's cook it" commentary going on, here. This is typical of the kind of hostile response that people get here, and I'm tired of it. You think you're being funny, but it's 6th grade humor at best and it's tiring to see it over and over. This person is trying to make a difference. What have you done lately, except antagonize people anonymously online?
COMMENT 333467	2012-10-19 06:40 PM
If it is young. Make it a capon. Then eat it. Capons are good eating, and lots of it. http://www.countryfarm-lifestyles.com/caponize-chickens.html
COMMENT 333472	2012-10-19 06:50 PM
If it is a silkie, the meat should all be a dark color too
COMMENT 333473	2012-10-19 06:55 PM
I agree with 460. Many of the posters are actually bullies...
COMMENT 333478	2012-10-19 07:03 PM
460, personally, your comment is the type I'm weary of reading. There is nothing hostile about different opinions/suggestions being voiced on a community forum. Good luck finding a home for the little pecker! Wish I could take him, but the City says no!
COMMENT 333487	2012-10-19 07:44 PM
Firstly, you absolutely must name your bird and begin respecting it with the same consideration you would accept for yourself. Diet is important. Go to Island Seed and Feed and while standing between the bins of grainy goodness, I want to you to suspend your humanness and instead, become one with the bird. Sense the foodstuffs that call to you with goodness - buy those. I would strongly suggest you help your friend begin a daily journal or perhaps a blog so that it's resume will be complete and comprehensive. The musings of your poultrine pal will help us in truly knowing the person behind the feathers and establish a wonderful bond of mutuality. Then we can eat it.
COMMENT 333490	2012-10-19 08:03 PM
another vote for eating it. It would be a good community event to hold a BBQ and we'll ALL come and eat it. Then we can come back here and write about it because it will then be off topic.
COMMENT 333495P	2012-10-19 08:14 PM
I second the La Purisima suggestion. I was there with my daughter's school field trip; they have a lot of farm animals there, and it's very isolated. That's June Taylor holding that chicken! Hi June!
COMMENT 333496P	2012-10-19 08:20 PM
419 here. 460, I'm being realistic, not hostile. Call every farm, winery, stable, estate, feed store, humane society, zoo, etc.; whoever has lots of land. And do the same in SLO and Vta Counties. I'm just saying it's hard to place a rooster. All animal rescues know that. Call ART/Julia DiSieno. If she can't take it, no one can. The publicity will be good if she does. Sorry, June, who has more than earned the title "the Goddess of Sea Birds Especially Pelicans"! True too, that if you/SBWCN can't place it, no one can. That said, I hope someone sympathetic takes the rooster due to this thread.
COMMENT 333498P	2012-10-19 08:23 PM
Thank you, 419, for the code reference --- and thank you, also, 455P, for the suggestion of La Purisima Mission. I'll pass it on. ...As for the culinary suggestions of the others, umm, no thanks; nor would I suggest a dinner of cat or dog, both eaten in other countries, to anyone who's attempting to find a home for a lost and rescued pet or any creature.
COMMENT 333502	2012-10-19 08:30 PM
Roosters and chickens running around all over the East Side.
COMMENT 333523P	2012-10-19 10:37 PM
I had a pet Bantam rooster, back in the 70s. 20 minutes' walk from downtown area. Back when people weren't all living right on top of each other. He was the best little guy. My neighbors on all sides of me said hearing him crow made them feel like we were all out on the farm. Everyone was sad when he died. No more chickens for me, though. Still live at the same place, but don't like "feeding" the raccoons and possums (as much as I love them). It's hard to predator-proof a chicken coop. Good luck finding a good home for your guy. Male chickens/roosters really can't seem to catch a break. Have you ever seen a video clip of "sexing?" It is the stuff nightmares are made of . . . Don't look. Oh. And too bad County Animal Control waged that vendetta against the woman up on Camino Cielo. She would have taken your Silkie. She had a heart as big as Texas.
CORKY	2012-10-20 06:55 AM
I can't believe the suggestions re eating. The idea of killing is offensive. Good luck June from Rich Gralewski's widow. He would be appalled.
COMMENT 333538	2012-10-20 07:20 AM
The Humane Society used to have a petting zoo, of sorts. They accepted an 'accidental' rooster from us. Seems that a $50 donation may have made the difference. We had chicks purchased as 'guaranteed' to be hens, oops, once every year we got a rooster and although we did try to dispatch and eat the first one the next two years we made donations to the Humane Society.
COMMENT 333543	2012-10-20 08:03 AM
487: thanks for my laugh of the day!
AUNTIE S.	2012-10-20 02:47 PM
No, 460, it's not a hostile response - it's a fact of life about roosters. That said, he's a beautiful boy and I hope you find him s good home. Someplace in the SY Valley where there are lots of farms?
ACF	2012-10-21 06:46 AM
If the rooster is inside at night and doesn't crow and bother the neighbors, why can't you keep it? Lots of chickens have combs, of various sizes. Who could prove it was a rooster, and who would want to if it weren't disturbing the peace. The ordinance is meant to prevent a nuisance. If this nice rooster isn't a problem, someone ought to be able to take him without being denounced.
COMMENT 333800	2012-10-21 08:21 AM
When he was in kindergarten we let our son bring home chicks from his class. All four turned out to be roosters! We ended up donating them to the zoo where they were used as food for the big cats. When he asked to visit them, I told them they were probably transferred to another zoo, but we eventually told him the truth.
COMMENT 333803	2012-10-21 08:28 AM
Lol I guess I know nothing about hens and roosters..I thought a rooster was needed for hens to lay eggs. My sister has chickens but i never asked how that works lol good luck .
COMMENT 333822	2012-10-21 09:52 AM
i have had good luck finding a home for chickens with a simple ad on Craigslist. two of my silkies found a great new loving home: one in La Conchita and the other in Santa Ynez.
COMMENT 333865	2012-10-21 12:57 PM
We had chicks and one was a bantam rooster. We built a smaller pen for inside the wired coop, They all went in there at night and there was no crowing when the sun came up. Just a little when we let them out, but did not disturb anyone. The hens sat on some fertilized eggs and had chicks.
COMMENT 334082P	2012-10-21 09:20 PM
ACF and others: he spends the night inside and is quiet and is also pretty quiet most of the time, hanging with the chickens; the neighbor heard him the weekend before last, however, in midday and recognized a rooster and called, saying he must go. BUGZ: thanks for the suggestion of CraigsList; were your Silkies roosters?
COMMENT 334215	2012-10-22 10:00 AM
082P: Sorry your neighbor is a schmuck. Care to post his address, I've got a flaming bag of poo with his name on it. ;) (Just kidding. Sorta.)
COMMENT 334241	2012-10-22 10:35 AM
My neighbor has a parrot that is pretty loud but it is one of those noises that I don't mind at all. Much better than a teenager with a radio playing thumpety thump thump. He never gets to go outside so I've been encouraging her to get an outdoor cage so he can enjoy some sunshine. They live a long time, how long does a rooster live? Would a vet remove the voice box of a rooster? They debark dogs sometimes.....
COMMENT 334533P	2012-10-23 06:17 AM
241: removing the voice box has been tried, I've read, but it is very expensive and not often successful. And 215: LOL (sorta) - June has several neighbors, but all it takes is one ....

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