(B) It shall be unlawful for any person to keep or maintain within the village limits any turkeys, ducks, geese, pigeons, roosters or other types of bird or fowl not classified as chicken hens (gallus gallus domesticus), or large animals such as horses, cattle, pigs, goats, llamas, emus, ostriches, or sheep.
(C) Poultry/chickens – Permit requirements and restrictions.
(1) It shall be unlawful for any person to own, keep, harbor, or have under their care, custody, or control any cock or rooster chicken two months of age or older. The unlawful keeping or harboring of cocks or roosters two months of age or older is hereby declared to be a public nuisance.
(2) It shall be unlawful for any person to own, keep, harbor, or have under their care, custody, or control any chicken hen without a valid annual permit issued by the village.
(a) Application for said permit shall be made to the Village Clerk and the fee for the permit shall be $25.
(b) The application shall be in writing on a form furnished by the Village Clerk. All applications to keep chickens within the municipal limits must be approved by the Village Board of Trustees.
(c) The permit will expire and become invalid one year after issuance. A person who wishes to continue to keep chickens shall have to renew said permit on or before the expiration of the previous permit. The procedures for renewing said permit shall be the same as those for applying for a new permit.
(d) No permit shall be assignable or transferable either as to permittee, location, or chickens.
(e) In addition to the penalties provided in § 91.99, the village may revoke a permit for failure to comply with any of the requirements in this section.
(3) The requirements for the issuance of a permit by the village to own, keep, harbor, or have custody or control over a chicken are as follows:
(a) No more than six chickens shall be permitted on any property. This shall not count toward the total number of animals allowed within any home or residence as provided in division (A).
(b) The chickens must be housed in a chicken facility and run approved by the village; such chicken facility and run must be maintained in compliance with all of the village’s requirements as a condition of the permit. The requirements for the chicken facility and run include:
1. The chicken facility and run must be in good repair, capable of being maintained in a clean and sanitary condition, free of vermin, obnoxious smells and substances;
2. The chicken facility and run shall not constitute a nuisance or disturb neighboring residents due to noise, odor, or threats to public health;
3. The chicken facility and run shall prevent chickens from roaming at large;
4. The run shall be attached to the chicken coop/facility and constructed to include metal wire fencing anchored to the ground and a fully enclosed roof or similar enclosure to prevent escape by chickens and entry by predators and general members of the public;
5. The chicken facility shall be constructed of durable material and the flooring of any chicken facility within the coop shall be of a waterproof, hard-surface, non-porous material. Chicken run areas shall not require hard-surface flooring.
6. The chicken facility shall be of sufficient size to safely and humanely harbor the number of chickens kept within;
7. The chicken facility and run shall not be located in any front yard of a property and must be located at least five feet from the rear property line, six feet from the side property line, and at least 20 feet from any neighboring residence; and
8. The chicken facility and run shall comply with all applicable village building and zoning codes and must be consistent with the requirements of any land use regulation.
(c) Offal, manure, and waste material shall not be permitted to accumulate nor be confined in any manner that is conducive to the breeding or attraction of flies, mosquitoes, or other noxious insects or in any manner that endangers the public health or safety. All permit applicants must provide a statement of the method in which offal, manure and waste material resulting from the chickens will be sanitarily disposed of at a minimum of at least once every seven days. Waste material may be double-bagged and disposed of in the owner’s dumpster.
(d) All grain, feed, and feedstuffs intended for use as food for chickens shall be kept in tightly-fitted containers constructed to keep out vermin and wild animals;
(e) Chicken hens allowed under this section shall only be raised for domestic purposes and no commercial use such as selling eggs or selling chickens for meat shall be allowed; and
(f) The slaughtering or destruction of chickens for commercial purposes within the municipal limits of the village shall be prohibited. Slaughter of chickens for personal consumption within the municipal limits of the village must be done in a manner that is not offensive to neighbors and in accordance with commonly accepted processing methods. All waste products resulting from slaughter or destruction of chickens must be properly disposed of. Carcasses and waste products may be double-bagged and disposed of in the owner’s dumpster. If composting is used as a disposal method, sufficient lime and/or wood ash must be used to eliminate the smell and to repel insects, vermin and other scavengers. Wastewater may not be discharged into the municipal sewage system or any natural waterway.
(1995 Code, § 6-201) (Ord. 63, passed 10-12-2005; Ord. 69, passed 11-14-2007; Ord. 2021-01, passed 6-9-2021; 2022-03, passed 6-8-2022) Penalty, see § 91.99
Statutory reference:
Related provisions, see Neb. RS 17-547