Pretty Chickens and Farm-Fresh Eggs
My Best Friend's Son Tends to His Chicken Coop
I am an egg snob. I eat fresh farm-raised eggs because I like the way they look and taste, and the thought of conventional egg production gives me the willies. Though they are more expensive, I reason that the cost per egg is still very low, and I remind myself how much enjoyment each egg provides me. As urban farming is gaining in popularity, I have been starting to think that even I could have a backyard coop, which led me to this blog entry. Where are chickens allowed? What regulations go along with keeping chickens? How many chickens can I have? Below are charts displaying city municipal code relating to keeping fowl on residential property on both sides of the state line. I have included many of our biggest metro towns in the table, summarizing their chicken ordinances. Missouri is the clear winner; looks like you’ll have to go to Strouds if you want chicken in Kansas.
CHICKENS IN KANSAS?
| Chickens Allowed | Number Allowed | Details in Brief | |
| Prairie Village | No | ||
| Fairway | No | ||
| Leawood | No | ||
| Overland Park | No | ||
| Roeland Park | Yes | 6 | Must apply to the City first, and there is an application fee of $100, then an annual renewal fee of $75. |
| Mission | No | ||
| Merriam | Yes | I don’t see any specific chicken regulations in the code, but nowhere does it say that they are prohibited. | |
| Olathe | No | ||
| Shawnee | No | With a special animal permit, no more than 10 may be kept. | |
| Lenexa | Yes | Depends on Property Size: If less than 1 acre, 0 chickens. If 1-3 acres, 4 chickens per acre allowed. Total number not to exceed 12 chickens. | Must be 100 feet from nearest neighbor’s dwelling, 100 feet from front lot line, and 25 feet from side and rear lot lines. |
| Kansas City, Kansas | No | Chickens are only allowed on agriculturally zoned land; residents may apply to the director of animal control for a special permit. | |
| Mission Hills | No |
CHICKENS IN MISSOURI?
| Chickens Allowed | Number Allowed | Details in Brief | |
| Kansas City, MO | Yes | 15 | Enclosure required, coop must be 100ft from nearest neighbor’s dwelling, no foul odors or loud roosters, and must be kept clean and sanitary. *Vote on July 14, 2011 to allow exemption of distance allowance with neighbor’s approval. |
| Independence | Yes | 20 | up to 6 chickens must be 50 feet from neighbor dwelling, 7-20 chickens must be 100 feet away from neighbor dwelling, and over 20 chickens must be 200 feet away from a neighbor dwelling. No foul odors, and must be kept clean and sanitary. |
| Raytown | Yes | 4 | Must be 100 feet from nearest neighbor’s dwelling, and must be kept clean and odor free. |
| Parkville | Yes | 15 | Must be at least 500 feet from the nearest neighbor’s dwelling, and must be kept clean and sanitary |
| Belton | Yes | 4 | No more than 4 per acre or part of an acre. |
| Grandview | Yes | 2 | No more than 2 per lot in residentially zoned areas, must be at least 20 feet from neighbor’s dwelling, must be kept in an enclosure, and must be kept clean and sanitary. |
| Blue Springs | No | ||
| Liberty | No |
This turns out to be a timely topic, as the Roeland Park City Council is meeting tonight to discuss the keeping of chickens in their city. Chickens are currently not prohibited on residential property in Roeland Park, but perhaps we are seeing the signs of a sea change in Johnson County.
We’ve been talking about getting chickens but for some reason I was under the impression that they weren’t allowed here in KCMO proper. This is very exciting, thanks for the good word.
I don’t know if I could have chickens due to my dogs’ high prey drive…but I love the thought of overcoming factory farming and raising your own food! I used to live on Madison Ave in Westport and I had a neighbor with a loud rooster. It didn’t bother me, it kind of brought a sense of country to the city, but I can see why they don’t allow them in KCMO!
Kansas needs to get with the program!
There is an Admin Meeting November 22, 6 pm at Roeland Park City Hall to discuss this further. See the City Hens in Roeland Park group site:
http://www.chirpks.blogspot.com
for details and the latest information. City Hens in Roeland Park is also on Facebook. Thank you for your support.
What is the chicken law in Gladstone MO ?
Regarding the 100 feet restriction in Kansas City – any one know how we/I could go about attempting to reduce that? I noticed Grandview’s restriction is only 20 feet; if we could get KC’s down to even 50 or 75, that might enable more people to have backyard birds…
Thanks,
Nate
Would you be willing to email a note of support for backyard hens in your capacity as a real estate agent? I live in Roeland Park and our next city council meeting is on Dec. 6th, next Monday. Your support would really help our cause.
thank you,
Sheri
Absolutely, Sheri. Where should I send a letter in support?
Sarah
If you would just send it to the Roeland Park City Hall city clerk, [email protected] and ask her to share it with the council members. Thank you so very much. Our “make or break” meeting is Monday night so keep your fingers crossed. Thank you again for your support.
sincerely,
sheri
I forgot to ask if you could copy it to me or [email protected]
thanks again,
sheri
Roeland Park now allows backyard hens! Our ordinance passed and we will be able to apply for a permit by the end of the week. Thank you for your support.
What a great victory for Roeland Park. Here’s to hoping that other nearby cities follow suit. Good luck with your hens, Sheri!
Roeland park res here…came looking for info on here after the dlc sent me via twitter. Sooo excited!!! Beautiful!!
Per Independence’s website, the 200′ setback from your nearest neighbor is only if you have more than 20 chickens. If you have 1-6, only 50′ is required. 7-20 requires only a 100′ setback. See City Code SEC. 3.02.006.
Thanks for sharing the info. FWIW, while chickens are illegal on residential land in KCK there are a lot of people doing it anyhow. As long as you get along with your neighbors the police are usually busier working on real issues.
chickens are allowed in Liberty MO but only 3 and no roosters.
Do you know what the laws are for Stilwell, KS? I would like to have guineas…do they come under the same laws as chickens?
Great question, but unfortunately I have no idea. I am no expert, I just went through all the city’s individual code books. They can all be found online these days. Good luck with your guineas! I just looked them up online, and they sound like fun birds to have around: http://www.guineafarm.com/guineas.html
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I live in Grandview. While I’m thankful that we can have chickens (we will be getting some soon), I’m disappointed that it can only be 2 chickens; we’d like more. I also read that the Community Development Dept. must approve your enclosure prior to building and will need to regularly inspect it. I’m reluctant to seek to increase the amount of chickens for fear of putting myself on their radar. I wish there was a way to locate all chicken people in Grandview so we could band together and ask for more chickens.
I live in Prairie Village and have had my 5 hens for close to a year now without any problems whatsoever, but recently i have had some new neighbors move in and have turned me into the city. I guess i’m looking to get some help in trying to get chickens legalized in PV. I have not had any luck trying to get on agenda for city council meetings, any info you can provide is much appreciated. I really dont want to lose my girls.
Any luck yet?
How would one get the ball rolling in their city for their current laws regarding chickens to be changed? Who would we write to? The Mayor? I live in a city that does not allow chickens and I would love to see that change. I think it would be a great project for my kids to help with. I just need to know where to begin. Can someone email that info to me? cjcollins23 at yahoo dot com Thank you!!!!!
Call your city councilperson’s office. It would require changing the city codes, and they can help guide you in the right direction. You will probably need to get a petition going as well.
Does anybody know if there is any discussion on this topic regarding Overland Park KS? would like a pair of hens myself but as of now it is a no.
Did you read the codes? I thought you could petition the codes department, but I can’t remember exactly. Good luck!
Sarah- Did you come across info regarding Lawrence that you might be able to share?
Yes, but there are rules. You need to read the city codes: http://www.lawrenceks.org/city_code/system/files/chapter03.pdf
Look at Article 5. In brief, it states that you can have: “one animal per 500 square feet of lot size, rounded down, but in no event will the total number of permitted fowl on any lot exceed 20.”
Good luck with your chickens, it is alot of fun!