Cock-a-Doodle-Don't in Gowanus
A reader asks the Times, “One of my neighbors in Gowanus has taken to keeping a rooster in his backyard. It wakes me up nearly every day. Is it legal to keep a barnyard animal in New York City?” Nope, male chickens are not allowed, though their opposite-sex counterparts are. According to the health code,…
A reader asks the Times, “One of my neighbors in Gowanus has taken to keeping a rooster in his backyard. It wakes me up nearly every day. Is it legal to keep a barnyard animal in New York City?” Nope, male chickens are not allowed, though their opposite-sex counterparts are. According to the health code, most barnyard animals are against the law in any “built-up portion of the city” aside from horses, chickens and rabbits, and permits plus coops and runways are required for the latter two.
Photo by garreyf.
daveinbedstuy, human stuff is better ‘coz of the nitrogen from undigested meat…, however, wouldn’t recommend it for obvious reasons. Urine is cleaner and also a good source:
http://conference2005.ecosan.org/papers/mnkeni_et_al.pdf
Same thing happened to me on the LES in the late eighties. A vacant lot behind my apt was home to three roosters. The crowing was intolerable- a sickly caterwaul that was like a hot poker to the eardrum. It would start somewhere around 2AM and continue all night.
Despite my numerous calls to Animal Care and Control there was no legal course I could take. I was asked by ACC who owned the animals, as they would be served a summons. Obviously nobody rose up to claim ownership of the roosters and I was thusly hamstrung. One night I was driven to scramble over the chainlink fence at 4 AM armed with a hockey stick and murderous intentions. Roosters, it turns out, are quite spry and evasive.
I’m convinced that that Summer shaved a little bit of sanity off of me. Luckily I moved that Winter.
I had the same problem last year in Sunset Park. I called 311 more than 10 times and the city did nothing. I tracked down the address, but you need the owners name. I started calling the local police precinct and they finally got rid of the rooster. The rooster would start cook-a-doodle dooing at 3 in the morning every day and make noise on and off until noon. I was about to kill the damn thing before I got the cops to come.
Or in the front or side yards either…not on the roof, basement, etc., etc. Basically, Tiber, no roosters in the City…except, maybe at the zoos or at the Queens Farm.
There are a lot of animals on Rikers Island too.
my neighbor in cobble hill keeps three hens in his backyard. they’re well cared for, quiet, and as far as i can tell quite clean. i’m sure he gets a few eggs a week. i’m a bit jealous, actually.
Solution: 1 bag of flour + skillet of hot crisco.
You can’t keep a cock in the backyard. Simple as that.
Roosters are not allowed.
I guess you can keep a horse or pony if you get a stable license…I wonder how that is handled in the City?
Anyone know? I wonder if there is any personal stable in NYC…on Staten Island…in Queens?
There are NYPD and commercial stables around and I guess a couple in Manhattan servicing the Central Park carriage trade, no?
The Queens Farm has animals which I suppose falls under some special dispensation… Anyone know if they’re licensed as a zoo or simply as a farm?