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June 29, 2009

Cock-a-Doodle-Don't in Gowanus

rooster.jpgA 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.




Posted by Gabby at 10:15 AM | Comments (19)
Categories: Gowanus, Wildlife

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Comments

my rear neighbors just put a few chickens in a coop in their backyard.
they are beautiful birds, but definitely the smell carries over into my garden.

Posted by: stephen at June 29, 2009 10:21 AM

chicken shit is hands down, the best fertilizer.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at June 29, 2009 10:22 AM

The link to the times article is wrong.

If male chickens are not allowed, cant you just call 311?

Posted by: newsouthsloper at June 29, 2009 11:03 AM

I've seen chickens in Sheepshead Bay near the back of the U.A parking lot by the Belt Pkway exit since I was a child in the eighties. As far as I know chickens are (oddly) tolerated in city limits, not just in NYC but L.A. and other large cities as well.

Posted by: Joe from Brooklyn at June 29, 2009 11:16 AM

Plenty of chickens running around the vacant lots of East Harlem.

Posted by: bowl of dicks at June 29, 2009 11:37 AM

Male chickens? Are female bulls banned also?

Posted by: dittoburg at June 29, 2009 11:42 AM

Is there no open mindedness towards the transgendered poultry???

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at June 29, 2009 11:50 AM

Two words: Bird Flu

Posted by: WonTon at June 29, 2009 11:53 AM

I didn't know rabbits were considered "barnyard animals."

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at June 29, 2009 11:59 AM

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?


Posted by: BrooklynGreene at June 29, 2009 12:23 PM


You can't keep a cock in the backyard. Simple as that.

Posted by: tybur6 at June 29, 2009 1:13 PM

Solution: 1 bag of flour + skillet of hot crisco.

Posted by: boerumite at June 29, 2009 1:13 PM

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.

Posted by: duckumu at June 29, 2009 1:39 PM

There are stables on Randall's Island.

Posted by: cmar7785 at June 29, 2009 1:57 PM

There are a lot of animals on Rikers Island too.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at June 29, 2009 2:04 PM

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.

Posted by: BrooklynGreene at June 29, 2009 2:50 PM

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.

Posted by: jtp2106 at June 29, 2009 5:29 PM

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.

Posted by: houseowax at June 29, 2009 6:47 PM

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

Posted by: supereks at June 30, 2009 6:35 AM

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