Before getting started on keeping animals such as fowl, rabbits, goats, etc. It is imperative to know city regulations. Each city has its own codes, so it is necessary to look them up. Most cities have their codes online. I find it best to do as much non-person to person research due to reactions such as “well, if it is allowed, it should be banned.”

Basics to be aware of include:
Housing: In Oakland a fowl shelter must be more than twenty (20) feet from any dwelling, church or school.

Keeping Roosters: Specifically not allowed in Oakland, but allowed in San Francisco. However, as with any of these codes, they only reach so far before another code or governing entity has jurisdiction. So, while roosters are allowed, there are noise abatement laws. You just have to use good judgment about your location and the neighbors.

Sanitation & Treatment: Most cities have laws against poor sanitation and treatment of animals. If an inspector were to drop by they would want to see healthy well cared for animals with appropriate space, clean bedding, and ample and clean food and water. If they see otherwise, they can impound your animals and penalize you ($$).

Number of Animals: Haven’t found restrictions on the number of pets an Oakland resident can have. San Francisco limits pets (of any kind, except insects) to four.

Animals at Large: So, even chickens wandering off your property are considered “at large.” My turkeys recently went for a long walk and ended up in traffic on Grand Avenue. They were contained; picked up by animal control and impounded. Animal Control was kind enough to charge me only one impounding fee for the flock and one fee for animal shelter labor, rather than per bird. Be aware of the fines associated with keeping livestock. By now, my turkeys are no longer part of the winning homesteading equation I was working on.

Fowl for Food: It is lawful in both Oakland and San Francisco to keep, kill, and prepare your own animals for food, provided it is in a humane way. I found this out by calling animal control. This code falls under their jurisdiction.

Since part of my motivation for keeping livestock is for expressing my own cultural practices in regards to food, it is imporant to me that I be able to prepare my food by hand at my own home. I am quite interested what the codes are city by city and will be calling around to report back on a later post.

Sick Animals: Another Animal Control question. In Oakland, it is lawful to kill a diseased animal yourself. In fact, if you do not handle the situation or sacrifice the animal to Animal Control, you can be penalized. In San Francisco, someone with proof of SF residence must sacrifice the animal to Animal Control. In SF, you cannot kill a diseased animal yourself.

Burying of Dead Animals: Not sure about San Francisco, but in Oakland all animals must be buried under four feet of soil in the location they were found dead or on your own property, with exception of cats, dogs and birds. they must be buried under only three feet of soil.

I am quite interested to know how livestock laws differ from city to city and hope to include more on small livestock other than fowl. For today, this is it.