Birds
Many residents keep birds as companions, while others keep poultry for fresh eggs or as a hobby. It’s important to consider the impact it has on your neighbours by making sure your chickens and birds are happy and healthy, with strong enclosures, well-managed litter and vermin control.
Keeping Poultry
Poultry should be kept in a location, structure and condition that does not cause a nuisance to neighbours or other members of the community or be harmful to health in any way.
Maintaining clean, safe and sanitary conditions for poultry is important and birds should be contained in an area that:
- Has a floor area of at least one square metre for each bird
- Is provided with a shelter of solid construction with a rainproof roof and an internal floor surface constructed of or paved with concrete or other material approved by Council to a smooth, hard, impervious finish with a floor area of at least 0.3 square metres for each bird
- Is maintained at all times in good order and repair, and in a clean and sanitary condition free from rats, vermin, offensive odours or conditions; and which is located:
- Not less than 25 metres from the front boundary of the property
- Not further forward on the property that the rear half thereof or the rear alignment of any house
- Not less than one metre from any boundary of the property
- Not less than 15 metres from any dwelling or one metre from a shed
Offensive conditions can occur when birds are kept in wet conditions, where kitchen scraps are dumped as feed or where manure is allowed to accumulate.
For these reasons it is recommended that birds are kept on dry ground, droppings and litter are raked and removed regularly and is placed in a location still be accessible by the birds but outside of the shelter.
A Guide to Keeping Poultry and Other Birds
Roosters
Council discourages the keeping of roosters as invariably complaints regarding noise will result in the owner being required to remove the bird(s) if they cause justifiable nuisance.
When it's a problem
Keeping animals or birds may result in nuisance complaints if certain conditions are not met or maintained.
When keeping poultry please consider and take steps to minimise the potential for nuisance due to:
- The number of animals or birds being kept on the premises
- The nature and location of housing facilities for the animal or bird
- The noise made by the animal or bird
- The dust or odour generated by the presence of the animal or bird
- The attraction of flies, rats, mice or other vermin
- The animal or bird not being adequately contained on the land
- The animal or bird being allowed to wander or fly from or to land either alone or in numbers
- Droppings emanating from the animals or birds
Council may investigate and take appropriate action if birds are found to be persistently creating a noise or nuisance to such a degree that it unreasonably interferes with the peace, comfort or convenience of others.
Contact us
For more information about keeping birds, please call 8269 5355 and ask for our Community Standards team, or email admin@prospect.sa.gov.au.