The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors will be holding a hearing in January to set limits on the number of roosters people can keep on their property.
According to the staff report for the proposed ordinance, the board will be considering regulations to limit the number of roosters that may be kept on a premise by parcel size, in order to protect the health and safety of county residents, as well as the “quiet enjoyment of their homes by minimizing public nuisances, illegal cockfighting, and the raising of birds used for cockfighting.”
“In recent months, residents living in rural, unincorporated agriculturally zoned parcels have called attention to the often-crowded conditions of large-scale rooster operations on agricultural properties in Santa Barbara County,” the board letter states.
“This large-scale breeding and warehousing of roosters has led to adverse impacts to adjacent properties due to noise and activities that are not associated with commercial poultry ranching, reasonable family uses, educational poultry projects, or other legitimate agricultural operations.”
In addition to setting limits on the number of roosters people can have based on the size of their property, the ordinance will create a rooster-keeping operation permit that would allow people on eligible parcels to keep up to 25 birds.
As the ordinance is currently written, it would allow properties less than one acre in agricultural zones to keep a maximum of one rooster, those more than one acre to five acres to keep a maximum of two roosters, those more than five acres to 20 acres to keep five roosters, and properties more than 20 acres to keep a maximum of 20 roosters.
Properties that are less than one acre in non-agricultural zones would not be able to keep any roosters.
Properties larger than one acre would be eligible for a rooster-keeping operation permit.
People with a rooster-keeping operation permit would not be allowed to have more than 25 roosters, with the exception of members of a local chapter of 4-H or Future Farmers of America, or other educational poultry projects, as long as the number of roosters does not exceed the number specified in project documentation.
Additionally, the ordinance will allow the county’s Animal Services director to adopt standards for the care of animals in rooster-keeping operations.
Some of these standards include requiring that each rooster has access to water and shelter from the elements; sufficient room; and clean, safe, and sanitary enclosures that are kept in good repair to protect and contain the roosters.
It is also required that roosters must be housed in an enclosure that is at least 25 feet from property lines and 150 feet from any dwelling units located on another lot.
Animal control officers will be able to enter private property to inspect that property in the case of complaints or suspicion of violation. People who violate the ordinance could be found guilty of an infraction, and may be subject to civil action to ensure compliance.
The creation of the rooster-keeping operation permit will add two new fees — an annual operating permit fee of $182 and a complaint investigation fee of $138 per hour for justified complaints.
County staff said it is unknown how many rooster-keeping operations will seek a permit.
More information on the ordinance can be found with the board’s meeting information here.
These regulations relating to roosters will be considered at the Board of Supervisors’ Jan. 9, 2024, meeting. If approved, the ordinance will then be continued to the Jan. 23 meeting for final adoption.