Texas Senate Bill 1620 Allows All Texans to Keep 6 or Fewer Chickens
Lubbock was ahead of the curve by almost exactly two years when it came to allowing residents to keep backyard chickens. All Lubbock residents are allowed to keep up to six hens (no roosters since they are noisy), so long as they are keeping the area safe for the hens and not too yucky for their neighbors.
Now, thanks to Senate Bill 1620, all Texans have the legal right to keep up to six hens. Individual municipalities can impose the following caveats if they chose to do so:
(1) a limit on the number of chickens an individual may | ||
raise or keep in excess of six; | ||
(2) a prohibition on breeding poultry; | ||
(3) a prohibition on raising or keeping roosters; or | ||
(4) the minimum distance an individual must maintain | ||
between a chicken coop and a residential structure. |
According to The Houston Chronicle, the chicken "debate" over this bill got quite silly:
The State Senate on Wednesday passed a bill allowing the keeping of six or fewer backyard chickens, but only after the august body was subjected to a Q-and-A full of awful puns, culminating with Sen. Paul Bettencourt's impression of Foghorn Leghorn.
What the Dixie Chicks Fallout in Lubbock Was Really Like
Lubbock Man Caught on Film Stealing Chainsaw