Keeping chickens in your backyard can be enjoyable and rewarding.
Before you buy chickens, check the following:
You do not need approval from the City of Swan to keep poultry, pigeons or parrots.
Some properties have a covenant that bans poultry. If yours does, you cannot keep chickens. You can read about covenants on the Landgate website.
Rural zones include rural residential, special rural, rural living, resource, landscape and general rural under our local planning scheme, and Swan Valley rural under the Swan Valley Planning Scheme.
If you are unsure about your property’s zoning, check it on Intramaps, our online property map, or contact us.
Check that your soil is safe before your chickens arrive. We can test it for a small fee. Contact us to arrange a test.
Old pesticide residues in garden soil can build up in chickens and their eggs. Read about organochlorine pesticide residues in home garden soils on the Department of Health website.
You can use manure from your own backyard chickens in the garden. It is high in ammonia, so compost it first.
Untreated poultry manure from a chicken farm cannot be used anywhere in the City of Swan. This is set by the Biosecurity and Agriculture Management (Stable Fly) Management Plan 2013.
Your chickens must not cause a nuisance. If we receive a complaint, we will investigate. If we find your chickens are causing a health nuisance, we can take enforcement action under the Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1911.
If you already keep one of these birds and your property is not in a rural zone, you will need to rehome it.
Contact us, and we will work through it with you.