Any problems keeping quail in a big city?

[702Quails]

So I know that quail aren't as regulated compared to chicken or indigenous game birds, but has anyone had any problems with city ordinances or neighbors? I live in a big city where there's concrete everywhere, block walls and most yards are under a 1/4 of an acre. There's been people like 'Slightly Rednecked' on Youtube that say they live in a city and haven't had any problems, but to me, it looks like he lives in the country.

The ordinances in my city are clear about chickens, but not really for other birds. The ordinance for chickens says they need to be: "three hundred fifty feet of any dwelling of another person unless such other person has filed with the Animal Control Officer a written, unrevoked consent". You'd literally need at least 10 acres of land to not have to worry about someone complaining about your chickens and that's just for HENS. To put that in perspective, 10+ acres of residential land costs millions WITHOUT a house where I live.

There's over 50 houses in a 350 ft radius where I live, so keeping chickens wasn't an option for me (for a lot of neighborhoods, it could be in the hundreds). Funny that it's that strict when some people's dogs are more of a noise nuisance than even a rooster could ever hope to be and the other city ordinances let cats roam free. I called the city to find out about keeping quail and they were useless. I called twice and each time they said "I don't know... and I'll call you back" Never got a call back from them.

 

[Nabiki]

So I know that quail aren't as regulated compared to chicken or indigenous game birds, but has anyone had any problems with city ordinances or neighbors? I live in a big city where there's concrete everywhere, block walls and most yards are under a 1/4 of an acre. There's been people like 'Slightly Rednecked' on Youtube that say they live in a city and haven't had any problems, but to me, it looks like he lives in the country.

The ordinances in my city are clear about chickens, but not really for other birds. The ordinance for chickens says they need to be: "three hundred fifty feet of any dwelling of another person unless such other person has filed with the Animal Control Officer a written, unrevoked consent". You'd literally need at least 10 acres of land to not have to worry about someone complaining about your chickens and that's just for HENS. To put that in perspective, 10+ acres of residential land costs millions WITHOUT a house where I live.

There's over 50 houses in a 350 ft radius where I live, so keeping chickens wasn't an option for me (for a lot of neighborhoods, it could be in the hundreds). Funny that it's that strict when some people's dogs are more of a noise nuisance than even a rooster could ever hope to be and the other city ordinances let cats roam free. I called the city to find out about keeping quail and they were useless. I called twice and each time they said "I don't know... and I'll call you back" Never got a call back from them.

It would help to know what state/city you're in. The regulations vary depending on where you are. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, and there are no regulations about quail in my town.

I would suggest calling your local animal control, though. They would know what the regulations are for where you live.

 

[preciouseureka]

I'm in Northern California and also had trouble figuring it out. We finally just took a deep breath and did it. My roosters get really loud but the neighbors have never complained.

 

[Bluemonster107]

I live in central California... and we do have agricultural areas around us but I live in track homes.. yards like you mention. Our city ordinance says you can’t own “farm animals” or “game birds”.... and if you own birds that fall outside of those categories... you just can’t raise them, nor the eggs for human consumption... lol
I thought that was just a strange statement ... but didn’t matter to me because the Japanese coturnix are not considered “game birds”and I am raising them as pets and egg layers for my reptile.
But seriously... how would they know if you were not eating them... again... just strange
So maybe you have a law like that?
And I get a few roos that sound off against each other... sometimes at 4am.. but the neighbors can’t hear them or sounds so settle to them, they think they are just other wild birds we have around outside.
And yea... we have a neighbor that has two of those irritating dogs... they bark all the time!!! Middle of the night.. morning.. you name it!!! Nothing is more irritating that that noise!!!

 

[Kaya1]

I'm in Northern California and also had trouble figuring it out. We finally just took a deep breath and did it. My roosters get really loud but the neighbors have never complained.

I'm in Sacramento area and I had my birds in cages on my apartment patio for over a year. I couldn't find any laws against it, and no neighbors ever complained about the roo, even though I could hear him from across the complex.

 

[702Quails]

Well I'm planning on putting them in my garage. The garage is insulated and about 30 ft from the street. It can only block so much noise, because of the tracks on the sides and the expansion gaps in the cement floor. I tested how much noise one of my one week old quail makes (isolated it to get it to chirp) and it registered at 80 dB (about as much as a regular cough). I put the week old quail in my garage and I could hear it faintly from the street... It's not as obvious during the daytime, but it's pretty distinct during the late hours of the night. Not sure how loud a rooster would be, though.

I'm just worried about that because my neighbor's house is about 30 ft away from my garage. And the thing is, that neighbor is an old nosy guy that even snoops around during the middle of the night. I'll probably add more insulation to the garage and have a white noise generator turned on 24/7. He'll probably have to go over the property line to tell exactly where it comes from, and if he does that, a security camera will record him. If he tries to say anything, I'll fill a trespassing complaint against him.

 

[tennesseequail]

In a garage I doubt a roo will be loud enough