Playing chicken with irate neighbours in Pretoria

A Wonderboom resident is beyond boiling point about chickens roaming the streets and eating the flowers at her gate.

While other residents in Braam Pretorius Street seemed unfazed by the chickens roaming the pavement, others are complaining about the smell and trail of destruction.

Mariette Uys, from an art gallery, said it isn’t the first time residents have had problems with the people, allegedly foreign nationals, who own the chickens.

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“They wanted to open a spaza shop here – it was a whole story,” she said. Now there is a chicken coop at the front of the the house, where the wall meets the pavement.

Stinky chickens eat neighbour’s plants

Uys said not only did the chickens get out and roam the pavements, they also ate the plants in the flowerbed at her gate. “And they stink”.

“Sometimes there’s four or five on the pavement and we have to chase them back,” she said. Uys said it didn’t help to bargain with the owners about keeping the chickens caged.

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Gallery owner Billy Jacobs said the chickens had been roaming the pavements for six years. Jacobs said the gallery was part of his retirement plan.

“All we want now is a peaceful life and these chickens are interfering with that,” he said.

Mike Faasen lives next door to the house with the chicken cage. “The chickens crawl under the fence to look for food in my [garden], but it is rather the stench that hangs over the place from time to time; especially if the wind is blowing in our direction. Point is: this is a residential area, not a plot or farm,” he said.

What the law says

According to the City of Tshwane bylaws, a person in a residential area (proclaimed townships) can keep up to 10 chickens without a permit.

The city has requirements which include that the chicken coop must have walls made of brick, stone, concrete or other impervious materials with smooth internal surfaces.

Floors must be concrete or another impervious material and the total area must meet specific minimum size requirements, based on the type of poultry. Poultry houses must be at least three meters away from any dwelling, food storage or preparation area and property boundaries.

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Proper sanitation must be maintained, including regular cleaning of the coop and disposal of waste to prevent public health issues, and adequate water supply for drinking and cleaning must be provided.

The city makes it clear that measures must be taken to prevent nuisances such as odours and the presence of pests like flies, cockroaches and rodents.

Consequence of noncompliance of the bylaws may lead to a penalty or a fine of up to R20 000. The owners of the chickens could not be reached by the time of going to print.