An urban abode with rural pets
Some of us prefer pets outside the domestic varieties. The backyard chicken coop is a growing trend among the nouveau green and anyone who’s had a goat can tell you, they outdo dogs in playfulness.
But the larger and more traditionally rural your pet, the more specific their needs and the regulations governing them in a residential area.
Goats
If you want a pet that’s always happy to see you, get a goat.
But goats are notorious escape artists, so ensure your garden is secure.
Goats will eat just about anything, including things which are poisonous to them, such as rhododendrons, so beware. A key point of getting a goat as a pet is to provide shelter, recommends the SPCA Canterbury.
A barrel, a shed, or even a dog house will do, but they have to have somewhere to keep out of the rain.
If you would like to keep a goat in Wellington, it must wear an ear tag (an RFID tag or similar) or collar to indicate that they are not feral and be confined on their owner’s property.
Chickens
If you want to get on board the self sufficiency bandwagon, maybe you’d like to have chickens.
No matter which urban centre you live in, it’s advised to situate the coop away from your neighbours’ houses (or boundaries).
It’s recommended by the Citizen’s Advice Bureau to provide ‘‘an enclosed, rainproof chicken coop for sleeping and laying eggs with at least 30 centimetres of roost or perch per chicken’’ with a minimum roof height of 60cm, plus an outside surface of grass or dirt for pecking and scratching greater than 3 square metres and ‘‘a secluded nesting area.’’
Chickens can help by eating your kitchen scraps but need their nesting boxes lined with new straw regularly, the inside of the coop to be covered with wood chips (untreated), sawdust or shredded newspaper, and to have the indoor waste mucked out once a week.
In Auckland, you can keep up to six chickens on a property smaller than 2000sq m without a permit from Auckland Council.
If the property is larger than that, you may have 12 chickens, but you’ll need a permit if you want to keep roosters.
Christchurch City Council has no bylaws regarding poultry, though it’s expected that residents think about their neighbours when considering keeping such pets.
In Wellington, you may keep no more than eight chickens without written permission from the council. Roosters can’t be kept in urban areas.
Other pets
If you would like to keep pets such as pigs, sheep, llamas, horses, deer, donkeys, peacocks, cattle or swans on a property less than 4000sq m in Auckland you will need to obtain a licence.
Keeping pigs is prohibited in Christchurch in any residential area designated as residential.
If you’re in doubt about whether you’re allowed to keep the rural pet you’d like, play it safe and call your local council.