For this project, we ask you what you want us to investigate and what stories you'd like us to tell.Jennifer Thornal was a poultry science minor at Stephen F. Austin University and a member of the college’s poultry judging team, which ranked chickens at competitions with other universities.“It's great therapy,” Thronal said. “You get outside, you get to deal with them, learn their personalities.
Coops are one of the accepted poultry enclosures defined in Austin’s municipal code. They must have four secure sides and an overhead cover. The code also states chickens can’t roam free. Whether this means chickens must remain in their coops or be contained to a backyard is unclear.“The Right to Farm Act has been on the books in Texas since it was passed in 1981," Barton said.
Timothy Thornal wanted to know whether the Right to Farm Act allowed HOA residents to raise chickens. “Unfortunately, the Right to Farm Act does not give a resident power over their HOAs to allow them to have chickens,” Barton said.So is this the end of the road for residents who want to raise chickens in an HOA that doesn’t allow it?
Judith McGeary, executive director of the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance, said the amendment could be interpreted to mean everyone is allowed to farm with no exceptions.