Living by a chicken farm

[OutbackL130]

I'm looking at an 11 acre property for sale next door to a commercial chicken farm. The area is beautiful farm land in the valley with mountain views, but how bad will the smell be close to a chicken farm and are there any possible health risks living next door to it from pollutants?

 

[bcp]

Yes and no.

Nuisance Myths and Poultry Farming | Publications | UGA Extension

Chicken Farm Smell needs fixed! - Topix

And, how it smells or doesn't smell now may change in the future, with new owners, etc.

Bruce

 

[AchingBack]

Several years ago I did a landscape job at a home adjacent to an egg farm. Be prepared for huge fly infestations. One day on the site I accidentally left a window in the van open. When I got ready to leave at day's end, my entire head liner was coated with flies.

 

[OutbackL130]

I measured on google earth, their nearest chicken house is 1200 feet away from the property line. According to the uga link, the set back requirments are 200 feet. So maybe this property would be fairly safe from any foul odors. Years ago my parents looked at property on this same road and the chicken farm was their main concern back then.

 

[300UGUY]

What direction is the prevailing wind in the area? If it generally blows from the chicken place to your place, it might be nasty. Once in awhile might be tolerable?

 

[JimRB]

1200 feet? I can smell the breakfast cereal plant 7 miles away with the winds coming from the northeast. That is a pleasant smell. Chicken liter is not a pleasant smell.

 

[CurlyDave]

Don't even thing about buying there.

They can build a new coop anytime they want, which will get you right next to the smell. And it will reduce the resale value of the property you are looking at to next to nothing.

 

[farmer2009]

Now slow down folks. The smell is controllable as well as flies.

Both depend on management of the houses. First off how many is there? There will be some days even the best run houses will smell. It has to do with the weather for a few days. Warm and rainy is really bad as there is no controlling humidity inside. Also when they clean out and spread yes you will smell them. Flies can be controlled by proper litter management. The more fly bait you use the more flies you will have because of the attractants in them.

As far as health issues. There is no proven effects. I have spent five years inside them. So that's more exposure than a neighbor 1200 feet away will see in many years.

Neat question which way are they facing are you staring at the end with all the fans on them. If so its noise that will bother you but you will also get use to it. And you will adjust to the smell somewhat.

How is poultry farms any different than cattle or sheep. Now there's an animal that stinks. Sheep.

 

[ksluy]

I live in chicken country the home of Tyson Foods and when its 90 out and they have the curtains open and the fans running i don't care if you are a mile away. I ride road and mountain bike's and when I have to go past the houses you can't even get air. My wife grew up about a mile from a large feedlot. To me a three chicken house farm is way worse. I say keep looking a little farther out.

 

[dave1949]

Farmer2009, It's not personal. I eat a lot of chicken and I thank you for growing them. That said I don't think it's a good idea to fence in Ag operations with residential areas. It is too likely to sooner or later become a point of contention. It's not the best situation for the farmer or the neighbors. In the long run the usual outcome is Ag gets displaced by residential uses. That's not a good result.

You can control the conditions on your farm, a neighbor cannot. If the management changes or slips and that causes problems, there is often no way to resolve them that anyone will think is fair or friendly. The OP could post his problems five years later on TBN and we will say he moved next to a chicken farm and should have known better. Personally I think it is far better to recognize that and use that adjacent land for farming or timber production, something non-residential.