Neosho council amends proposed fowl ordinance to cap household fowl at 12, allow one rooster

Neosho City Council amended a proposed change to its animals and fowl ordinance to limit the total number of fowl per household to 12 and to allow up to one rooster within that cap.

The amendment was proposed by the chair during discussion of Bill 2025-30 and carried on a 7-0 roll call vote after public comment and council debate about noise, nuisance and enforcement. Public commenters Esther Flores and Thelma Ham urged the council not to impose stricter limits, saying residents value the ability to keep chickens for eggs, hatching and self-sufficiency. Flores asked the council to "reconsider the proposed restrictions," and Ham said she spoke "on behalf of many residents to not change the current ordinance" and opposed a rooster ban.

Council members and staff reviewed sample ordinances from other Missouri municipalities and noted that many cities limit chickens to six; staff also referenced a state statute discussed during briefing materials. Council members described past local complaints about noise, odor and predators and emphasized enforcement remedies already in the municipal code, including a noise/prohibition section that makes keeping animals "in such number or in such close proximity" that they are offensive a potential code violation.

After debate on numeric caps, coop sizing and species differences (for example, turkeys vs. chickens), the chair moved to amend the proposal to read: an aggregate maximum of 12 fowl per household (including chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys, pigeons or other fowl), with no more than one rooster in that total and no changes to the proposed distance requirements. Council seconded the amendment and approved it by roll call, 7-0. Following the amendment vote, the council returned the matter to the second reading of Bill 2025-30 "as amended"; the provided transcript does not include a final adoption vote for the ordinance.

Council members repeatedly framed enforcement as complaint-driven: several said existing noise and nuisance code provisions enable citations if animals create offensive conditions for neighbors. The chair closed the fowl discussion by thanking the public speakers and noting the council would continue with the amended draft.

Next steps: the ordinance remained on the table for second reading as amended in the transcript; the final adoption status was not recorded in the provided excerpt.