City says chickens ok, HOA says no, what to do?

dreamingOfbyc said:

How did it work out for you and your HOA? I am in worse situation. Both City and HOA says no. Last month, one person got a permit to keep her pigs and hens, so I might be able to get City variance approved, but HOA might be a hard one. Please let me know.

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Better to start your own thread; one devoted to your specific circumstances. With only a few exceptions, that is how the threads in this forum work.

As I said in an earlier post in this thread, different states have different laws governing HOAs, and what is valid and relevant in one location may be completely invalid in another. Likewise, the specific language in the CC&Rs makes a huge difference.

I just got the letter from HOA....and yes I am actually crying while I write this. So part of this is me venting and part of me is asking for help because I feel like the sails were taken out of my wings.

1) My chickens are my pets...they play with my dogs and cat. They have their own mailbox...
2) the way I have described me home in the past is surburban hell on one side and a wheat farm on the other. My house is litteraly up to a farm.

I feel like I am now part of the club....I got the letter today from HOA

So part of this posting is venting and part of it is desperate for help and any new info. I have learned a lot from the postings and feel about 1% better. I am actually crying while i write this....

1) My chickens are my pets like my dogs and cat. They come when they are called, the cuddle in the hammock with me. The play wit the dogs and cat. They help me keep the pests out of the garden too. I really never thought I would get so attached to them. Each of the 3 has their own personality. My chickens listen more than my dogs. So this is really sad....

2) Where I live I describe to people as one side of my house is suburban hell and the other side is a wheat farm. I am lliterally right up against the farm. A thought would be to contact the farm and try to build something - but I don't think it would be secure or safe.

3) My neighbors know I have them - I have had them for 3 years - they are pretty quiet. The nieghbors screaming kids because she now has some day care and I am sure there is shady stuff going on - I know she gets fined for a lot.

4) The coop is 100% clean - it is on the side of the house that is 6 feet wide by the length of the house. So it is in the corner of it. They have a mail box and an address - yes I did that (there is a new roof on it to make it look polished).

5) Part of me is thinking is to take down the run and move the chicken house to the other side - they run free anyway...we do not have wildlife really....hmmmmmm

6) does anyone have any sound advice? Has the world changed at all since the 1st posts on here.

7) I really do not want to move and sad to give them up....

8) I have heard that there are drug houses in the area - I am the least of their worries.

Some of what I have heard has given me a little hope...I am exhausted in life right now - and I hope I have the fight. Here are some pictures of my shattered little world.

As combat veteran struggling with ptsd and multiple physical ailments I have found peace caring for my small flock. I am also assigned a service dog. These were all suggestions from my therapist. With my service dog federal law covers her and nothing the hoa says can make a difference. When it comes to my small flock it may be different. I do have the solid argument that they are part of my therapy and that it is successful so they could be considered therapy animals. I live on a large lot and have no roosters as the local law states. I hav3 no complaints from the neighbors. In fact they love bringing there kids over to experience my kind hens and just the joy of having animals around. I would think I would have a good argument if I was ever to have any trouble with the HOA. But who am I. Just a disabled combat veteran that is trying to find peace and therapy to help me heal. I think the media would eat up an hoa trying to take that away from me.

Since the rule says "dogs cats or household pets" you could somewhat train your chicken and make them "household pets" You could keep them in the garage and use heat lamps and let them in your yard for exercise so they wouldn't be "living" in your yard. Thats a good loop hole. I'm having the same problem its just my eggs are all ready in the incubator so I have to think fast. I plan on trying exactly what I tell you.

Our neighborhood has a page on facebook, this just got posted yesterday, so hopefully we can get poultry allowed in our neighborhood this year!

Last year we had many people living in the neighborhood that had an interest in owning poultry, and many who didn’t have any objections to their neighbors having poultry but not enough people had showed up to the HOA meeting to get the positive votes or CC&R’s changed. This year we would like to put the announcement on Facebook to see if we can get a few more people that are interested to attend and vote in favor of a little hobby and added self reliance.

Rules:

• Number of Poultry should be limited to a small number of six(6) maximum
• No Roosters allowed under any condition
• Can’t be free range-must stay in pen
• Hen House must be good quality and appearance. If needed, HOA or Architectural Committee can require a pre-approval
• Area must be maintained and cleaned monthly
• Owner agrees that if violations are received they will remedy them immediately. Owners also agree that multiple violations may result in termination of the poultry (neighborhood Barbeque).

Thank you for your consideration and support!!!


We hope this will be brought up at the next HOA meeting. Please let us know if you’re interested in making this change.

My personal opinion only...until the day comes (and could happen) our economy suffers another crash where the price of food stuff with current trend and greed punch it higher...the majority of the population believe they can afford not to have backyard chickens...

But it is the backyard chickens and farmers who can perhaps survive such collapse and still have a meal where others will find it difficult to buy what they need because the cost becomes prohibitive.....

I hope not to see that but it won't surprise me if it happens.