Colorado

[trochefarm]

Hi, I'm Vicki and I live in HR for over 25 years (did I say that?). I've been visiting here for quite a while and learning everything I can. This is a great group - very active and informative.

IMHO the Highland Ranch HOA requirements are written to make it difficult to actually have chickens: Architectural Committee approval on the coop, 4.5 ft height maximum, and the 4 chickens includes cats and dogs (i.e. 2 chickens, 1 cat, and 1 dog for a total of 4 animals - a detail hidden in the out buildings requirements), no roosters, no ducks, no goats or other farm animals. Neighbors would probably be the key to being able to keep them. I have wanted to have chickens but knowing how the Ranch is, I have never tried to get any birds.

Their HOA requirements are on page 5: http://hrcaonline.org/Portals/0/doc...nance/RIG June 2012 revision final draft.pdf .

Really these requirements are only good for getting chickens allowed in other areas.

We are hoping to move to a new place with some land and the ability to have chickens among other things, but moving looks like it will be a little while before that happens. Interesting enough, I acquired 4 - 4.5 week old chicks by trying out an incubator with eggs that shouldn't have hatched. A barnyard mix with chicks that look like a naked neck, speckled sussex, RIR, and a EE (out of an olive colored egg). They will eventually be living in the mountains until we get a place or the chickens get too old to want to come home.

Vicki

Hi, Vicki!
Yep. That sounds more like the way HOAs work. I'm also looking forward to being able to move to where I can enjoy having chickens (or goats, or cows, or whatever) without worrying about offending neighbors, or breaking HOA or city rules. That may be a few years away, though. I've been looking at property online. Not sure what general area you would be interested in moving to, but I found some great places with land in Elizabeth, and a LOT in Peyton (a bit of a drive from where you are).

On a positive note, though, another neighbor has asked about my chickens and is supportive of my having them. She even told me she "knows" there is at least one other neighbor that has them. (She wants ducks!) Now, all of my closest neighbors know about them and are ok or excited about it. I'm feeling a lot less stressed about the girls making a little noise, now. Maybe I can stick around here a bit longer.

 

[coloradogal]

Came across this and found it interesting.

When a rooster suffers frostbite on his comb or wattles, it causes a fluctuation in his body temperature and results in a lack of fertility lasting about 30 days.

http://www.backyardpoultrymag.com/issues/7/7-1/hatch_those_eggs.html

 

[samsr]

I just got done candling the 18 eggs in the incubator for the chicken fest. I only had one quiter. Hatch should be this time next week. I will candle once more before lockdown. I have been trying to keep the humidity at around 40%. It is amazing how difficult that actually is to do. Sometimes it is at 45%, after I add water and a couple of times when I get home from work it was at about 28%. It really likes to hold about 35%. From what I have read on the colorado thread I should increase the humidity to 60% for lockdown here in Colorado. Am I correct in this? The temperature has been doing some fluctuating the past few days with the warm weather also. This is my first time hatching, so it is all new to me. It should be fun watching them emerge from their shells. here's hoping for a good hatch.

Not to bad for a barrowed still air incubator and a salvaged computer fan with a old 9 volt cordless phone charger for power. It is working quite well. The wife still thinks I am nutts.

 

[Pozees]

I just got done candling the 18 eggs in the incubator for the chicken fest. I only had one quiter. Hatch should be this time next week. I will candle once more before lockdown. I have been trying to keep the humidity at around 40%. It is amazing how difficult that actually is to do. Sometimes it is at 45%, after I add water and a couple of times when I get home from work it was at about 28%. It really likes to hold about 35%. From what I have read on the colorado thread I should increase the humidity to 60% for lockdown here in Colorado. Am I correct in this? The temperature has been doing some fluctuating the past few days with the warm weather also. This is my first time hatching, so it is all new to me. It should be fun watching them emerge from their shells. here's hoping for a good hatch.

Not to bad for a barrowed still air incubator and a salvaged computer fan with a old 9 volt cordless phone charger for power. It is working quite well. The wife still thinks I am nutts.

Yes, day 18 you want to boost humidity to 55%-65%. I had a lot of trouble with fluctuating humidity when I added water the first 18 days - this last time, I added none, and the humidity stayed more stable. In one it was 45% with 25-29 eggs, in the other it was steady around 18% with 14 eggs. I should know in the next few days whether it improved my hatch rate at all, which thus far has been dismal with shipped eggs.

 

[wsmith]

Came across this and found it interesting.

When a rooster suffers frostbite on his comb or wattles, it causes a fluctuation in his body temperature and results in a lack of fertility lasting about 30 days.

http://www.backyardpoultrymag.com/issues/7/7-1/hatch_those_eggs.html

True, and from what I have observed, it isn't just frostbite, it's can be any severe drop in temperature that requires the rooster's body to give preference to staying warm instead of producing offspring. We "suspect" that was a factor in Abraham's lack of performance in February and March. We'll be giving him another opportunity to prove himself starting next week.

 

[wsmith]

I just got done candling the 18 eggs in the incubator for the chicken fest. I only had one quiter. Hatch should be this time next week. I will candle once more before lockdown. I have been trying to keep the humidity at around 40%. It is amazing how difficult that actually is to do. Sometimes it is at 45%, after I add water and a couple of times when I get home from work it was at about 28%. It really likes to hold about 35%. From what I have read on the colorado thread I should increase the humidity to 60% for lockdown here in Colorado. Am I correct in this? The temperature has been doing some fluctuating the past few days with the warm weather also. This is my first time hatching, so it is all new to me. It should be fun watching them emerge from their shells. here's hoping for a good hatch.

Not to bad for a barrowed still air incubator and a salvaged computer fan with a old 9 volt cordless phone charger for power. It is working quite well. The wife still thinks I am nutts.

Cool!

Glad your "redneck engineering" is working out. I love it when a plan comes together!

We anticipate our hatch to be Sunday-Tuesday of next week. We will also be upping our humidity to a minimum of 55% starting tomorrow evening.

My problem now is that if all 17 that appear to be hatching candidates actually hatch, that would leave me with about an 8-9 split male/female. If we don't get any offspring from Abe this year, I will have to keep ALL the pullets from this hatch, and at least 2 of the cockerels. Come on Abraham!

 

[VtotheAL]

So this is the 5th day in the coop/run for my 5.5 wk old babies! They are doing great. The first thing they do when I open the coop in the morning is bee-line it to the food. Not the water, the food. Is that strange? I would think they'd go for water. Thats what my dogs do as soon as we get out of bed. Their crops are full each night before I lock them in the coop. Like, Dolly Parton full. Lol Is it normal that they're so famished in the mornings? They're still on their chick start & grow feed. Thx in advance for the advice!

 

[wsmith]

So this is the 5th day in the coop/run for my 5.5 wk old babies! They are doing great. The first thing they do when I open the coop in the morning is bee-line it to the food. Not the water, the food. Is that strange? I would think they'd go for water. Thats what my dogs do as soon as we get out of bed. Their crops are full each night before I lock them in the coop. Like, Dolly Parton full. Lol Is it normal that they're so famished in the mornings? They're still on their chick start & grow feed. Thx in advance for the advice!

Typical for growing chicks. Just like kids, they think with their stomachs. Glad they are doing good and getting used to the coop and run.

Even my hens fill up their crops right before bed time. Heather and I were talking about it last night, noticing how full they were.

 

[ScottLovelandCO]

Hi, I'm Vicki and I live in HR for over 25 years (did I say that?). I've been visiting here for quite a while and learning everything I can. This is a great group - very active and informative.

IMHO the Highland Ranch HOA requirements are written to make it difficult to actually have chickens: Architectural Committee approval on the coop, 4.5 ft height maximum, and the 4 chickens includes cats and dogs (i.e. 2 chickens, 1 cat, and 1 dog for a total of 4 animals - a detail hidden in the out buildings requirements), no roosters, no ducks, no goats or other farm animals. Neighbors would probably be the key to being able to keep them. I have wanted to have chickens but knowing how the Ranch is, I have never tried to get any birds.

Their HOA requirements are on page 5: http://hrcaonline.org/Portals/0/doc...nance/RIG June 2012 revision final draft.pdf .

Really these requirements are only good for getting chickens allowed in other areas.

We are hoping to move to a new place with some land and the ability to have chickens among other things, but moving looks like it will be a little while before that happens. Interesting enough, I acquired 4 - 4.5 week old chicks by trying out an incubator with eggs that shouldn't have hatched. A barnyard mix with chicks that look like a naked neck, speckled sussex, RIR, and a EE (out of an olive colored egg). They will eventually be living in the mountains until we get a place or the chickens get too old to want to come home.

Vicki

Once again, I will reiterate the fact that I will never move back to that hell hole! The house that I bought in HR was the second biggest mistake of my life. I had the worst neighbors I have ever had to deal with. It all started with my company truck. It was a brand new 2008 Ford F250 diesel. I backed it into the driveway every night after work. Within the first week I had complaints taped to my door and mailed to me. Trucks with company logos need to be completely concealed within the garage or not brought home from work. Well, that's a catch 22 considering they don't build a **** garage big enough for anything other than a small car. This went on to the point of fines, lawyers, liens, and legal fees. Finally, I decided to purchase large white magnets to cover my company logo. But the covenant enforcement department didn't stop! Next, it was a beautiful fall morning, I rolled the trash cans out and headed to work. At work I was called to an emergency at a project in KS. I took my overnight bag and started driving east. I returned to HR after two days to find notes taped to my trash cans and front door. I had been fined by the HOA for not removing my trashcans from the curb within 24 hours of my designated trash day. In the two years that I lived there I also dealt with grass being taller than the designated "specs", snow on the sidewalk, weeds in the rocks, a company trailer out front for more than 24 hours, and the house needing painted (It was a 5 year old house that was supposedly due for it's 7 year painting). I know most of you are probably thinking "geez, I'm glad I don't live next to this guy". But I'm telling you, I am not a bad neighbor. The infractions were written with the grass being 1/2 inch too tall, snow not being removed minutes after it stopped, and other ridiculous assessments. I absolutely hate HR with a burning desire.

 

[wsmith]

Once again, I will reiterate the fact that I will never move back to that hell hole! The house that I bought in HR was the second biggest mistake of my life. I had the worst neighbors I have ever had to deal with. It all started with my company truck. It was a brand new 2008 Ford F250 diesel. I backed it into the driveway every night after work. Within the first week I had complaints taped to my door and mailed to me. Trucks with company logos need to be completely concealed within the garage or not brought home from work. Well, that's a catch 22 considering they don't build a **** garage big enough for anything other than a small car. This went on to the point of fines, lawyers, liens, and legal fees. Finally, I decided to purchase large white magnets to cover my company logo. But the covenant enforcement department didn't stop! Next, it was a beautiful fall morning, I rolled the trash cans out and headed to work. At work I was called to an emergency at a project in KS. I took my overnight bag and started driving east. I returned to HR after two days to find notes taped to my trash cans and front door. I had been fined by the HOA for not removing my trashcans from the curb within 24 hours of my designated trash day. In the two years that I lived there I also dealt with grass being taller than the designated "specs", snow on the sidewalk, weeds in the rocks, a company trailer out front for more than 24 hours, and the house needing painted (It was a 5 year old house that was supposedly due for it's 7 year painting). I know most of you are probably thinking "geez, I'm glad I don't live next to this guy". But I'm telling you, I am not a bad neighbor. The infractions were written with the grass being 1/2 inch too tall, snow not being removed minutes after it stopped, and other ridiculous assessments. I absolutely hate HR with a burning desire.

I feel for you. Glad you have escaped the bane of modern civilization!