Anyone keeping chickens secret from a HomeOwners Association?

[guesswhatchickenbutt]

Here's the thing - my backup plan is to re-home them, sadly.

Getting chickens is one of those things I've fantasized about for years, but since our HOA says no and we're hoping to live in this house forever, I've got three choices

1) Try some secret hens just once in my life and hope I can pull it off
2) Give up
3) Fight the HOA, in which case I'll probably lose and then never get to experience hens.

So I'm hoping I can try having the hens and just see if it works. If I get busted, I'll fight the HOA after the fact and then when I lose...because you don't beat a HOA... then I'll work hard to find a nice home and at least I can say that I gave my urban chicken fantasy a shot. I realy really really want it to work out and I'll do my best to keep them clean and happy, but I know I can only do so much.

The chicken coop will not be visible from outside of our yard unless you get up on a ladder and look over our fence - and the only property you can do that from is the non-english speakers that had chickens themselves...

I'm putting a "rabbits" sign on the part of the coop that would be visible from their yard so in case anyone from the HOA does ask them permission to come into their yard to look into ours that they'd only see the side of a shed that says "rabbits" on it or something. LOL. I know it's a silly idea, but I'm reaching right now. It just plain sucks to go years wanting to do something and knowing that you won't be able to do it in your lifetime if you play by the rules.

Edited to add - holy crap - rare asian ground parrots! LOLOLOLOLOL. That's great... and tempting...

 

[Donnadzitall]

My friend has an HOA and she decided to keep them in her garage. Insulated walls and all that, noone hears them. (that's what she says) She uses those pet fences that people put outside that are temporary. Worth thinking about.

 

[runamuckchickenfarm]

You need to be very careful there in Florida. The HOAs have powers that will knock your socks off.

DID YOU KNOW: that the HOAs in Florida can do a NON Adjudicate foreclosure on your property if you get behind in your HOA payments or break certain rules that would levee a fine on you and if you do not pay this, they can TAKE YOUR HOME for non payment.

All they have to do is hire a lawyer (which they all have in the works because it is so lucrative for them) and they will give you 30 days to pay the money you owe PLUS the expensive attorneys fees to collect and if you do not. You will have a foreclosure procedures in 30 DAYS and this will get you even MORE attorney fees and VIOLA no JUDGE is needed and no courts involved, you are OUT.

YES, it is a true and factual thing. Gio to the web and look this up. You will not believe the HORROR stories of little old ladies getting tossed out of their 200 thousand dollar homes for a few months of HOA fees !!!!!!!

 

[guesswhatchickenbutt]

Yeah Florida HOAs are powerful, scary little groups. The way ours works is they give you a written warning and then if you don't comply you get nailed to the wall. So we'd get a warning before they bring out the big guns

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Look at where and what the actual rules say. Are they in the bylaws or the CC&Rs? Are they mentioned in the Articles of Incorporation?

Then look at city & country codes to see what if anything they have to say.

Back to your association documents--who can change them and how? Does it require a vote by the homeowners or can the board make changes? (It should be the homeowners, but it may not be.) What do the laws in your state say as far as what HOAs can and cannot do about changing CC&R or Bylaws provisions? What do you have to do to force a vote on the issue? What percentage of homeowners need to approve changes?

Okay, now you know your legal parameters. Get to know your neighbors--not just to find out how they feel about chickens, but because they are your neighbors.

What is the "feel" of your community? Does it feel rural? Does it feel "cookie cutter." Are horses prevalent or merely allowed? What other kinds of pets and animals do people in your community have? Is it an older, well-established neighborhood or a newer one?

Consider running for the board--you can even make your platform something about complete enjoyment of rural life, etc.

 

[amcstay]

Our HOA rules say no livestock of any kind and they mention chickens, but that being said, we have wild chickens and dogs running around our neighborhood that no one does anything about.

I talked to our immediate neighbors before we got our hens and asked them if it would be ok, they all said yes. We only have 4 hens and they are in the back of the house in an 8 foot run where they can free range in the pm when we are home.

Yes, we could get caught and have to pay big fines, but if someone was able to see my hens they would have to trespass onto the property to do so. I also plan on telling people, if they ask tht we do not have chickens, but exotic barn fowl. Besides, in our case, who can tell if our chickens are actually ours or the wild ones? As long as we don't call them while the HOA reps are on site or have them come running up to us begging for food we should be good.

As for changing the rules, you can do so (at least in ours) if 2/3 of the memebers vote to change the rules. Maybe it is the same as yours?

 

[TrinkaPuppy]

I kept three hens in my neighborhood for several years.

No HOA, and both of my neighbors thought they were pretty cool. The neighbors over the back fence simply made it clear that if they ever went over the fence, they'd be happy to dress and eat them. (the birds had clipped wings 100% of the time and were emclosed most of the time). So, I have no experience keeping them hidden, as I didn't have to.

That being said, at various points, I had 2 BO's, 1 BR, 1 Black Austrolorp, 1 brown leghorn (she was able to jump my 6' privacy fence, even clipped, so she went to a country home), 2 ameracauna, a production red, a RIR, and 1 farmyard special.
BY FAR the loudest hen was the BR. the Austrolorp wasn't far behind her. Both of them cackled loud and proud any time they laid an egg, any time their food got knocked over, whatever. There was no way I could have kept them secret from my neighbours.
The BO's weren't so bad. The ameracauna's (from McMurray through my local feed store) were a year apart, identical in appearance, and both very quiet. The quietest I had for sure. The production, leghorn, RIR, and farmyard special were all chatty, but nothing like the BR or Austrolorp. And I have heard the same about the BR before.

Just my personal experience. I haven't got a big pool to draw on, but my observations were seconded by a number of others in most cases.

And I've since kept some bantams in the past, (and currently have some as primarily indoor pets), and they are MUCH quieter than the LF I kept. The eggs were smaller, but they made enough that we always had enough for cooking/eating. And they made REALLY cute deviled eggs!!

Now I'm moving, and will be living on a rental property...I still want to keep some silkies and serama, so....we'll see....I might just be hiding them soon myself!!!
=0 )

 

[Emzyyy]

LOL maybe you could tape some rabbit's ears uptop.

 

[Chew593]

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[AZKat]

Personally, I'd try to change the rules before I got the chickens.