Been crying all afternoon, thoughts on solution?

[gapeach717]

So I have some really miserable people in my life who love to make life suck for others. I am in love with my chicks and often spend hours out of my day just siting in with them and petting them and feeding them and holding them or just watching them be silly month old chickens.

My happy place came crashing down this afternoon.

Now, please, I know I took a chance going against Hoa and technically it is more the city ordinances that got me, but I am broken hearted and cried til I gave myself a migraine and I am paying the price for being an outlaw. Now I need advise.

1.) I CAN have chickens on my property in my city....but bc of this crappy house in a crappy neighborhood that I married into, I canNOT have them living in my yar bc I don't have 76 feet from my property lines to keep them. I canNOT have them in the yard at all per my covenants, but seriously like every house in all 4 joined neighborhoods breaks covenants on a daily basis....so I plan on making life hell for a lot of people in the near future.

2.) I have til Monday to get the chickens gone.......HOWEVER, whatever is in my HOME cannot be regulated by Hoa nor the city. So.....with great sadness, I have about 10 places I can rehome my babies forever or for as long as I need, but, I am not ready to give up just yet!!!

So....


What if I turned part of my garage into a coop/pen and kept my best 6 chicks that I am 99% sure are girls. And let the rest go. Then during the day I can take them out to the old run for a while or let them free range in the back yard with me supervising them (back yard is mostly private) and try to still keep some of my babies?? Could this work!?!

I dont want to loose my little ones when i worked SO hard for this!!! I am simply broken hearted and cannot tell you how hard I cried in the coop earlier (until shadow pecked my lip which made me laugh....then cry harder) I don't want to say goodbye to them! I *want* to win this battle somehow!

I cannot believe I have dogs barking til 3am daily, parties, fireworks, kids hitting my car with bats, drunk neighbors screaming at each other in the street, and yet I am getting shut down for tiny baby chickens!!!! W.T.F????


Please lend me your advise!!

 

[theoldchick]

Ha! HOA's! Ha! I like to mess with their minds. My sister and her hubby live in a very exclusive neighborhood. They are not allowed to have flags in the front yard, no mailboxes, no dog over 25 lbs, no cars parked in the driveway overnight, grass to be mowed every other day....blah...blah....blah. Most of the people who live there came from 'new money'-worked for it. My brother-in-law started his own business which did well and bought the house as an investment. They don't plan to retire here-house is too big.

Then a neighbor decided to build a fence around his brand new HOA approved pool so the golfers wouldn't gawk at his daughter skinny dipping in the pool at 12 noon. The brother-in-law didn't like this fence. Said he would lose his view of the golf course (Personally, I think he enjoyed the 12 noon view). He reviewed all the rules and regulations and discovered no fence over 3 feet high was allowed (Is that even a fence?), and went to war. Boy, let me tell you, he, the HOA, and the neighbor really went at it. Lawyers and so forth. They brought everything to the table but the 357 Magnum.

The HOA who for some reason wanted to side with the neighbor-relative or something-and really tried strong armed tactics to get my sister and her hubby to give in to this 6 foot tall privacy fence. They measured his grass every other day, said my sister's maltese was over 25 lbs (weighed 15 lbs), said his driveway was stained. The bro-in-law stuck to his guns. The covenant clearly stated no fence was to be over 3 feet tall.

So, I decided to come visit, and the only vehicle I had at that time was my Jeep. Now, Ruby is a garage kept beauty who rarely sees any form of dirt. Oh how I loved how her large knobby tires hummed on the asphalt during that trip. Of course we ran into a few rainstorms on the way, got 'lost' and discovered some really knarly off-road short cuts. Anybody who has been to North Florida knows what I'm talking about.

And best of all we attended an off-road event outside of Tampa, Fla just before arriving at my sister's place in Clearwater, Fla. So, Ruby, the hubby, and I, prowled among the perfectly manicured lawns to find the right house. We couldn't see too well through the mud encrusted windows-I had a area cleaned on the windshield so I could see where I was going-barely.

We found the house and parked in the glistening white driveway. I hopped to the ground and saw people looking at us through the windows of their houses. I looked at Ruby. She was a glorious sight for all rednecks. A true gem who had been through the rough. Dripping with mud, several palmetto leaves stuck out from her undercarriage like dollar bills from the bikini bottom of a pole dancer. One windshield wiper was a bit askew from the mud. Her headlights were caked with mud, and a leaf clung to each light like some sort of...well...I better not say. Anyway, as I admired her rustic charm, she deposited a clump of mud on the driveway the size of an elephant turd. I was so proud of my gal. She truly made a statement.

And to add to the effect-just for fun- I shouted in my best southern redneck voice, "Hey! You'all! Where do you want me to put the pitbulls!"


The best part of the trip? HOA could not do a thing. I was a visitor and rules stated only visitors could park in the driveway. There was absolutely nothing stating what shape the vehicle had to be in. Only that it had to be in driving condition and to be gone 4 hours a day. I had no problem with that. I just made sure Ruby was in glorious condition from off-roading every time we returned in the afternoon. She had clumps of mud on her that weighed more than the dog.

I promised HOA Ruby and I would return on a regular basis if the privacy fence stayed up. And since rules are rules to an HOA, it would take some time to amend any rule.

The fence came down. I don't know what happen to the 12 noon skinny dipper.

Next time I visit I'm gonna bring a chicken and call it a ground parrot. I'll make sure it's a rooster.

Find the loophole and take advantage. Dig in deep and don't let go.

 

[hearts34]

From your description of your situation, it appears you are currently stuck!

Choice 1) You could bite the bullet, get rid of all of your chickens, and then save,save,save, pick up odd jobs, collect cans, clean houses, wash cars, deliver pizzas, etc......................... and use the situation as tackling fuel to get geographically to another location much sooner rather than later.

Choice 2) Stay in current situation and bring minor, or major, discomfort to you and your husband by bringing six chickens into your living space.

Choice 3) Cull down to two chickens and keep in a large parrot cage and change litter daily.

Choice 4) Find someone with like chicken passions as yourself with a mini-farm close by and move all of your chickens there with the agreement that you will help with the upkeep of their place.

One thing's for sure, you don't need to sit around and cry and get migraines. You don't sound like you enjoy playing the victim role at all. Besides it is the most undesirable of life's roles.

 

[chestypuller]

well theres only one thing left to do.

Egg her house and cars.

One of the women on the Hoa board was my friend on fb, honestly between my regular every day life, dog rescue and cross posting, and the chicks, I forgot she was on there. This weekend there was a neighborhood garage sale and when I went to one house ere was this cute little chicken set I thought would look adorable in my china cabinet. Anyhow that bi%#} was working that sale with her friends and when I picked them up you would have thought I let a fox into the hen house!!! I swear to God I heard the word chicken 45 times in a 5 min conversation!!! Very snotty trying to be cutesy kinda thing. I left feeling very uneasy about the whole thing. I went home and checked my fb and she was still my friend. So I left her hoping I was just being over suspicious bc I was an outlaw. Well today this all went down and whoever sent the info over copied over parts of my fb right up until yesterday afternoon!!!! And I flipped out and screamed and ranted on my page. An hour later I checked, and she was no longer a friend!!! So yes, I know who it is. Since this happened I have now said that all the chickens are leaving, and I am miserable. My friends have all come to my rescue but I want to keep some of my girls!!! I have cried so hard this afternoon!! I am miserable at the thought of losing them!! A few gone and all the boys I can deal with, but some of my babies I would just be a mess!! I cannot believe how much I love them already!!! ;(

 

[chickmashnoon]

Crazy idea alert!!!!

Get food safe dye and paint your chickens bright green, purple, and pink. tell everyone that they are fancy Malaysian ground parrots that just aren't talking yet.

You know, you might look up some of the threads on house chickens and how to potty train- altho this works best with only one or two since it's a lot of work to train just one, much less a flock. If they are potty-trained, no one in their right mind will believe they are chickens anyway. Who ever heard of a potty-trained house chicken unless you are already a BYC regular?

 

[jeepguy982001]

I usually don't comment on these kind of threads. I'm sorry your going to lose your chickens but then it seems like you knew your hoa rules. You should have tried to petition and change them before you got chickens if it wasn't allowed where you live. I know chickens aren't big or messy and not loud unless you have a rooster. But hypothetically its like me putting a tiger in my yard and then complaining that the town says it has to go because i didn't get a permit. It'd be my fault for not making sure it was allowed or me not taking the steps to make it allowed to keep. I apologize for being blunt but these stories aggravate me because if its not allowed try to change it or else deal with the consequences.

 

[Nicole01]

The reason I recommended diapers is because that will allow you to keep them inside the house instead of in the garage. The garage is nice but how hot does it get in there in the summertime? Many people's garages get much to hot to house animals in.

Our coop is 10 degrees cooler then outside without the fan. It gets over 100 and can be mid 90's for weeks with high humidity. I've a special place for them in our basement on the really hot days. We are installing either a ceiling fan or a big metal fan before the summers heat to avoid bringing them inside. Lucky enough, it's only hot 2-3 months out of the year. We installed a heater and wrapped the coop in plastic for the winter as it gets -20F or colder. We have a wireless thermometer to keep an eye on the inside temp. We now have good shading on our run with a roof and side panels.

I've made diapers before with my sewing machine. I was going to use them in case of an emergency. My darn dog chewed them all up. I had them lined with plastic. My hens hated it, so start them young on diapers. Opening the door will bring in a nice breeze. The super hot days, feed them watermelon and freeze a few gallon jugs of water(don't fill to the top for expansion room) and set it in the coop or run. If I keep my big garage door closed, it keeps it cooler as well. They will get use to sprinklers too and will walk in the cool water. I will put my roasting pan out in the run with ice water for them to cool their feet.

You'll learn from your own experiences. Good luck re homing the ones you can't keep. That's the hardest part. I'd never be able to do that. I think I might have a rooster and there will be no way I'd ever be able to give that chick up. We are allowed boys, but my hubby said no way would he want a crowing boy around.

 

[chestypuller]

Quote:
i love the idea of diapers...especially if i win this and can then walk them!!

my garage is good though, it gets a tad warm in the mornings, but cool all evening and night. and i would bring them out in the back yard to roam and peck and scratch just like my dogs get outside playtime. I also have fans and if i win the city codes battle I can also open the doors all the way up for breeze since i can seemingly have them on the INTERIOR of my house!

how about some pictures of you and your chicks. you know you could keep them in the garage and leave the garage door open, harbor frieght has screen doors for garages cheap, and then they would get fresh air, you could even put a fan in the garage blowing the stink out into the street. Ya that jeep idea is fun. i had neighbors that bothered me cause they were nosey, so what i did was cut the roof off my f250 like a ferarri and paint green flames on the front with a rattle can. i wish i took a picture of that. drove it for a month or so. wouldnt you know it, the day after i cut it off it rained the rest the summer, so when i would get home i had to tarp the cab so i could drive it with dry seats to work in the mornings.

 

[gickelvolk]

Never thought I'd hear of such a problem in Georgia of all places. But up in Canton maybe so. North Georgia has had an influx of outsiders move in without the first thought of blending in with the community, but bringing in the ways of their upbringing. They hate where they came from but want to bring it with um. What a shame to live like that. 76 ft is just to close to have to live to anybody. My rule when I moved here is being able to do my business off the front porch or back with prying eyes nosing in on my affairs.

Best of luck.

You have hit the nail on the head!

Folks move into more rural areas and bring with them the ideas that destroyed their place of origin......
As these types flee the cities and states they have ruined, they perpetuate the very things that caused them to leave in the first place.

Learn to live to local norms or MOVE BACK WHERE YOU CAME FROM!

 

[Kikiriki]

the hoa stands by the 76 foot rule bc no lot has that much room...however...they only state they cannot be kept on the EXTERIOR of a lot....so again....the garage would be my HOA loophole. Now I wait for the ruling on the chickens as a pet in my house thing.

Seems to me you found your loophole: "kept" being in the coop in the garage, while outside time is just outside time and NOT where they are "kept". Think of like walking a dog...the dog is kept in the house, but allowed out for walks through the neighborhood, while your chickens would be kept in the house and allowed out for walks in the yard. Further, you can argue about chickens being typical pets... Check the chicken whisperer to see if he posts statistics about how common they are, and certainaly this forum boasts over 100,000 chicken pet owners. Additionally, you can compare chicken noise, poo, and odor by bringing (containerized!) samples to plop in front of the HOA of one days worth of giant dog poo versus one days worth of chicken poo, and a movie taken from within two feet of your neighbors barking dog to compare with the gentle chicken song! Then provide them with scientific peer reviewed articles about the relative fertilizer value of dog, cat, chicken poop. Talk about the value added to the appearance of the yard by natural fertilizer, which increases the value of a property. Finally, discuss the food value offered by those various pets. Anyway, I wish you best of luck and hope you chose to take the moral high road by not retaliating... The hostility generated is bad for you and only tends to escalate. One last thought...if you can establish a real medical need to have home grown eggs, you might be able to get them on your side. One example is from the brevard county florida april 3, 2012 commisioner meeting. (video online). One speaker described the benefit of chemical free foods in autism spectrum disorders. Have aspergers or adhd? Supposed to be research that supports benefits and it makes people feel like crap to think they are harming you medically...