California - Northern

[ronott1]

thanks all for the advice -- i'll just keep being patient with them & bringing food...

unfortunately my next-door neighbor, who will have a (fairly distant) view of the (2/3 built, still empty) coop, is totally freaking out, accusing me of ruining his view and devaluing his property. very frustrating.

best,
laura

So sorry to hear about the neighbor. Check out the chicken Whisperer website. Andy points out a study they did to see if chickens lower property values and they found out that they do not. This is a false argument people use with no basis in fact.

Make sure you share some eggs with them later.

Ron

 

[JerseyGiantfolk]

Hey guys! I just want to share a little recipe I made for my chickens chickens.

"Fruit Cocktail for Chickens"

Choose your own fruit (I use home grown material; Strawberries, Raspberries, Apricots. Don't use moldy fruit)

2 bowls (One larger than the other)

an old piece of fabric to cover on the smaller bowl

a whisk

4 tablespoons of water

Instructions:
Take your fruit (Peel, remove stems and pit if necessary) and put it in the smaller bowl. Mix it with the whisk. Add water to mix. Continue mixing the fruit. When fruit has turned mostly into juice, take the old piece of fabric and cover the bowl with it, tape if necessary. Start draining the juice into the bigger bowl. This may take about 5 minutes. When it is done draining you may still have some remains of fruit in the bowl. Save it for your chickens.

Now that the juice is done, you can give it to your chickens. Some will LOVE it, and others will think about it.

Perfect for a warm day!

 

[lawatt]

Quote:
thanks Ron, i'll check that out!

edit: i don't see any links to articles or etc. on his site. i've offered to screen the coop with vegetation, but the guy is more or less threatening legal action. i don't think he'll have much of a case, but it's a serious drag to have to deal with!

 

[ronott1]

Quote:
thanks Ron, i'll check that out!

edit: i don't see any links to articles or etc. on his site. i've offered to screen the coop with vegetation, but the guy is more or less threatening legal action. i don't think he'll have much of a case, but it's a serious drag to have to deal with!


I listened to one of his shows where he was interviewing someone that was working on chicken laws. I don't remember who or what group. Send him an email and see if he will send you the information. He speaks at City council meetings to try to get ordinances and laws changed.

If chickens are allowed in your town or county and you are following the rules there is nothing they can do. Tell them to go ahead and call animal control. They will usually laugh about it.

Still give them eggs when you have them.

Best!

Ron

 

[Wishing4Wings]

thanks all for the advice -- i'll just keep being patient with them & bringing food...

unfortunately my next-door neighbor, who will have a (fairly distant) view of the (2/3 built, still empty) coop, is totally freaking out, accusing me of ruining his view and devaluing his property. very frustrating.

best,
laura

Are you outside the city limits? As long as you are following set back clearances, you should be fine. I'd worry less about a call to animal control than him contacting the county zoning and permit office. Too bad. So many people move onto a property, change it and fix it all up to their own satisfaction, and then don't allow others the same privilege. Maybe he's concerned about crowing.

 

[lawatt]

Are you outside the city limits? As long as you are following set back clearances, you should be fine. I'd worry less about a call to animal control than him contacting the county zoning and permit office. Too bad. So many people move onto a property, change it and fix it all up to their own satisfaction, and then don't allow others the same privilege. Maybe he's concerned about crowing.

it's complicated (of course) -- there are very old deed restrictions on our little grouping of houses (originally a subdivided ranch) that says no chickens (among many other things), but the restrictions are routinely violated, so much so that everyone, including the fussy guy, is out of compliance on SOMEthing. further, those restrictions were supposed to be enforced by the Land Owners Association, which no longer exists -- no one can even remember when it last met. County zoning says up to 50 chickens is fine. I'm looking into reconvening the land owners assn so we can change the frickin' rules that no one follows.

But, while he's attempting to use the no-poultry rules, what he's really mad about is the COOP -- he wants me to relocate it, somewhere where he can't see it. trouble is, a) it's the only open flatish area on my property, and b) it's mostly built, & i can't afford the labor to move it & redesign for a sloped area (a friend is building the coop for me as a gift, so the labor is free). i've repeatedly offered to screen with vegetation, to not keep a rooster, and that i will manage it so that it doesn't smell, but he will not accept/believe me.

argh!!
laura

 

[zooweemama]

it's complicated (of course) -- there are very old deed restrictions on our little grouping of houses (originally a subdivided ranch) that says no chickens (among many other things), but the restrictions are routinely violated, so much so that everyone, including the fussy guy, is out of compliance on SOMEthing. further, those restrictions were supposed to be enforced by the Land Owners Association, which no longer exists -- no one can even remember when it last met. County zoning says up to 50 chickens is fine. I'm looking into reconvening the land owners assn so we can change the frickin' rules that no one follows.

But, while he's attempting to use the no-poultry rules, what he's really mad about is the COOP -- he wants me to relocate it, somewhere where he can't see it. trouble is, a) it's the only open flatish area on my property, and b) it's mostly built, & i can't afford the labor to move it & redesign for a sloped area (a friend is building the coop for me as a gift, so the labor is free). i've repeatedly offered to screen with vegetation, to not keep a rooster, and that i will manage it so that it doesn't smell, but he will not accept/believe me.

argh!!
laura

Yuck! Sounds fussy! I would do my best to make it as attractive as possible. Some look downright cute as playhouses. I think using some very attractive potted plants or landscaping around it to make it become a fluid part of the yard is a great idea. We had a neighbor get tired of looking at our swing set and tall grass so what did he do? Built a tallll wood fence so he didn't have to see it. He wasn't mad at us. Actually he was a super nice guy. He recognized that he wanted a certain thing and that it was on him to make that happen. I hope this guy does that or that as you complete the the project he loses steam...and definitely ply him with fresh tasty eggs. Once it's done and you have the chickens in- maybe even invite his family over for a BBQ so he can come check it out? Good luck!

Orrrr if you have the space- invite him to get a couple chickens with you and if he picked up a bag of feed maybe every other month- he can have all those eggs HIS chickens are producing? When people are somehow vested in something their entire attitude changes! Just throwing that out there.

 

[lawatt]

Yuck! Sounds fussy! I would do my best to make it as attractive as possible. Some look downright cute as playhouses. I think using some very attractive potted plants or landscaping around it to make it become a fluid part of the yard is a great idea.

thanks -- i'm using this design, with some modifications:
http://www.thegardencoop.com/

and planning to plant a bunch of stuff around it -- here's a picture of the site as of this morning, with my two cats investigating:


i think it will end up looking quite attractive!

 

[zooweemama]

thanks -- i'm using this design, with some modifications:
http://www.thegardencoop.com/

and planning to plant a bunch of stuff around it -- here's a picture of the site as of this morning, with my two cats investigating:


i think it will end up looking quite attractive!

Ummm your yard looks very large. Where exactly is he in relation to this coop? I imagined a tiny yard and and a chainlink fence! rofl

 

[rowlow]

thanks -- i'm using this design, with some modifications:
http://www.thegardencoop.com/

and planning to plant a bunch of stuff around it -- here's a picture of the site as of this morning, with my two cats investigating:


i think it will end up looking quite attractive!

Nice Start and Beautiful spot for a coop!