I know, illegal chickens- they're CHICKENS! I can see imposing a rule about no roosters, and a space/number limit (such as, on lots less than an acre, no more than 4 or something). I don't have any HOA to deal with, just a regular neighborhood, and we have a 1/3 of an acre- The coop is just part of our shed, so it doesn't stand out, but the run is obviously built for containing animals. Though on first glance, I would assume its either part of a dog run, or for rabbits. But you really can't see anything from the street, and all of our neighbors know and think its hilarious. (Because up until now, who can't tolerate a little happy clucking as the chickens go about their business? no worse than a blue jay!) Actually no one probably hears them, because they've only stopped cheeping and started clucking since people started shutting their windows with cooler weather.
I believe that because of the zone I'm in, which is 15,000sq ft, I could petition the zoning commission for a permit- but why draw their attention to it to begin with? I plan to play dumb. haha!
A funny little side note- on Halloween, I dressed up in overalls and a flannel shirt and straw cowboy hat and sat on the front steps holding one of the girls, greeting trick or treaters. I was the talk of the neighborhood, and everyone thought it was great! Lots of questions, but no one concerned about "Don't they smell? Do they crow at sunrise?" In fact, one neighbor was only a little annoyed, but only because his kids had been after him to build a chicken coop, and here I was proving it could be done! Such a conversation point!