Winging_it_in_a_HOA
In the Brooder
Hi All!
I have wanted to have chickens since I was little and my dad got a farm after he went through a midlife crisis post divorcing his family. When I got to visit him I helped raised a bantam and fell in love. Now almost 19 years later... I am at the point where I am tired of waiting to get a large piece of land and want to start now.
I live in an HOA and there are a lot of restrictions. I found a loop hole after studying all the laws for my area.
My plan is to have 3 bantams. I have a spare bedroom that is 12x12ft and a fenced in garden that is 24x24ft. I was thinking of building a coop inside the spare room and letting the chickens outside dawn to dusk. There are plenty of bugs and greens for the chickens outside to forage but I prefer to mostly give them feed.
I don't want their quality of life to be poor, so I know there will be plenty of comments about confining them indoors, but I feel like it will only be indoor in the evenings to help reduce sound issues that my HOA is concerned about. (I am not having roosters, but if you ever suffered an HOA you know they pick at anything.)
For outside on my patio/garden area: I plan to build a small roosting spot along with a dusting bath area. Do they need more for their outside time space?
For inside room: I want to set up a large fan across from window to allow a cross breeze for airing out. I think making the coop's base out of plywood wrapped in linoleum. This will be placed in the center of the room. I have concrete flooring in the 12x12ft room. I am uncertain of size of coop/cage, but I want to give the birds a lot of space because they will be forced to spend evenings in it and potentially a few hours past day break if I am slow to get up. I want to build a roosting spot, perhaps a 'playground' for entertainment? I imagine they will need stimulation since my garden is a small space. I need to read more about coops and draft a plan for this area still.
Am I insane? My chickens will be backyard during the day, and almost house chickens by evenings. I imagine I will need to do weekly cleanings of the inside coop because air quality and health of the chickens. I looked into an herbal spray that I was going to do with cleanings. I also been studying up on lime as well to help keep the flock healthy.
Thanks for having me!
I have wanted to have chickens since I was little and my dad got a farm after he went through a midlife crisis post divorcing his family. When I got to visit him I helped raised a bantam and fell in love. Now almost 19 years later... I am at the point where I am tired of waiting to get a large piece of land and want to start now.
I live in an HOA and there are a lot of restrictions. I found a loop hole after studying all the laws for my area.
My plan is to have 3 bantams. I have a spare bedroom that is 12x12ft and a fenced in garden that is 24x24ft. I was thinking of building a coop inside the spare room and letting the chickens outside dawn to dusk. There are plenty of bugs and greens for the chickens outside to forage but I prefer to mostly give them feed.
I don't want their quality of life to be poor, so I know there will be plenty of comments about confining them indoors, but I feel like it will only be indoor in the evenings to help reduce sound issues that my HOA is concerned about. (I am not having roosters, but if you ever suffered an HOA you know they pick at anything.)
For outside on my patio/garden area: I plan to build a small roosting spot along with a dusting bath area. Do they need more for their outside time space?
For inside room: I want to set up a large fan across from window to allow a cross breeze for airing out. I think making the coop's base out of plywood wrapped in linoleum. This will be placed in the center of the room. I have concrete flooring in the 12x12ft room. I am uncertain of size of coop/cage, but I want to give the birds a lot of space because they will be forced to spend evenings in it and potentially a few hours past day break if I am slow to get up. I want to build a roosting spot, perhaps a 'playground' for entertainment? I imagine they will need stimulation since my garden is a small space. I need to read more about coops and draft a plan for this area still.
Am I insane? My chickens will be backyard during the day, and almost house chickens by evenings. I imagine I will need to do weekly cleanings of the inside coop because air quality and health of the chickens. I looked into an herbal spray that I was going to do with cleanings. I also been studying up on lime as well to help keep the flock healthy.
Thanks for having me!
Glad you joined.
Just curious--what sort of bedding are you planning to use in the coop? An indoor coop sounds interesting and very creative. I like the fan idea; make sure there is plenty of ventilation, because chickens are dusty and chicken droppings are smelly. I myself am allergic to birds, even being around them outside for too long isn't good.
