Help! My neighbor is worried about rats!

[CMV]

Unfortunately, the HOA rules were probably not changed as a result of someone abusing them, but rather as an ego trip by some small-minded person who had a little bit of power to wield and decided that the presence of poultry could theoretically lower the neighborhood property values. Sorry. I hate HOAs. Maybe yours is not so bad. Maybe you can try to petition to keep your birds and your neighbors will all embrace this new adventure, but I have my doubts. All it takes is one person to ruin it for everyone.

Good luck with the petitioning. I really do hope you can keep your birds.

 

[mons02035]

I live in the country and have not seen any rats near my chickens. After my garden was done this year I let my chickens have the run of the garden. I had a built up bed that I had grown potatoes in and had some hay covering it. Well, mice had decided to live in there. I didn't know it at the time and I was tearing down the raised bed and out ran 3 mice. The chickens caught them. Better than a cat I tell you......

 

[loanwizard]

Quote:
I imagine the argument that you will get is that the rules were put into your HOA to draw home owners that did not want to be know as from a farming community. Those will obviously also be the hardest to change their minds besides perhaps the neighbor, which I picture as older, that thinks chickens are dirty, smelly, loud, obnoxious creatures.

Start with your neighbor. How long have they owned their house, and how long have you owned yours? There may be a pecking order there.... Sorry, couldn't resist. Go over with an apple pie or something baked with your eggs better yet. Have the coop clean clean clean and invite her and her furry creatures over to meet the feathered ones and see what happens. Without her in your corner, you don't have much of a shot if she complains.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Yes, stay calm.
Most people have preconceived notions about chickens which aren't based on fact. The suggestion of a tour of your super clean operation should be enough - but maybe not.
The only way chickens attract rats is if the rats are there already and that's normally from trash cans. They don't actually travel miles overland looking for a place with chickens to settle down at.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:
You need to figure out if the two rules are actually in conflict or not. Can you provide exact wording?

I'm sorry that you are unhappy with the comments saying you are in the wrong, but according to your own post, you already acknowledge that you are at least partially in the wrong. It really is not helpful to your situation to simply say "oh, so sorry--those meanies"; it is much better to have a clear understanding of where you stand and what if anything can be done. Even "bad news" helps you figure out where you need to go/what you need to do.

People reading this thread do not know the history of your neighborhood or what has or has not been allowed or denied over the years. All we know is what is posted here, or links found by that information.

Your best bet for a positive outcome is to fully understand your legal/contractual obligations and work from there, not from where you wish you were.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:
Changing covenants and deed restrictions is VERY DIFFICULT. A single person cannot do so--they must hae widespread support--usually 2/3rds to 3/4ths of all homeowners must approve. Not just those who vote, of the total. If there are 100 homes, that is 67 or 75 votes to make the change; anything less than that and the propvision does not change.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:
I imagine the argument that you will get is that the rules were put into your HOA to draw home owners that did not want to be know as from a farming community. Those will obviously also be the hardest to change their minds besides perhaps the neighbor, which I picture as older, that thinks chickens are dirty, smelly, loud, obnoxious creatures.

Start with your neighbor. How long have they owned their house, and how long have you owned yours? There may be a pecking order there.... Sorry, couldn't resist. Go over with an apple pie or something baked with your eggs better yet. Have the coop clean clean clean and invite her and her furry creatures over to meet the feathered ones and see what happens. Without her in your corner, you don't have much of a shot if she complains.

The only time a pecking order comes into play is in influence wielded by one person over another or when different pieces of property have different numbers of votes attached to them. For example, in some HOAs, property size determines the number of votes an owner has. A townhome may only be entitled to .25 vote, someone with a "normal size" lot may have .5 vote and someone with several acres may have a full vote. If one owns several lots, one is entitled to all votes for each lot owned--and one also has to pay the assessment for each lot. The only time seniority has any power is for the developer, and then only until he/she turns control over control of hte association--usually triggered by timeline and buildout percentage.

 

[goobhen]

You ask for input, here is mine. You bought a house that belongs to a "HOA", you knew that before you bought it. The HOA rules over-ride the city ordinance regarding poultry. People buy into HOA developements because they want to have those rules in place, they want all the homeowners to follow the rules. If I were you, I would be nicer than nice to all your neighbors!! I would keep my yard and coop as clean as possible! Try to show her how much fun and entertainment your chickens can be for everyone to enjoy. I apologize for saying this, and I say it the nicest way possible, you know the rules now, even if you did not know them prior to getting your chickens. Your situation is why I will NEVER buy into a home with a HOA until I am ready for a nursing home. That is my humble opinion on HOAs. I would so tempted to paint my trim on a house (in a HOA) with hot pink paint, I would not be able to follow the rules! No, I live in a place where the street is gravel, trash trucks cannot pick up my trash at least five weeks in the winter. I have the freedom to have a cow, horse, goat that my husband will agree for us to have!! (so far only cats, dogs and chickens are allowed)

Kill your neighbors with kindness, the outcome of this is truly in your neighbor's hands!!

Good luck and best wishes!

 

[they'reHISchickens]

I would be very cautious about inviting the neighbor's terriers to visit. Terriers are normally yapping little hunters who go crazy at the scent of bait ( think chicken). They are apparently what instigated this and the smell of chickens 60 feet away may be inciting their constant barking. Not that some terriers need much inciting.
[Yes, I know many people LOVE terriers and they are smart dogs. Too bad many owners don't use that intelligence to train them.]

 

[loanwizard]

Quote:
I imagine the argument that you will get is that the rules were put into your HOA to draw home owners that did not want to be know as from a farming community. Those will obviously also be the hardest to change their minds besides perhaps the neighbor, which I picture as older, that thinks chickens are dirty, smelly, loud, obnoxious creatures.

Start with your neighbor. How long have they owned their house, and how long have you owned yours? There may be a pecking order there.... Sorry, couldn't resist. Go over with an apple pie or something baked with your eggs better yet. Have the coop clean clean clean and invite her and her furry creatures over to meet the feathered ones and see what happens. Without her in your corner, you don't have much of a shot if she complains.

The only time a pecking order comes into play is in influence wielded by one person over another or when different pieces of property have different numbers of votes attached to them. For example, in some HOAs, property size determines the number of votes an owner has. A townhome may only be entitled to .25 vote, someone with a "normal size" lot may have .5 vote and someone with several acres may have a full vote. If one owns several lots, one is entitled to all votes for each lot owned--and one also has to pay the assessment for each lot. The only time seniority has any power is for the developer, and then only until he/she turns control over control of hte association--usually triggered by timeline and buildout percentage.

Pecking order was used tongue in cheek. Some people don't get my ascerbic wit..... Where I was talking pecking order, is sometimes in neighbor play, the ones that have been there the longest sometimes have a little more pull (only with each other), than the newbies. I wasn't talking about HOA's. Those things I hate. Snobby people who think their rear ends don't stink and wish to flock together and create a "perfect" neighborhood.