Home Owners Assoc Takign Away My Chickens

[moondog425]

Boooooo HOA !!!!!!!!!! I hope you can keep them.

 

[outlawfarmer]

Silkies r not "farm animals" they and the leghorns are your childrens pets that go out in the yard like a dog or a cat.... but poop smaller less smelley things

I may have same problem if city here goes wrong way at a Nov 10th hearing............ here is the points I tried to make in a letter:

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To Whom it may Concern,

I am concerned that once again Manchester, New Hampshire may turn away in the face of progress and move in the opposite direction. Specifically, I am speaking of the city zoning boards belief that 'livestock' some how includes peoples pet birds. I am concerned that in the land of 'live free or die' in the state that refuses to pass a motorcycle helmet law or ban assault rifles, somehow the government will outlaw my "chickens."

In a state where you can buy a gun, shoot a deer and hang it from a tree in your front yard for days, we are suddenly concerned about pet birds in a property owners front yard. In a city ripe with aggressive large breed dogs, dog bitten children and pet stores selling, rats, snakes, puppy mill dogs and a large variety of birds; I find it concerning that my elected officials are discussing the dangers of the chicken breeds.

I wonder how is it that I can own a two-thousand-dollar parrot as big as a microwave oven if I wanted, but a three-dollar chicken, even a bantam, as big as a can of beer is possibly outlawed? As someone who has owned eight pet chickens in Manchester for almost a year, this topic is very concerning to me, my children, my neighbors and my neighbor's children.

Since our chicks were first brought home from a local state regulated store, at two days of age, my children and our community have enjoyed raising them and caring for them like any of our pets. As a result of our pet birds we have all become far more knowledgeable about where our food comes from and the importance of eating healthy.

In the age of obesity, heart disease, cancer and diabetes epidemics it is time we all learned more about what we are eating and where it came from. Our countries food supply is not safe and often not healthy.

Earlier this year when many eggs were full of disease coming onto the grocery store shelves in this city I wasn't worried. My family was eating eggs from chickens that I fed, eggs from chickens that I took care of in a chicken house that I built from pine.

Our chickens produce an average of four eggs per day at this time. These eggs have been shared along our street without any complaints. When the younger birds we brought home this summer begin to produce eggs, it is our hope that some eggs can even be donated to the many food pantries in Manchester. For us growing eggs is little different than the cucumbers or tomatoes we grow to eat, aside from the benefit of the birds companionship.

NOISE?
Although many friends and neighbors originally asked what the small structure on wheels in my backyard was, none have had anything but compliments on our birds presence. The fact they had to ask what the coop was is a testament to how quiet they are.

Our birds are all female and make much less noise than our dog and certainly less noise than our neighbors dogs. When the door bell rings, the thunder claps or a stranger walks into the yard, my chickens unlike my dog, are quiet. When one of our chicks grew up to be a rooster he still wasn't as loud as the dog across the way, but we got rid of him. You do not need a rooster to have hens lay eggs.

DISEASE and WASTE?
Our children gather the eggs each morning and after school, like decades of New England children before them. We ask them to wash their hands after handling the eggs as a precaution, but nobody has ever been sick. Our children and neighbor's children carry the birds around the yard and even swing on the swing-set with them on their laps. Very few chickens carry E. coli based illnesses outside of corporate egg factories, where they are over crowded and given little fresh air.

It has been stated by many health professionals that the chances of catching an E. coli based sickness from chickens is the same or less as it is as catching E. coli sicknesses from petting your cat or dog. Unlike cats waste(which can cause women to miscarry), chickens waste is great for the lawn and vegetable garden.

Corporations even sell chicken waste at stores in this city for residents of this city to spread on their city lawns as fertilizer. Rather than spending twenty-five dollars a bag for chicken poop at Agway, why can't people get it naturally from a three dollar pet chicken? My coop is fenced on the bottom and mobile. This allows the chickens to eat grass and bugs and then poop nutrients in the lawn as I move the mobile coop each day.

In an age of deadly chemical fertilizers and pesticides being blamed for diseases, chicken waste is a perfect additive to the lawn. A fertilized soil provides far less pests and better flowers, lawns, schrubs, trees and vegetables. I can tell you I have hardly any grubs in my soild that last year was full of them. It is only from the chickens as I refuse to use the anti-grub chemicals linked to the decline of the honey bees.

PESTS?
Chickens eat their weight in tics, mosquitoes, grubs and other insects. In a state that has a serious tic problem, that intern brings about many cases of Lyme disease, it important to remember chickens eat lots of tics. Similarly they eat tons of mosquitoes every summer, this means less deet needing to be sprayed on children's skin and less need for municipal governments to be spraying expensive toxins. Every summers end EEE is announced as being present in Manchester, but the chickens that eat the carriers of the EEE are now in question.

SMELL?
I often let my hens roam in my backyard. They live in a seven by five foot shelter that sits on wheels and stands five feet tall. They have windows for fresh air and I change the wood shavings monthly or sooner. My coop, birds and yard have never smelled from my chickens. No doubt that people who raise dozens of chickens for profit have a lot more waste and therefore their coops probably smell. However a small back yard pet flock doesn't smell. The same cannot be said for my pet dog, his poop stinks, but it's legal.

In closing I hope this email has served to educate those who may not have been around chickens or birds growing up. I hope it also informs you of one nameless citizens view on chickens as pets in the city of Manchester, NH. Hundreds of cities are now decriminalizing chickens and I hope Manchester doesn't suddenly become a lone restrictive force in a tradition once encouraged by the government. Yes, in the days of the victory gardens, the US Government once encouraged and even sent out brochures on how to raise your own backyard flock for your family.

Sincerely,

A Pet Chicken Owner, tax payer and voter

 

[SAM1646]

WOW thats a great speech!!! Great points and values going to use this in the meeting that Im going to have with the board. If I evehear anything!!! Thanks for the incouragement!!!

Shelley

 

[annaraven]

Great letter, outlawfarmer!

 

[mrsbos]

Loved the letter, outlawfarmer! I'm printing it out so I can plagiarize you some time!

 

[outlawfarmer]

 

[mgw]

This has always been my #1 rule never ever live anywhere where there is a homeowners assoc! Nobody makes my decisions for me ever! My best advice is move if possible. If not then face the mob, always on offense never defense. sounds like the assoc has rules though. good luck to you.

ETA. With all the restrictions on our freedoms from local ,state ,and federal govs ,why would anybody want to move where there are more restrictions. This country was founded on personal freedom not collective, With this freedom also come resposability, ie:if you have chickens and they do become a problem then local authorities have the right to correct you for the welfare of all. But to dictate what is good for you and your neibhor is not true freedom. I realize that some folks like the feeling of confinement and restriction but it definatly is not my style, I am more independent than all that.

 

[chick-george]

People are so stupid. Dogs and cats, that roam the neighborhood, are more of a nuisance than any chickens. I would definitely emphasize that the chickens are pets that are properly housed and cared for. Good luck to you and you family.

 

[dsqard]

I know I will probably be beat up for this but I have to defend HOA's a little.

I have lived in two homes that were under HOA's. One in Florida and the house I am currently living in right now. I have heard horror stories from people who have lived places with terrible HOA's so before DH and I purchased our house in Florida we went over the CCR's very closely before deciding to purchase our home. The CCR's were there to protect our home values and the board was very reasonable. The HOA I live with now is even less restrictive than the one in Florida but it is very reasonable. Again, I thoroughly read the CCR's before deciding to purchase the land and build the house. Maybe I have just been lucky since we did not have issues in either development and it never seemed like people were just running around looking for every little infraction.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

I agree that there are many HOAs that are not overly restrictive or full of folks out to nit-pick every little detail of their neighbors' lives. You don't hear about them because they are not newsworthy. The one you hear about are the ones that micro-manage and make people miserable. Read the documents thoroughly and make sure you understand your rights and responsibilities, and if you dislike any of the provisions, don't purchase there.