How should I talk to my HOA aboutgetting back yard chickens?

[medicusmay]

I live in city limits (they allow up to 6 chickens, no roosters) but I'm not sure what our HOA is going to say. We have a meeting on the 27th so I figured we could just present the question when it came time and pray for the best. I read our hoa cov and it says no livestock of any kind.... but I think we can get away with it because chickens are considered "poultry" Right? Does anyone know if there is a already made chicken proposal presentation? I want to come prepared with myth busters and all the pros chickens bring. I also wanted to see if anyone else had any tips to take with me? Thanks for your help

 

[foreverlearning]

Poultry is considered livestock so your HOA doesn't approve them biased on the forms you have signed. You may want to ask if they have changed the rules since you signed your forms as someone else may have already fought that battle. It is becoming a big movement to have chickens in HOA's and most people do it one of two ways...either get them and ask for forgiveness while trying to change the rules, or start with the battle. All it takes to get a nasty note is one nosy neighbor. Every fight has a few things in common: People expect a certain sort of lifestyle there and your neighbors won't want to live next to a coop....So go around before the meeting and get people to sign with their address yes or no if they would like chickens in the neighborhood. Chickens are loud....You don't have to have roosters and if you do you can keep them in a dark quiet place until 7am so they are not crowing at the crack of dawn. It is easier to get approved without a rooster but I have read of some areas allowing them. Chickens bring illnesses....If properly cared for and gotten from a reliable place they do not. Chickens stink and no one wants to smell them...There are several ways to make sure they don't stink, #1 is proper care and cleanliness. You don't have to clean a coop everyday and some only do it once or twice a year while employing the deep litter method (compost pile in the coop).

Chickens are great therapy for disabled children (mental or physical), give eggs for your family, make great fertilizer, reduce bug population, and are good pets to have. If you get chickens many others in your area may want to start as well and this can build great neighborhood relations.

 

[Knight Coop]

Let us know how it goes at the HOA meeting.

You got me thinking so I just checked our HOA. It's a new neighborhood so it's just run by a company right now but ours states "Keeping of poultry of any kind is prohibited..." Yikes! Our city ordinance says we have to keep them 50 feet from any residence. So I guess we have to keep the coop in the middle of the yard? We only plan to have 3 or 4 chickens. I hope they don't make much noise.

I guess I have to approach our HOA too, and hopefully they will change that part of the covenants?

 

[foreverlearning]

For the people that ask for forgiveness after the fact they tend to give a few fresh eggs to the neighbors on either side of them and across the street. That's how they keep everyone happy and it works for many.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

In many cases livestock is limited to hoofed mammals, with chickens termed as poultry or fowl. Look at the definitions in your state statutes and city ordinances, and read through ALL your HOA documents. Chances are that poultry or fowl are prohibited along with livestock. You can make a case for a single chicken being a pet, but the more birds you have, the less likely you re to win that argument,

 

[Kimmom2five]

My HOA also doesn't currently allow chickens and this is how I am going about trying to get them. I made friends with one of the board officers and she also wants chickens. I volunteered to be on the architectural review board which decides on landscaping and things you can have in your yard, like chickens. I'm going to show them things like famous people who have chickens, like Jennifer Anniston and I think Sandra Bullock also does. I'm going to make a list of nearby towns that allow chickens. I'm going to point out that the name of our subdivision contains the word farm. The chickens would make less noise than all the dogs, which. Just about everybody owns. And a a for the smell chickens might make, our subdivision is built next to a sewer plant.

 

[Bluebonnet]

My HOA also doesn't currently allow chickens and this is how I am going about trying to get them. I made friends with one of the board officers and she also wants chickens. I volunteered to be on the architectural review board which decides on landscaping and things you can have in your yard, like chickens. I'm going to show them things like famous people who have chickens, like Jennifer Anniston and I think Sandra Bullock also does. I'm going to make a list of nearby towns that allow chickens. I'm going to point out that the name of our subdivision contains the word farm. The chickens would make less noise than all the dogs, which. Just about everybody owns. And a a for the smell chickens might make, our subdivision is built next to a sewer plant.

You can add Hulk Hogan to that list.

Lots of celebrities keep chickens.