New from Northern CA

[sunflour]

My purpose is basically the same......a new interesting family activity and some old-fashioned self sufficiency. I'm a city boy who is an engineer by day and math tutor by evening. My three kids all graduate from college in May and they cannot believe I'm considering this hobby.
I know nuttin......
Joe

@TexasChickenRoo

Glad you have joined us. You should start your own New Member thread to get a proper welcoming.

If you haven't already done so, visit the Learning Center articles. There's a lot of help there on raising chicks or chickens.
The coop forums have a lot of examples and information to help you decide what to build.


Feel free to ask questions, we're here to help.

Do consider reposting your intro.

& folks still think I am crazy for having chickens and mine are now 2 yo...

 

[Wyandottes7]

Welcome to BYC!

I'm glad you joined our wonderful community.

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Welcome to BYC! I'm glad you joined us!

 

[BantamLover21]

I'm glad you joined our "flock!"

 

[ChickyChickens]

Welcome to BYC!!! There are loads of members on here…so if you have ANY questions…just ASK!!!

Hope you have loads of fun and all your answers answered here on BYC the BEST CHICKEN KEEPING FORUM on EARTH!!

 

[A3M0N]

I couldn't find a general discussion forum, so I'll just ask here. I live in a normal neighbohood, but it's in an unincorporated area of the county. I looked up the ordinance for my zone and there is no mention of animals of any kind, and my neighborhoods' covenants only mention chickens as you can't keep them for commercial use (I posted the exact verbiage in LORE forum but haven't gotten a response yet).

I don't think there will be an issue legally, but still don't want to anger my neighbors. Nobody wants a war and one of my neighbors already isn't very neighborly. I'm going to call the county to be sure there is no issue, but would you ask your neighbors first? How loud would 4 hens be? Would 4 hens make a smelly mess? I just want to get my family a little more self sufficient without causing a ruckus.

Thanks!

 

[attimus]

If you know where you stand legally and your neighbor isn't onboard just throw eggs at him.....not literally of course. Give him a dozen eggs once they are in full production, might take a little while to get to that point but a gift is a gift. 4 hens aren't to messy and there are options for keeping coop and run clean. They can be a bit noisy tho. There's this thing they do after they lay, the egg song, kinda loud but its still OK. If your not looking to cause waves just try and work with your neighbors as best you can so everyone is happy. Best of luck.

 

[Michael OShay]

I couldn't find a general discussion forum, so I'll just ask here. I live in a normal neighbohood, but it's in an unincorporated area of the county. I looked up the ordinance for my zone and there is no mention of animals of any kind, and my neighborhoods' covenants only mention chickens as you can't keep them for commercial use (I posted the exact verbiage in LORE forum but haven't gotten a response yet).

I don't think there will be an issue legally, but still don't want to anger my neighbors. Nobody wants a war and one of my neighbors already isn't very neighborly. I'm going to call the county to be sure there is no issue, but would you ask your neighbors first? How loud would 4 hens be? Would 4 hens make a smelly mess? I just want to get my family a little more self sufficient without causing a ruckus.

Thanks!

As long as chickens are legal in your area, I wouldn't mention it to the neighbors. Four hens will not be that loud as long as your coop isn't too close to the property line between you and your neighbors, and the coop will not be that smelly as long as you clean it occasionally. Why draw attention to something that the neighbors probably wouldn't give thought to otherwise? If any neighbors ever do mention them, you can always offer to share any extra eggs with them from time to time. That will normally pacify most neighbors.

 

[Kelsie2290]

Hello and Welcome To BYC!

 

[A3M0N]

Here is the neighborhood covenant covering animals:

1.15 Animals No animals or fowl, other than household pets, shall be kept or maintained on any lot or any portions thereof, and none shall be kept, maintained, or raised on the premises for commercial purposes. Household pets shall not be kept in unreasonable numbers, or in violations of any law, ordinance, or regulation. Each owner shall be responsible for clean-up, waste, and removal of any unsanitary conditions created by Owner's animals on any portion of the Property.

I'm trying to be objective when reading this, but I'm reading this as you can't breed animals commercially. Can you call chickens you collect eggs from household pets? There will be no rooster or breeding going on. I just need an objective eye. Thanks!