Trying to start a chicken coup, neighbor dilemma, help!

[ChickGal23]

Ok so I live in Orange County California, in a suburban housing area that does allow chickens. I also live with a HOA, which makes me have to ask my neighbors for permission with practically everything. My husband and I have waited almost a year since we got the chicken itch, to finally start. Well yesterday we came across a lightly used chicken coup and well bought it!!! Yay!!!! Or so I thought.

I wanted to make sure to hit up my neighbor behind me and next to me. I just need 2 signatures and had no problems with the next door neighbor, but back neighbor was a whole different story. Now I think i can by pass the back neighbor but I want to stay good with them, plus now they know of my plan. There concerns were legit....if you were the owner of the chickens. They are worried about allergies, odor, and noise. I have done the research and allergies from what I have read....unless I missed something, are caused with direct contact with the chickens. I'm ok with no play dates with them if that's the issue, their kids don't ever have to touch them or go near them. The odor I get, I don't want it to stink, it will get cleaned and I also know of things to help with the odor on top of all the cleaning. The noise factor, their next door neighbors dog makes more noise then chickens would. There will be no Rooster, and I only want 4 chickens (legally I can have up to 5). So I need help in how to approach them with answers to their concerns? They only gave me concerns, they never asked any questions. I did not find that fair that they just shut me down. They do not know how many chickens I plan to house. I told them there will be no rooster. So I'm stuck. I want to keep my neighbors happy but I want my chickens too. Anyone have any advice? Thanks.

 

[attimus]

The best thing to do is give them a thorough plan and idea of what your doing. If they just gave you a list of concerns you can easily validate every point and justify their concerns at the same time.

 

[aart]

OhMan, HOA's, yuk.

Not sure what to tell you, but do you know that hens can make a lot of noise.
Probably on par with a yappy dog.

Maybe ask another neighbor to sign?

 

[ChickGal23]

I did have another neighbor sign, im just hoping they count that one. We will find out tomorrow, finges crossed. Here's another question, are they noisey at night or just in the day?

 

[WNCcluck]

Your hens will roost at night - sleep, sleep, sleep. They'll chat during the day. Some are louder than others. Of our eight hens, one is a chatty girl, a few only sing when they've laid an egg, and a few have never said much of anything other than their "good moring" chortle which is very mild.

I recommend using PDZ on your coop floor. We do that and scoop out the poop with a kitty litter scoop every day or two. The poop goes into a sealed five gallon pail with a lid and then gets dug into the compost pile or the garden. Our run floor is a sand and PDZ mix that 's also easy to clean with a rake and a long handled kitty litter scoop. It is impossible to smell anything of our eight girls until standing right at the run ... and that's only if I haven't cleaned the run that week.

We've also mulched around our coop and run and have chairs out by the run so we can sit and enjoy watching them be chickens.

It makes sense to address:

1. 
   Sound - not likely to be unbearable during the day, also quiet at night
   View - neat coop, neat surroundings (neighborhood "curb appeal")
   Smell - PDZ, cleaning regimen, etc

Finally, make sure to invite the doubting neighbors for omelets when you get eggs! :cd

 

[blucoondawg]

With those few hens you would really have to neglect the coop for it to get stinky. As far as noise hens will make some noise like others said they will sleep at night, usually in well before dusk and settled in and quiet for the night. They will awaken with the sun in the morning mine have always done the majority of their laying in the morning which is when they make most the noise. They will also make a ruckus if something startles them

 

[WickeeChickee]

Your hens will roost at night - sleep, sleep, sleep. They'll chat during the day. Some are louder than others. Of our eight hens, one is a chatty girl, a few only sing when they've laid an egg, and a few have never said much of anything other than their "good moring" chortle which is very mild.

I recommend using PDZ on your coop floor. We do that and scoop out the poop with a kitty litter scoop every day or two. The poop goes into a sealed five gallon pail with a lid and then gets dug into the compost pile or the garden. Our run floor is a sand and PDZ mix that 's also easy to clean with a rake and a long handled kitty litter scoop. It is impossible to smell anything of our eight girls until standing right at the run ... and that's only if I haven't cleaned the run that week.

We've also mulched around our coop and run and have chairs out by the run so we can sit and enjoy watching them be chickens.

It makes sense to address:

1. 
   Sound - not likely to be unbearable during the day, also quiet at night
   View - neat coop, neat surroundings (neighborhood "curb appeal")
   Smell - PDZ, cleaning regimen, etc

Finally, make sure to invite the doubting neighbors for omelets when you get eggs! :cd

X2
We use the pdz on the coop floor and just scoop it out like a litter box into 5 gallon buckets. There is little to zero smell - even in the heat of summer. Good luck convincing people who are dead set against it. I've had to listen to so many people preach about the horrors of chicken keeping: smells, flies, rodents, disease, the apocalypse, etc, but we've never had any of those problems. Some people just have their mind made up. Dummies.

 

[Big Bubba]

I did have another neighbor sign, im just hoping they count that one. We will find out tomorrow, finges crossed. Here's another question, are they noisey at night or just in the day?

It all depends on how close you all are and is your coop enclosed.

In my opinion chickens make very little noise. They can carry on, for sure. But, if you were more than 20 yards away I think you'd have trouble hearing them. My girls have an open coop and are probably 20 feet from my bedroom window. The window is always closed and I've never heard, pardon the pun, a peep from them.

The smell issue, by the way, is mostly related to water. Keep it dry and there will be very little smell. I spent some of my life near where you live and you, basically, have nothing to worry about for 10 months out of a year.

 

[Talithahorse]

If it is any consolation my mother is extremely allergic to all things birds and she is able to visit my house with the 25 or so chickens not far from the house. She does not go to the coop, or interact with them but she can come to the house safely. My neighbor cleans chicken houses for a living and his pile has to get pretty high for us to smell it at our house (albeit a bit farther then the neighborhood but sometimes his piles get 20 feet high and way wider). 4-5 chickens, cleaned regularly will not have a strong odor.

I don't know whether we just have a special bunch but my barred rock hens are fairly quiet. Now the mutt chicken.... she will tell you about it.

 

[blucoondawg]

My wife is allergic to everything and the coop doesn't bother her. She also has asthma pretty bad, she is fine with the chickens