Undercover Chicken Mother

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lisayaya

In the Brooder
May 27, 2017
7
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Hello!

I'm new to raising chickens and so far so good (as of now). Having grown up on a farm one would think we had chickens but they didn't come to the farm until years after I left. I have devoured any and all articles on raising chickens I purchased my 3 chicks in April and they are about 5 weeks old. I have 2 Rhode Island Reds and one Dominque.

I named my thread "Undercover Chicken Mother" bc our HOA frowns upon chickens however we are well within our City Ordinances. I feel beautifully rebellious in leading a "double life". But in all seriousness I have plan A, B and C for my 3 girls in case of things heading south. Fingers crossed.

I have already found myself googling "what does normal chicken poo look like" "chicken first aid kit" "herbs for nesting boxes" and "how to keep flies away" . I also spent countless hours finding the perfect plan for a chicken coop.. I'm hooked.

I'm super excited and ready for the challenges and joys of raising backyard chickens.

Lisa
 
lisayaya said:
Hello!

I'm new to raising chickens and so far so good (as of now). Having grown up on a farm one would think we had chickens but they didn't come to the farm until years after I left. I have devoured any and all articles on raising chickens I purchased my 3 chicks in April and they are about 5 weeks old. I have 2 Rhode Island Reds and one Dominque.

I named my thread "Undercover Chicken Mother" bc our HOA frowns upon chickens however we are well within our City Ordinances. I feel beautifully rebellious in leading a "double life". But in all seriousness I have plan A, B and C for my 3 girls in case of things heading south. Fingers crossed.

I have already found myself googling "what does normal chicken poo look like" "chicken first aid kit" "herbs for nesting boxes" and "how to keep flies away" . I also spent countless hours finding the perfect plan for a chicken coop.. I'm hooked.

I'm super excited and ready for the challenges and joys of raising backyard chickens.

Lisa
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The HOA may force you to get rid of them, I hope not, but people buy homes in an HOA for a reason, junk cars, tall grass, rotted fences, and so on. I won't live in a mother may i do this or that. The board of health and the city rules are easy enough for me to follow. I have chickens,ducks, meat rabbits and 2 kinds of quail way inside the city limits. Our county has no fowl regs. but, you have to abide the nuisance laws, like a crowing rooster or unkept pens causing smells, then they can force you to make changes. Good luck, this is not a cheap hobby if you consider the low cost of store eggs. There is no way possible I will get near the investment back by selling eggs. Not to mention chemicals if needed. I am dealing with that now as none of the other methods have worked.
 
Hi Lisa and welcome to BYC. Just buy your chickens some ski masks and your neighbours won't have a clue ;)


You'll find lots of info in the Learning Centre - https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/category/learning-center.11/ and if you have a specific topic in mind, just type it in the search box - there's a wealth of information on past and present threads. Each week, various topics are discussed, which can also be a great resource - https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/topic-of-the-week-thread-archive

You may wish to consider joining your state thread as it will put you in touch with other BYC members in your area - http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/270925/find-your-states-thread#post_3239224

All the best

CT
 
Hello there and welcome to BYC!! :frow

So glad you could join our community!!

Please do make yourself at home here, ask any questions you may have.

So pull up a roost bar and welcome to our flock!! :)
 
firestomp said:
The HOA may force you to get rid of them, I hope not, but people buy homes in an HOA for a reason, junk cars, tall grass, rotted fences, and so on. I won't live in a mother may i do this or that. The board of health and the city rules are easy enough for me to follow. I have chickens,ducks, meat rabbits and 2 kinds of quail way inside the city limits. Our county has no fowl regs. but, you have to abide the nuisance laws, like a crowing rooster or unkept pens causing smells, then they can force you to make changes. Good luck, this is not a cheap hobby if you consider the low cost of store eggs. There is no way possible I will get near the investment back by selling eggs. Not to mention chemicals if needed. I am dealing with that now as none of the other methods have worked.
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I know what you mean.. I was president of our an HOA and the power of an HOA is very limited when it comes to trying to override city codes. We have a great Champion in Austin TX right now and the backyard chicken bill (SB 1670) I believe is passing with flying colors. In our neighborhood we have a growing "chicken movement" .. we shall see. I can attest that we have no less than 500 dogs in this neighborhood and if we call about barking the HOA says "we can't do anything about that" not a letter, not a call nothing. Then when a call is placed to the city we are told we have to record the barking for 2 weeks, document time and date and then MAYBE something can be done.. so as long as I keep my grass cut and clean the coop daily I hope to avoid the HOA .. cross your fingers! My girls are quiet so far and as far as I know I have all hens.. if I end up having a rooster he'll have to go to my friends farm and live out his days lol..
 
Ah, you want to keep Stealth chickens. It is necessary to have a plan B, etc. There is always some neighbor who feels it is their mission in life to report people to authorities.

Wish you the best of luck
 
drumstick diva said:
Ah, you want to keep Stealth chickens. It is necessary to have a plan B, etc. There is always some neighbor who feels it is their mission in life to report people to authorities.

Wish you the best of luck
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Thank you.. this made me smile.. yes, you are 100% correct.. I understand the HOA and all that goes with it.. but at some point it becomes nuts.. I stated earlier about so many dogs barking and yelping all hours of the day and night and not one person from the HOA can do anything about it.. so.. my sweet girls are quiet for now and I may have to do some egg bribing later so I'm hoping for the best too..

I can say that I love watching them and all the fun things they do. Just the other day my Dominque found a worm and just took off bc the Reds were chasing her.. she stopped at the raised garden bed and hid.. just as the Reds were coming around the corner she gulped the worm down and sang and song.. it's better than any show on T.V.

Lisa
 
I'm in the same boat as you, our hoa says no poultry, but my son has silks for an ffa project and is moving from 8th grade to high school next year and the high school doesn't have chickens, so we had to take his beloved show chickens home. Now I'm in a state of panic and stress over our neighbors complaining. We have a very lax hoa and in one walk through the neighborhood, I found 100s of violations of the bylaws. So my plan is to keep that list handy and if anyone complains, I will demand the hoa enforce all the violations. I don't think they will be able to afford the lawyer fees for all those violations. I also got a note from his ffa teacher about his project. Keeping my fingers crossed.
 

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