Downton Abbey may be over but that doesn’t mean the ladies of the Grantham Estate can’t live on and be a source of entertainment in Lucy’s backyard. Darrrrrling, may I present:
Lady Sybil. She is a Lakenvelder Silver and is the most laid back baby chick we have ever had. And boy let me tell you, she loves to sleep.
Lady Mary. She already rules the roost and is a Cuckoo Maran.
Lady Edith. This chick is no wallflower let me tell you. She is going to give Lady Mary a run for her money. Edith is a Brown Leghorn.
A funny thing happens as you get older. You stop caring what other people think and you begin to read through the lines. Silly me. I thought there was a specific note in our HOA rules that excluded chickens. As it turns out… there’s not.
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Mavis: Hi, Can you tell me if chickens are allowed in the neighborhood?
HOA Lady: {As she lets out a little giggle} Well, we’ve heard some rumors….
Mavis: I would ask my neighbors first of course.
HOA Lady: Umm, we have a noise ordinance.
Mavis: Yes, but these would be hens.
HOA Lady: If you give me your name and number…
Mavis: So you don’t have anything specifically excluding chickens?
HOA Lady: No.
Mavis: The chickens and their coop would be out of sight. You wouldn’t be able to see them/it from the road. So what I’m hearing is, if my neighbors don’t mind {remember, the HOA wanted to me to ask my neighbors if I could build a fence on my own property 2 years ago } and if the hens are quiet {these are hens, not roosters and HELLO, what about the barking dogs and utility carts and five million landscaping trucks that go by our house every day!?} it wouldn’t be an issue.
HOA Lady: Well, if you give me your name and number…
Mavis: No. I’m good thanks. 🙂
Lucy teaching the girls how to apply “perfume”
This is a well established neighborhood {25+years}. The way I see it, if no one has had an issue with this before…. why would there be one now? Afterall, it’s not like I have roosters or a visible unsightly coop in full view of the hoards of people walking by.
Life. It’s too short.
Find a way to do the things you want to do, and keep on truckin’. 🙂
Enjoy your Sunday.
~Mavis
Teresa says
The things you do for Lucy, right?
Was this one of your secret projects? Or just a bonus?
Mavis Butterfield says
Secret project #2. 🙂
Anita Burns says
I am so glad I live in a rural/recreational zone. No lawnmowers, leaf blowers anywhere. Barking dogs, though are everywhere just as they were when I lived in a suburban tract home. Many neighbors (how are all at least a quarter acre away) have chickens. Someone has a goat. Not sure who. Waking up to a crowing roster or chickens clucking is by far a better experience than being blasted awake by leaf blowers and lawn mowers. Enjoy your chickens. We have a coop we bought from Tractor Supply. As soon as it is put together, we are getting six chickens for eggs. Yum.
Lesley says
Great point about the noise of dogs (mine!), gas-guzzling mowers, leaf blowers, etc. Rock on, Mavis! I love how much Lucy loves chicks. We all need something to care for.
Danielle says
Hens do make a lot of noise, nothing like a rooster of course. Those little braggers let you know when they’ve laid an egg!! Ours would all really work up a chorus of celebration!
Karin says
They are adorable! Happy Easter!
Teri says
WTG!! Happy Easter!!
Daddio7 says
Ah yes, the rural life for me. One neighbor but he is 200 yds away. Target practice in the back yard, no problem. Of course there is the occasional crop duster aircraft zooming over the house, but that is to be expected when your front yard is a fifty acre field.
Anita Burns says
I love being out of the suburbs. Our mini-farm is only one acre but it’s paradise to us. We are growing unusual fruits and vegetables like black goji berries, jujubes, and lesser-known varieties of cherries, pears, plums, peaches, apricots, and so forth. We also have unusual squash varieties, peas, and more. My husband, Allen is experiment with permaculture. It’s hard because the soil is mostly decomposed granite and we are working to transform it. Hard work but it is heaven to us. No target practice, but some of the neighbors like to party hardy with Karaoke, drumming groups, and live Mariachi bands. Music is nice until it goes past midnight. And the drunker they get the louder the (bad) karaoke gets. Normally, things are quiet, though. And I like my neighbors very much.
Rebecca in MD says
Love your chicken coop – – – where did you get it?
Our nearest neighbor has goats and they are adorable. My grandson loves talking to them. Our two acres are mostly wooded, but I am sure I have room for a small chicken coop………
Mavis Butterfield says
Omlet.com This is the third coop we’ve ordered from them over the years and I highly recommend them. VERY durable and easy to clean.
Jennifer says
Power to the woman! Glad you got chickens. You can easily cite noisy dogs as a counterpoint if anyone says your hens are noisy. When I moved to my current subdivision/house, our realtor let the neighbors know (in casual conversation) that the new buyers may have chickens. One neighbor’s reply–“but no dogs, right?!”
Leslie says
“No. I’m good, thanks.” Hahaha- perfect.
Jfred says
Good for you! Yah!
Ali says
I was talking to my new neighbour last week who was surprised I kept chickens.
She asked me what the rules were on chicken keeping. I said ‘No idea’ LOL!!!
Go Mavis!!
Conni says
I LOL’d over the names for your adorable chicks! But hens ARE noisey. We live rurally with 5 hens in a very roomy coop (I used to free range them in the day time until a bobcat took off with my fave lady!). Someone within miles of us has a rooster and that guy DOODLES all day, so the hens are quieter but they can still raise quite the ruckus! Perhaps, if they have the run of your yard and the interest therein, they’ll not rile the HOA!
Carolina says
Love the names of your peeps, but I do hope that YOUR Lady Sybil does not die in her youth, like her namesake on Downton Abbey!
Vivian says
Well, we had COWS in our yard yesterday! The sheriff arrived and blocked off our cul de sac, watched them for several hours until the animal control peeps showed up, then they watched them for several hours until the trailer showed up to take them to some shelter. All very curious as no one knows of any cows anywhere within miles! It certainly provided entertainment for the neighborhood. And they did trim the lawn pretty well!
Lisa Millar says
Thats hilarious! I love random things like that happening!!
Hope the cows found their home!!
Jennifer says
What do you intend to do with them over the winter?
Lisa Millar says
So glad you have chickens again!!
These three are pretty adorable!
Will be great fun to follow their progress!
Lucky Lucy!
Wendy Steele says
Mavis, I cannot TELL you how happy I am that you are keeping chickens again. Mavis isn’t Mavis without her ‘girls’!!!
Tamara says
Well done with the HOA Lady! Mavis!
JC says
We are not allowed to have chickens. We currently have chicks in the basement ….. I’m with you!