Funny enough , I’m the HOA president of my neighborhood and I’m currently amending the rules to allow poultry foul so people can have chickens including myself

"the department of making you sad"🤣😅😂 PREACH!!! You're so right! Some of those regulations are ridiculous!!

I live in a place with an HOA unfortunately, but I’m a disabled vet and I have been able to bend the rules and have a “service goat”. I’ve been doing this now for 3 years and my VA doc supports me 100% with it signing the proper paperwork every year for a new goat. The HOA knows what I’m doing and hates it, but can’t do anything about it.

Why I just bought 3.5 arces of unrestricted country land. A bonus is directly behind our property is a 5k acre wildlife preserve.😁

good video, my first home was in a city in an HOA. When we first got there some old lady asked me to sign a petition against some person that had geese in a retention pond. I refused to sign and I said that I was going to put up a pigeon coup. I had the zoning manager with the city call and tell me that I cannot keep pigeons or any other livestock in the city. Next, about two months later they came around with the geese petition again. I told them that I keep a milk goat in my garage, and an animal control officer and a police officer came around to check on the well-being of the goat. The police officer wanted to arrest me for telling the HOA I had a goat but his supervisor told him not to. Within the month, I moved into the county on 15 acres where I can do what I want.

Just an FYI for those of you reviewing this video: Most HOAs and covenants don’t say “chicken” anymore. They say “fowl” or “poultry,” which unfortunately eliminates a large chunk of this list unless you find a loophole.

Rules against livestock usually are based on problems with : noise, stink and attraction of flies, mice and rats (from spilled feed and not rat/mouse proofing the animal housing). All of these are mainly due to bad care, but also climate (heat). If you can avoid those problems and keep them out of sight ( right along with the vegtable plot and the drying laundry most likely), lots of rules have to do with looks to keep up the value of the other properties. So tidy and charming from the outside shuts a lot of people up. That can mean plant an orchard in the front yard, along with say some roses giving lots of flowers. Rabbit are your best choice in such an area, not only because they are quiet and don't stink, but they are considered a pet, not livestock. Skipping the whole you can't keep livestock problem, since they aren't livestock, but pets. Do check though if you can sell bunnies for pets from your house (via craigslist or whatever), because that might be labeled commercial activity and again hoa/zoning laws can bite you.

Great video! We had two hives in our backyard in a subdivision with HOA rules for a year before the manager found out. All our neighbors knew about our bees but they didn’t care. One day I caught a swarm that had moved into the tree between our property and our neighbors and a neighbor brought his ladder to me to get it. Well, he took a video of me getting the swarm and someone saw it and we were asked to remove them. But there were no rules against bees so we removed them a couple months later when we moved into our new property on 24 acres. We have four now. Win-win. 😁

One of requirements for me buying a house was it had to be in a place with no HOA. People who make you sad. I call them something a lot worse than that - some people just don't have enough problems. I think there are some ordinances in the town where I live, but I'm too busy turning my neighbors into chicken keepers to notice.

Next time a HOA or someone tries to stop you from doing something, just tell them that you'll use all the money you're saving to buy and set up a radio tower. There's federal regs that give you that right, and no local government is going to go against the FCC.

Before we moved here, the last town we lived in told me, "look, if you would see it at a farm, it's livestock and you can't have it!" So glad we moved!

The reason many people who have aquaponics grow tilapia is that they're less fickle that most other fish. My dad started out with striped bass and lost most of them because they aren't very flexible. Very picky fish. Tilapia, on the other hand, adapt better so they make great "starter" fish for those new to raising them.

Problem with urban living and having meat animals is it's very likely to have animal control called on you for "abuse". People are wild in cities about animal "welfare". There are people who get AC called for training their dogs.

People should know that chicken hens are actually not that quiet. Most breeds brag when they lay an egg. They can be almost as loud as a rooster.

I shared the heck out of this video, lol! Great info. I lived in HOA's in the past and swore NEVER AGAIN! I don't play well with control freaks. Finding rabbits where I live is hard to do. the CV had everyone panic buying them...and I had planned months before it hit, to get rabbits (sad face). I'm still stuck in my RV, which makes having a chick brooder difficult, but I've done it and built a chicken tractor. This time I didn't even ask the landlord. I have a long list of AG reports to show him where our food security stands if he wants to make a fuss. Funny thing is, today he asked if I wanted rabbit to eat..that he has a .22 and there's lots of wild ones out here, lol!

I live on 20 acres with 5 acres of hay, it's just not enough to feed our sheep all year, so I'm planning on moving to 40 acres to reduce the supplemental feed costs, while increasing my livestock. On the bright side, I helped my mom start in town on a half acre and now she's doing it on 2 acres, so never give up just because you're not at the homestead you want. Start slow and build up as you go.

You are currently inspiring soòoo many people. It's so great too see

One of your best videos yet. Thank you. Keep up the good work

Love the channel and info you put out. Thank you !!

I have never seen a meat rabbit set up i love so much, it's so spacious and clean. They look well taken care of and probably taste great!

AWSOME video. Thanks for the info

I'd be very wary about eating pigeons free-ranging in an urban area, Urban feral pigeons accumulate very high levels of heavy metals, mainly lead and cadmium.

I have a 12’x8’ area outdoor (lean to) where I raise quail and fish; I have 4 breeder cages, an incubator, brooder and grow box. I also have a 3’x8’x2’high horse trough where I raise fish (aquaponics). In my aquaponics I have channel catfish and bluegill !!!

Love your attitude!

I have heard dog limits, like 2 dogs. Makes it tough rescuing animals let alone raising them. Love all these tips. Hey shout out girl Laurie im disabled to and we as a family have done what you do too, keep going forward.Blessings to the journey and good health for all

Awesome info, thanks, sharing!

Thank you for you content.

Great content!!

Love this!!❤

Great advice!!

I have no patience for people telling me what I can and can't do also. That's why we moved where we live. BUT when we lived in town I had SIX rooster. Not on purpose. But I did. I just gave soaps and eggs to the neighbors so they liked me and I never had problems.

Great info thanks.

Thank you Sir. This is very helpful.

Great ideas, thanks!

Love this video particularly when you talked about HOA.

Just found out can't have chickens in our yard in the towm we live in. But think rabbits are ok because they are considered pets. Thanks for great info. Quail nice. I've eaten pigion when I lived in Germany. I'm watching your course as well.

Great video!! We like your train of thinking regarding working around the rules. We live in the suburbs of Nova Scotia, Canada. We just got our first laying hens two weeks ago and a week ago we got 16 meat chickens. To date our bylaws are in the grey area for chickens....so far so good. Hopefully sharing a few dozen eggs and a meat bird here and there will keep our neighbors happy. We are in the process of purchasing about 30 acres of land for our retirement in a few years. My husband will be retiring from the police force (he knows how to circle the rules haha and agrees with you that wording is everything in the rules). Again, great video. We keep up to date with your channel. Thanks, Amy and Bryan

You guys are the BEST!!!!!!

Sweet list.

Great video ty

You’re awesome, I hear ya about the department of make you sad. I hope things change as more people desire to grow their own food.

This was a great video i share your feelings on the 'department of making you sad' I'm so glad my property is deemed unrestricted and it's zoned for residential, agricultural, and business, so i can do and have pretty much whatever i want on my homestead, right now i have kune kune pigs, chickens, qual, fessants, rabbits, turkeys, all were raising for meat

Excellent video, thank you.

Love this

Thank you

My whole county has a rule of no farm animals or "fowl" unless you own at least 5 acres, and a rule about no butchering on your premises. Unfortunately, we didn't find out about these rules until we started noticing that some of our sexed hens were not hens, so we were looking at zoning to find out if we could have a rooster.... Thankfully, so far, it hasn't been enforced ~ have had quail for about 5 years, and just added ducks and chickens to our 1/4 acre back yard last year ~ but we are currently looking for land outside this county to get away from the restrictions.

i live in the burbs. Have 4 ducks and 4 chickens. I talked to my neighbors about it before hand and they where all good with it. And to keep the peace I provide free eggs to them several times a month. I checked the zoning rules for the area and they said chickens had to be 30ft from a building. However the woman I talked to said as long as a neighbor does not complain they wont enforce it , and since the whole covid thing they have relaxed that rule as many people in the area wanted to get chickens to become more "self sufficient" However if you thinking of doing anything talk to your neighbors, as if they are on your side you can do a lot. If they are not while you might be able to do what you want to do they can make life difficult.

*With zoning in the state of IL if there is a filed complaint they then can have access to your property. But no complaint = no access. What they cant see from the road they cant do anything about. In the kill joy taxed hole of the US aka Illinois...our (90%farming community) county with the board of peoplewho make us sad - $300 "special use permit" for us to have any chickens OR FOWL in which are designated specifically as guinnies, ducks, quail or other 'livestock bird' on ANY amount of acreage of land in the COUNTY. And there are extremely specific requirements of where their housing structure can be on the property as well as the structure itself. 😑 if our business was not here and could more easily move...

I started in a 600 square foot apartment. I had a worm bin in the storage closet and potted plants all over my tiny deck. I had fresh vegetables all year. From there we moved to a house in the middle of suburbia and we've been raising chickens (both layers and meat birds) and ducks , a vegetable garden both potted and traditional, and beehives. Now my husband and I are moving to 4.5 acres of arable land and I'm going to expand into bees, chickens, ducks, quail, rabbits, goats, and I'm seriously considering doing miniature Jerseys too now because of this channel LOL. We're considering growing Christmas trees with the rest of it.

Back when we lived in a small apartment, I just built a pigeon coop onto the divider between me and my neighbors "porch". No one ever said anything and if they took it down I would have just made another one. Pigeons are one animal I've kept Through almost every stage of my adult life. I also moved to a town home with a HORRIBLE HOA and I would buy chickens and process them right outside the front door. They were a headache and I loved that town but was happy to go.

Thank you for this video and reminding me that even though I have only got a third of an acre that I am doing almost as much as I can with area that I have. We have 12 chickens (no rooster), 4 muscovys (one is a drake), two dairy goats, and a garden. most of the garden has been in pots because I haven't gotten much of an in-ground garden started but I've been working on that. We plan on getting rabbits soon. I'm also thinking about getting quail. My concern for quail is that we would have to have an incubator to raise new ones because they are not good at raising their own.

You're always encouraging to keep going!

Department of making you sad, very true!

Love your vlog.... we live in town and do meat rabbits (New Zealand and Californians).... silent and a great way to put meat in the freezer. We also do quail now. We have laying hens (Brahma). Two Muscovy’s (who are silent). And just did two jumbo Peking ducks that reached slaughter weight in 7 weeks (about 9lbs.). 50x100 ft backyard. We’re always learning from from your vlog, the survival podcast, cog hill etc. You can do a lot. We are in good standing with our neighbors. Couple are stating to do what we have the last three years. We started with 4 laying hens....our goal always is keeping the noise down. Fudging some laws but the irony is our Nieghborhood dogs make way more noise than any of our animals..... love you guys!!!!!

Double bonus with the Fish -> Frogs. They are delicious. I don’t know the species, but I had frogs legs before I had alligator and the frogs legs are like half chicken half fish and cooked in garlic butter with parsely they are really a treat. Go for the frogs and keep the mosquitoes down in your backyard

Ha! My wife and I were playing guess the animal. I guessed talapia and you through me under the bus. "Don't just get talapia, get whatever is common to your area." At least I got the hydroponics. Good show, good list

Great advice! And I think I will look into my local zoning to see if we can have chickens. We are a small town, so maybe. That would be a bite I can chew, raising 10 at a time.

My mom immigrated and lived in the inner city but couldn’t afford a car or chickens so in the back yard was grapes and melons and the garage was filled on top was pigeons and the bottom was rabbits.

One you forgot that is similar to rabbits is guinea pigs! Very high output

We have a decent amount of land, but are close to our neighbors and no one else has any obvious livestock in our area. The laws aren't very clear, so we're not sure if we're allowed to have chickens or not. So we decided to go with meat rabbits, Coturnix quail, and interestingly...guinea pigs! We raise pedigreed silver fox rabbits inside of our home which are excellent for both meat and fur. We have a flock of 14 Coturnix quail on coops on our deck, and lots of eggs in our two incubators. Once our greenhouse arrives, our meat-only quail grow-outs will live and be finished in the greenhouse! And most people don't think of raising something like guinea pigs for meat. They're actually a very healthy meat, and a staple in many South American countries. Our dogs and cat are raw fed, and the guinea pigs are mainly going to be an additional protein source for them. We may also occasionally eat them as well. Like rabbits, they mature for breeding around 6 to 8 months but reach butcher weight around 8 weeks of age. They live well in colonies and can produce almost as often as rabbits - slightly smaller litters but you can have several females (sows) to bring your numbers up. We also grow blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries in pots, and are planning an herb garden in a tower garden system as well as several raised beds and greenhouses. Gotta get creative!

that pigeon Idea is epic

Yes very true!! We do loopholes on this no chickens rabbits it is then! We are planning in a year or so to get 2.5-5 acres so chickens here we come!!

Loved this video and got a lot of information out of it. I live just outside of town (county has jurisdiction) but with close neighbors so I have thought of making a small rabbit warren in my 8x10 shed but I never thought of quail. I always thought ducks would be too loud and messy but maybe not. I thought of a fish pond when I finally get a "real" homestead but never considered a stock tank fish farm. So thanks for the ideas. #askhomesteady I have watched several of your great videos but as I get closer to having a retirement homestead I am thinking along the lines of making it as self tending as possible (for ease of upkeep and the ability to travel a bit to visit family) including fish ponds, perennial nuts, fruits, veggies, and even grains as well as small game habitat but it would be great to see a video with any ideas that you might have along those lines. I have questions such as can one legally and practically release say guinea foul on their property for hunting and scavenging eggs? Thanks again for providing a great resource. -mike

My area's rule is basically "can't have more than 6 chickens, no roosters within 100 ft of the road" We live on an island that I covered with roads all over the place. There is even a ranch that had a rooster before the rule was made. Rule enforcement have been trying to get that rooster butchered for years now, but the owners won't do it because they sell chicks and they got him at least a year before the rule was put in place.

Thanks homesteady!! We got our 3 chickens durring lockdown. By american standards our "yard" is miniture. Still space for some ajimals though. Small but mighty

Unfortunately we don't have garages or I would definitely! I'm gonna concentrate on veggies this year. I just moved here so all eyes are on me😲. Thanks so much for going through a tough subject. I'll bet some folks got great ideas! I can't believe how many folks can't have pigs out in the country! JO JO IN VT 💕😄

Quail are so easy and space requirements are tiny. 1 sf per bird. So you can actually have a breeding set in a 2'×3' cage. But be ready for alot of poop. Luckily it can be added to your compost to make it great.

I love watching my bees busy doing their thing. I have my hive on my back porch. Approximately 10ft from my back door. I've only had less than 10 bees inside my house in 2 years combined. So don't freak about bees. Just don't swat them. They do have a inquisitive side. I have had alot of them thru the years land on me. Never stung unless i set my arm on them.

I live in the two mile buffer.... "Follow our rules but ya you can't vote and have no say." 🤷🏼‍♂️ Sorry I'm not asking for permission to use my own land. Just got my little Kubota today.

I currently live on a five acre lot that has chickens, ducks , and rabbits as well as fruit trees and garden. The hoa from the ajoining neighborhood actually took me to court and lost ! They found out what grandfather laws were. They even tried to force a change in the zoning laws and found that it still would not effect me only if I sold out would that change. Now I am looking for 40 acres and will move my nephew into the house while I retain ownership just to pee in their Starbucks!

So, my city has super weird ordinances on livestock. In the city limit, you can only have 3 animals on the domestic pets list (small animals not subject to this, though if they are a nuisance then that's a different problem), 3 hens (the council is considering increasing that to 7), but no roosters, other poultry, or livestock. However, the list of pets includes mini pigs and mini goats, and nursing babies don't count towards the three, and doves/pigeons aren't on the list of poultry. So, in an urban yard, you can keep a coop with 3 hens, pidgeons, a mini pig with a litter, a pair of mini milking does with kids, and a hutch full of rabbits. Fish also aren't regulated, so you can set up a bunch of aquaponics to grow fish and veggies. While my goal is to buy property outside the city limits where I'll be able to do more, it's neat that if I have to start by getting a smaller urban home before buying up later, I can still raise a surprising amount of food in my backyard, and with the right planning, I can have an edible landscape out front that grows fruits while still looking beautiful.

I'm very glad you included pigeons. Why do you think there are so many feral pigeons! The city pigeons are not wild pigeons, they're FERAL - livestock abandoned when we didn't have as much use for them any more. Their meat is good, their eggs are good, and their poop? Gold! If I had to pick one city multi-purpose animal, it'd be a pigeon, because the proof is in the pudding, y'know. They don't thrive for no reason! Rabbits aren't bad, and their fur is really nice, but who's going to actually tan their hides? And on a personal level, I just can't see myself killing them, or guinea pigs, although those are great livestock too! Maybe I'm just a big baby.

Ducks lay eggs just like chickens do. Wet wood chips go in the compost pile!

My town home association allow chickens, but only 4 hens no roosters. Some of my neighbors have 4 chickens in their yard. In the middle of the city Shoreview which is part of St Paul Minnesota

My concern with pigeons in an urban area is keeping them on *my* land. I don't want them getting asphalt gravel for grit. Feeding them is a cost, but one I am willing to bear if I can ensure the meat doesn't get contaminated by urban pollutants.

The problem with fish is there are some species you need a permit to keep. My uncle had an aquaponics system for a few years and had to have a permit to raise and purchase rainbow trout and some other species I can't remember. Because he didn't want tilapia.

Well if you know a little about middle and South America. You can also ad Ginnipigs and Iguana.

No quail here in WV without a ridiculous amount of paperwork with the DNR, which is very stupid and ironic all in one.

We are on 4 acres, we have chickens and geese. Our next purchase is going to be a mini cow ❤❤❤

In my opinion if you want small meat or just general farm animals start with chickens and rabbits and if you have the room and legally can have this animals then get Nigerian dwarf goat or pygmy goat if you want meat from them and kunie kunie pigs

We lived in a city where for years it was technically illegal to own chickens but it was only enforced if neighbors complained. It was changed to allow laying hens, no roosters. Nothing was allowed to be slaughtered.

thats what i have had to do, im in the city, i raise quail and about to start rabbits. i actually OVER produce quail and have some for sale pretty regularly

I raised pigeons and they were so easy to keep and slaughter. Plus they are super tasty!

Love your videos. My wife and I just bought our small 3 acre farm and we will be adding to it a little at a time. We want to start with laying hens and meat chickens. #askhomesteady so my question is with your Cornish cross do you raise them in the same area until its time to process or do you move them into a larger area when they are a few weeks old. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Fingers crossed we get rabbits after the summer is over

Keep in mind that muscovies are really the only quiet duck. Mallard derived breeds (like the Pekin) are louder, especially the hens, though the drakes are still rather quiet. You can also combine quail and pigeons together. Make a tall aviary with nests up top for the pigeons and the quail happily nest at the bottom. You still have to feed the quail too, though...as they won't get enough from just eating the pigeon feed that's knocked down. Also ***I would not suggest catching city pigeons or eating pigeons that have foraged in a city***. A town maybe, but not a city. Far too much pollution. Another animal that you can do is guinea pigs. They can be fantastic especially if you want to keep a lawn, as they're wonderful grazers and apparently quite delicious.,

As far as ducks if you get muscovie ducks they are super quiet. The hens and drakes are both quiet. They only hiss.

We raise a lot of animals on a 1/2 acre property. Luckily, no HOA. Thankfully we purchased 10 acres but have yet to be able to move onto it. In our area, chickens etc have always been able to be kept as back yard animals. The problem? Our area is building up. New ordinances will be coming in soon to where we will not be allowed to raise as much as we do, or even some of the animals we raise. It's pretty sad. So far they have failed to fully pass the ordinances they are planning but, it will only be a matter of time. We currently raise, rabbits,chicken,quail and goats. In fact I run a heard of about 15 goats at the moment. The majority of our property is dedicated to them. The key thing is sanitation. If you keep it clean you do not have smells. No smells most do not even realize you have them. With the size of the property we are currently on we purchase all of our animal feed. It is not cheap but it is worth it. Our rabbits and quail are above the chickens in 10x20 covered runs. ( we live in a fairly warm environment (downright blistering in the summer!) . The chickens clean up the feed that quail love to waste, as well as getting their own feed and keeping all poop turned into the shavings. Fresh shavings go in and a full scrape down happens about ever 3 months and we put down barn lime then shavings. There is no ammonia smell etc. The runs are butted up beside each other. When the compost is removed it is spread out and grass seed goes over it. What was once a lot covered in sugar sand now has super rich earth. Our 10 acres we will be moving to is sandy as sin so we will now be transporting it up there to get it ready to be planted with the types of grasses we want in our pens. This was a good video that you made. I think folks would be amazed at exactly how much you can raise on a property and still have happy animals. I believe the two biggest things they need to make sure of are sanitation and processing. If you are processing , do it where the neighbors cannot see. In a more urban setting many of your neighbors will be horrified and calling county because you are "abusing animals" .

As for keeping bees, just note that if you have dogs that are black or brown there's a greater chance of them being attacked by your bees if the bees get agitated. I've had my black lab get attacked and it nearly killed her and my neighbors bees killed their little black lap dog that simply walked near the hive. Goats don't bother bees (but they like to chew on the hives) and bees don't seem to mind goats but dogs they hate.

#askhomesteady I've been wanting to know where you got your mini jersey and how much time you spent doing the research and prepping for one and making sure its the right size for you and your family?

Today i realize i am not the only one who wanna raise meat animal at home! Thank you friend

😂 Aust, I like the way you think! My dad was a lawyer, and a little bit of a troublemaker, but in a the best way. I think he would very much approve of this video. He was the kind of guy who did multiple appeals on a seat belt ticket, maintaining that "the government does not have the right to dictate how I endanger my own body." And he once called the Mayor of Tulsa an idiot, to his face - but in the most hilariously calm and matter of fact tone. I miss him a lot, but every now and again I get a little reminder that I am definitely his daughter. Stuff like this. 😊 Excellent, excellent content. One of my favorites yet.

We aren't allowed to have chickens or ducks where we are, or bees, but we can have quail or pigeons. Our city is conducting a pilot, though, around chickens, so I'm hopeful for the future.

I have half of acreage and i have bees , chicken and rabbits.

pigeon is good we call it city chicken and it's usually kabobs

Guinea pigs/cavies are another meat option. Haven't raised them myself but it's a thing.

Crabs 🦀 best small space indoor

I like Guineafowls they not only lay eggs but act as a home defense unit lol.

Hey just started watching great viewing. I am buying a ruin and some land in Portugal and was going to have a few animals. One thing I wanted to know I heard people clip the wings of the ducks so they dont fly away is that true. Thanks Frank

Wood Pidgeon!