“Noise proves nothing. Often a hen who has merely laid an egg cackles as if she laid an asteroid.” - Mark Twain

I ran across an article recently that raised a thought I had never had, but which I thought might be of some service. But first, a step backwards before we move forward.

I practice community association law. Most people think that means just condominium law, but it also includes homeowner associations, commonly called HOAs. Generally, in a condo association the owner owns their Unit and that’s it. The “yard” is actually owned by the Association as common area to be used by all. In a homeowners association the owner owns the Lot, not just the home on the Lot.

In other words, in HOAs owners own the land independently of the other owners. HOAs set up rules for that use, so that, for instance, an owner can’t divert water onto a neighbor’s land, cut trees onto a neighbor’s land, have a ramshackle, rundown home, and more.

With more available land to use as one chooses, come more interesting situations, such as the increased frequency of having chickens. There’s a lot of good to having chickens. The fresh eggs they gift are so much better than store bought eggs. The color is deeper and once you’ve had some, you will notice how bland most supermarket eggs actually taste.

And chickens help clean the yard of ticks and other bugs, and, so I’m informed, they make friendly and cute pets. Kids certainly love them, and adults love the eggs.

There are some problems, of course. Chickens can make a lot of noise. We live near neighbors who have chickens (and a rooster), and the sound is something you get used to much like people who live near a highway or other heavily trafficked road rarely notice the traffic noises after awhile.

And any permission granted by a board of directors in an HOA to have chickens can be conditioned upon allowing quieter (not quiet) breeds such as Rhode Island red hens, and prohibit louder breeds such as Polish and Easter Egg hens. (Yes there is such a breed.)

And you might want to consider banning roosters as well. For the uninitiated, you don’t need a rooster for hens to lay eggs. Those eggs are not fertile and will not develop into chickens, a situation that will help keep the number of chickens down at your HOA.

One of the less thought of but certainly powerful problems is that chicken droppings (what a quaint name for poop) are really smelly as they have a vinegar-based smell. Pungent is a good word. With a good breeze that odor can waft to your neighbors. It might clean their sinuses, but not in a manner or method one usually wants.

Of course chickens, especially those trapped in a confined area, attract wildlife. Friends who have chickens have repeatedly talked of holes in the fences that have allowed entry into the pen by foxes which usually don’t stay and usually aren’t a threat to other pets. But the presence of chickens can also attract coyotes, which may well not be afraid of cats and small dogs. (In others, more southern places, they attract alligators. Yowch.)

Of course, you can’t just let chickens run loose as they will end up on neighboring properties, and so they must be kept in a chicken coop. Some are very nice and are regulated to have trim the same style and color as the homes in the HOA; others not quite so nice, and that in turn can be an eyesore to neighbors and actually drive down the value of surrounding homes. As such, it would be best to have owners submit a design as to what the coop will look like, how large, what materials, etc. And any such permission should be conditioned upon it being well maintained and giving the Board the authority to revoke permission for the coop if not kept clean, dropping free and tidy.

But frequently having chickens can be much less invasive than having barking dogs and screeching cats, so go into it with an open mind as a Board and work with your fellow owners to help give them what they wish without impinging on the right of their neighbors to the quiet enjoyment of their own home.

Finally, for the owner who wants chickens, it would be a friendly idea to let owners know they are welcome to as many fresh eggs as the chickens provide. Just try not to have a chicken omelet. As a friend pointed out, there’s just something off about eating both the beginning and end of life at the same time.

In addition to my own thoughts, thanks very much to Clark Simson Miller and their article Should Raising Backyard Chickens in HOA Communities be Allowed? clarksimsonmiller.com/backyard-chickens-in-hoa.

Attorney Robert E. Ducharme is a former teacher whose civil practice is limited to condominium law, primarily in Rockingham and Strafford counties. He can be reached at red@newhampshirecondolaw.com and Ducharme Law, P.L.L.C., found at www.newhampshirecondolaw.com.