Some HOAs get fanatical with power. Where my daughter lives, they get written up every week for leaving their trash can out too long, even though the trash truck doesn't come until after they have all left for work and school and the first one home knows to get the can in ASAP. When a tree died in their front yard, they were given 2 weeks to replace it, even though it was in the dead of summer when it's never a good idea to transplant anything - they filed an appeal, and were given a waiver until the end of September. It's like they have no common sense, just power, power, and more power. I'll bet no one in their HOA would ever dare to have backyard chickens!!
