Chicken problems

Simply dissappearing birds would put OP in the wrong. Notifying authorities is the way to go. Document presence of birds and damage they cause. Also document chicken owner's investment in containment. Also do a quick search on your state and county statutes as almost certainly details you are looking for are present. Their will be loopholes that can be closed by your documentation. I did similar a couple of years back where trespassers was a dog (did not go after stock but caused other issues that had to be documented). Some documentation realized by simply calling authorities. I would also indicate to chicken owner you are going the legal process as that will close another potential legal loophole where he / she did not now you had an issue.

centrarchid said:

Simply dissappearing birds would put OP in the wrong. Notifying authorities is the way to go. Document presence of birds and damage they cause. Also document chicken owner's investment in containment. Also do a quick search on your state and county statutes as almost certainly details you are looking for are present. Their will be loopholes that can be closed by your documentation. I did similar a couple of years back where trespassers was a dog (did not go after stock but caused other issues that had to be documented). Some documentation realized by simply calling authorities. I would also indicate to chicken owner you are going the legal process as that will close another potential legal loophole where he / she did not now you had an issue.

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This is very good advice. (Much better than my last post, which was just me being snarky)

"disappearing" birds does not put the OP in the wrong. They have every right to protect their property. If they call animal control or deal with it themselves, they are in the right. Going thru the legal channels only costs you money--if the neighbor is a kook, then they're a target. Better to keep it simple and quiet.

trudyg said:

"disappearing" birds does not put the OP in the wrong.  They have every right to protect their property.  If they call animal control or deal with it themselves, they are in the right.  Going thru the legal channels only costs you money--if the neighbor is a kook, then they're a target.  Better to keep it simple and quiet.

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Let us say you have a neighbors cattle get on your land so you just disappear them. Around most areas you would promptly be labelled a cattle thief. In the not to distant past here you would be hung and the people doing it would keep that quit as well. The rules / laws are designed to keep things from getting out of hand.

centrarchid said:

Let us say you have a neighbors cattle get on your land so you just disappear them. Around most areas you would promptly be labelled a cattle thief. In the not to distant past here you would be hung and the people doing it would keep that quit as well. The rules / laws are designed to keep things from getting out of hand.

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Here in AZ, IIRC, you are fencing in your land, and a few free range cattle manage to get fenced in, they become yours. It doesn't make for good neighborly relations though.
Personally, I'm the kind of person that believes many problems can be solved with a shotgun.
But, I live in the middle of nowhere.

I used to have cattle come onto the property, knock things over, break stuff, suck my fish pond dry, and do all kinds of damage. I'd chase them off, and when they were just barely out of range, I'd pop them in the butt with a 12 gauge. They quit coming around.

But me, I'd blow those chickens away. If the owner doesn't care what his birds do, why should you hold any compassion for them?

LOL...I have a dog, but we have a leash law!! My dog doesn't run loose, so turning my dog on them is not an option. And my back yard is too big, and it would be too expensive for me to fence. I have plenty of video, but no animal control to show it to. Just dog control. Maybe I will try the legal route and see what happens. Perhaps small claims court would work. I'm ready to try anything. I think that it would start World War 3 if I shot their chickens. A while back, I let loose with the BB gun, and the guy started screaming at me and calling me crazy. Then he threatened to shoot my dog if it ever got loose. This neighbor is a loose cannon, if you know what I mean. I think the legal route that someone mentioned would probably be the best. Thanks for all your input. I greatly appreciate it.

Wishing you the best. Crazy neighbors are no fun, that's for sure.