Trouble with the neighbor.

At 5.50am this morning my neighbor comes over in person complain about my roosters. I didn't say much to him, one I was half asleep, and two roosters are perfectly legal in the city. WHAT HE SAID was that he was going to get his pellet gun and "snipe them"

I spoke with a police officer this afternoon who told me that they can do extra patrols and to call 911 if the guy shows up at my door again.

I also spoke with animal control, who said that the only ordinance I was breaking has to do with the location of my coop but that he was more than willing to look the other way on that since the complaint was about noise which he doesn't have an ordinance against roosters/crowing. He did not write me a warning or citation about the coop, only said that he would "look into who was complaining" and I informed him of what my neighbor said about shooting the birds.

Now, these roosters are slotted for freezer camp by the end of the month so even if I was told to remove them I'd probably get 30 days to do it and they could be processed by then.
I'm not terribly concerned about them getting shot at - what I AM concerend about is that he lives directly behind me, so if he does decide to make good on the threat he would be shooting AT MY HOUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Obviously, the police have not offered a whole lot of help.

What, if anything, would you guys do?????

hummm- look up gun ordinances?

Make sure all the other neighbors know about him threatening to shoot at you/your house just because of two roosters...

let the neighborhood take care of it?

Let the roos out at 4 am...
And shoot back..

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I think in this case, spreading the word & letting peer influence assist might be warranted... Hard to know. You'll have to consider based on what you know of the neighbor and the other people around there and how the neighborhood dynamics work.

well...we have always waged war with at least 1 of our neighbors and the trick is to not let them feel like they are winning...if he does something to your chickens...cut his tires or put nails out...idk how it works where you live but that's what goes on at my place...they will bully you if they think you're scared of them...so don't put up with it

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That's the funny part. I for FACT know that they started crowing at 4.10am because I was still awake and had my windows open. Somehow they didn't bother him till nearly 6am????? Me thinks that they aren't the TRUE reason that he is waking up but don't try to tell him that.

I would shoot back, and could probably be justified in doing so because he was pointing a gun at my house......but honestly I doubt my LIFE is in danger so it's probably not worth the legal hassle


ETA: also, he is actually on the street behind us (city grid type roads) so while all my neighbors on both sides and to the front LIKE my chickens or at least don't mind them --- some of them even throw treats over the fence, a fact that used to bother me a little, but I told that to the animal control officer and he seemed to realize that I wasn't lying that my neighbors on MY street actually seem to like the birds. Since the wackjob doesn't live on my street with the people that I am friends with, I doubt they are friends with him either.

You could put up motion lights and/or cameras. If he does shoot into your backyard at your roosters I would call 911 and say your neighbor is shooting at your house. Let the police handle this one. I personally would walk around my property with my .45 holstered so my neighbor could see me, but that is me. You really don't want to escalate things over a chicken.
You might also call the DA's office and say your neighbor has threatened to shoot at your pets and your house (since he threatened to shoot onto your property you can safely assume that the shots would be in the direction of your house). Tell the DA you are afraid for your pets and the safety of your family, especially if you have kids, and that you feel like a hostage in your own home.
I would also follow up with the watch commander (or sargeant) on duty at the police station and let him/her know the situation and that this guy is threatening to shoot in the direction of your home. Under the law this is the definition of assualt, battery is when the act has already taken place, assault is the intent to commit the offense. Technically he should have been arrested, sounds like the police don't want to deal with the paperwork.
Stay Safe

i would make sure the cops are aware that the neighbor is threating to shoot at your house....albeit the roos are inbetween. you have to look at the whole picture. if he is threatening to shoot toward your house than he IS threatening your life also....this would change things greatly!

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LOL!!

Put them in a box when they come home to roost. Cover it with a blanket or tarp. When the neighbors are up, let them out. If the neighbors actually shoot them. Go to their house and do something bad to them.