My neighbor complains that my chickens visit his property

[greenSearcher]

As I was writing a response I realize about the only viable option is to convert their yard that has a 4 ft fence into one with a 6 ft fence and shade cloth roof. That also means I will have to reduce the flock to only 25 birds, giving each bird 90 sq feet. In the mean time I will try a chicken wire barrier behind the fence to see if it deters their visits.
Thanks for the input.

 

[LBKS]

No one has mentioned it yet, but what about trimming the flight feathers on one wing of each of your birds so they can't fly over? (assuming they can't walk through the existing fence)

 

[greenSearcher]

Once I get the "aviary" constructed I might clip wings to keep them from getting entangled in the net/shade clothe roof. Will see how they react to a limited sky. I watch them in the evenings roost along the garden fence(6' chain link) and observe the day winding down before they go to the coop.
Right now I am seeing how effective the electric wire is at keeping the dogs out. With the recent snow/sleet and mud I can look for dog prints. Also getting up and going out in the yard around 9am on the weekends during "visiting" hours should give me a good feel. Once it dries up a bit, I will do the chicken wire barrier behind the wire, but in front of the barb wire. It may work, at least for a while to keep them home if the run into chicken wire when scooting under the hot wire. I have noted they don't like to fly over wire fences. I am guessing the wire is too thin to look safe and certainly wouldn't be comfortable to land on. I don't clip wings right now so that they can better avoid predators.
Too bad I can't just put up a sign "Go west young hens, go west". That neighbor welcomes them any time.
I will still let them forage while I work on my 'yarden', they are critical to pest control, both plant and insect. I learned my first year in this rural environment, that 12 chickens can't keep my yard clear of grasshoppers, that summer they hung from the plants, fences, trees even the sofits and eaves on the house. When I have 2 dozen + girls then I only see an occasional hopper. This year I realized that the girls have eliminated the pig weed and plantain used to fill my plantings when I first moved here. They also have eaten 3/4 of my plantings, but I am learning how to protect them and the few flowers they don't like. Sage plants are the only things that make it through the brown times (Winter and the dog days of summer.)

 

[Walter Joe]

[/SIZE. Hello , I'm new here and I'm really aggravated about my neighbors chickens. . I live in the country but my home is located in a small subdivision. Our covenants say you cannot have chickens without approval from the board . My neighbor does not have approval from the board but as we all know HOA regulations aren't worth the paper they are written on. I installed a very expensive 3 board fence several years ago before he even mentioned chickens. He built a small pen for his chickens but has now decided to let them free range. Keep in mind his house is close enough that I could throw a rock and hit the side of it. Now his chickens are pooping all over my drive and patio and have completely destroyed my wife's flower bed. So after shooing them away and constantly washing chicken poop away I approached him and told him very politely that his chickens were destroying my wife's flowers and making a nasty mess for me to clean up. I did this because after reading posts here that's what everyone agreed was the best way to handle the situation. I told him I'd prefer that he kept his chickens in his own yard. He told me he couldn't do that so I suggested he keep them in the pen he built . He went ballistic, screaming and yelling and stormed off and has not spoken to me or my wife in a year. And guess what, when I go out of town and come back I find chicken poop all over my patio and driveway and my wife is constantly upset about her flowers being dug up. The other day I came home to find a hen sitting on the hood of my wife's car.
I'm writing this so if any of you newbies are considering getting chickens you will consider how it affects your neighbors when your not a responsible owner. So here Are the things you need to know.

1. Respect your neighbors property line. Having backyard chickens does not turn your property into a farm. Just because chickens naturally roam doesn't mean they can cross that line .
2. Offering someone eggs which is a suggestion I saw on this site does not make up for them having to clean up chicken poop daily. If your neighbor has complained that your chickens are destroying their property they do not want your eggs.
3. If your neighbor tells you your chickens are causing problems apologize immediately and do whatever it takes to remedy the situation. If you can't afford a pen you don't need chickens.
4. Don't get mad if your neighbor is fed up and tells you so.
5. Be prepared if they go to the city or county and complain because after all you are being pretty inconsiderate.
6. Realize that if your neighbor wanted chickens in his yard he would have his own, not yours.
7. Ask yourself how you would feel if your neighbor decided to get goats, pigs or any other animal that digs and destroys things and let them run loose on your property.
8. Ask yourself am I really ready to do all it takes to be a responsible chicken owner.


Sadly after comming home from our last vacation we found 93 holes in our flower garden . My poor wife just broke down and cried. Today she told me she wants to move . We've lived in this house for 18 yrs and I guess I'll have to consider leaving but who's going to buy it when it looks like a chicken pen.
And just so you guys know, I've already called the county and there are no laws that say he has to keep his chickens on his own property. All of my friends say just kill the **** birds when they come in your yard but I can't do that and besides it would only make things worse. One of the local police officers suggested I get a BB gun and pop them in the butt but I told him it's not the chickens fault that their owner is an inconsiderate jerk.
Don't know what I'm going to do next but I just wanted everyone to realize you have a responsibility with chickens and if you can't be responsible you shouldnt buy any.

 

[lazy gardener]

You state your position well. Your neighbor has single handedly given chicken owners a bad reputation. I find it beyond belief that you don't have the law on your side. I think that if I were in your shoes, I'd catch every chicken that came into my yard, and either invite it to dinner, or box it up, and take it to the animal shelter, or re-home it far away. (Find someone who'd like their very own flock.)

 

[Folly's place]

x2! I would think that roaming critters aren't officially allowed anywhere,; have you talked to Animal Control? Check the local ordinances yourself. And have those birds out of your life. You could add wire fencing to the inside of your existing fence, , but I'd be so unhappy to be next door to that person! I have a four foot fence between my chicken house and the neighbors, which my birds respect. Any bird that gets to the neighbors is fair game for them, and they know that any issues will be fixed by me. No problem! Mary

 

[Torch404]

I hate to suggest it but get a dog that doesn't like chickens and leave it free range in your yard. It will only take a couple of loses before he locks up his chickens.

 

[LBKS]

If it isn't a fence they can walk through, I suggest catching and clipping wing feathers off one side (the unevenness makes even limited flying out) before sending the offenders back over. Just as an alternative, but IMO taking them to the shelter or getting animal control involved might be othe only way the owner instead of the chickens pays the price.

Sadly bad neighbors come in every sort.

 

[greenSearcher]

I emphasize with your frustrations over the visiting chickens. I am getting my chickens under control, but it is expensive because I need to provide a large enough enclosed yard. I have free ranged my chickens since moving to the country, (no HOA or laws against ownership to deal with) and my closest neighbor is about a 1/4 mile from my house. I don't believe they go that far, she has never said anything. My immediate neighbors East and West are the one's land being visited by the girls and neither neighbor lives on the land. I tried electric wire to keep the chicken murdering dogs out of my yard and

it is working. Unfortunately the girls just scoot under the lowest wire and feast on his wooded land. I so hoped they would be discouraged.

I acknowledge I still need to enclose my chickens. So, I have the plans made for the "aviary" because that is what it will be. It will cost me nearly $1 per sq ft to raise the existing fence and put a shade cloth roof on the yard. Last year had a chain link fence put up to enclose their yard rather than electro-net fencing. Once I get a contractor and the supplies, I will be able to keep the girls comfortable even if they are still enclosed. The covered yard allows each bird 100 sq ft per bird based on a flock of 24 hens and 2 roosters. I will still be able to let out to free range part of the day, since I am home and work outside many afternoons.

I think you still have some options before you visit the realtor. First, based on my experiences in TX, livestock owners are responsible for their animals, and for keeping them from damaging their neighbors animals/property. Some issues are harder to deal with, such as dogs and chickens. Anyway it may be worth visiting a lawyer for a clear understanding of your rights as a property owner, what you may do to protect your property's value and how to seek recompense for damages. I think that once your neighbor realizes how much it will cost him to continue to free range the chickens and not restricting them to his property, he may decide to take the necessary steps to keep them home. Once you know what you can could do, I would then write a letter for the neighbor, since polite conversation proved fruitless. I would outline the issue (have photographs showing damage), steps taken up to this point to resolve the issue and what you will do if the chickens continue to damage your property. Send the letter certified mail, receipt requested and keep it as a foundation of your plan of action. I would approach the issue financially as that could prove the most effective. For example, if he continues to fail to contain his chickens you can present him with bills from the pressure cleaning company that has to come weekly to remove the poop from your patio and drive, the cost to replace plants dug out and/or eaten from the landscaping, damage to any fruit or vegetable plantings or lawns and any damage to your automobiles paint finishes. We keep our car inside the garage to prevent mice from chewing on the wires, so the girls don't get to sit on the car. Other options would be to get a dog, though unless you like dogs that wouldn't be responsible, and you would have to keep the dog fully restricted within your property boundaries. My experience with dogs is they will chase chickens treating them as squeak toys until the bird dies from shock. We tried a dog and had to return it. You could also catch the chickens based on the assumption the birds are being 'abandoned', and become a chicken owner of a few hens in an nice coop and run, or if there is a "soup kitchen" that could use them that would be a remote option. It is my opinion, that your neighbor has become the victim of chicken math; thus has far more birds than he did originally. Thus to return the birds to a coop and pen will be expensive, and he is trying to avoid the expense. No one who gets chickens plan on spending "big" money, just a few birds and some fresh eggs.
I never planned on spending $5000 to have chickens. but over the last 3+ years it started with replacing the flimsy, too small coops with a sturdy small steel building ($1200), then the following year, having their yard fenced in with chain link fencing ($1200 ), this winter we surrounded the house site of our land with electric wire to keep out the many neighboring dogs that wander freely in our community($600) and now to convert the fenced chicken yard into 6ft sided, fully covered run with shade cloth ($2500) to keep the girls home. They need that desperately before the hot weather hits so that they can find cool shelter somewhere other than my large shady porches (I can emphasize your feelings about poop on the porch). I wanted to do it, but not quite as soon as I need to do it so I can keep the girls home. Now ya'll may be questioning my sanity on spending so much $$$ on my birds, but once I had the girls for more than 4 years I wanted to keep them safe, and allow them to forage and live their lives naturally and decided it was time to invest in hard scape. So I guess that is what I need to do if I want to keep my girls laying the yummy free range eggs (the eggs from free ranged, GMO free chickens are really delicious. I sell them as fast as the girls lay them) I think the biggest benefit will be the reduction in the loss of the chickens to predators, I replace at least half my flock every year. Now to get your neighbor to feel the same way.

 

[AmericanMom]

[/SIZE. Hello , I'm new here and I'm really aggravated about my neighbors chickens.

. I live in the country but my home is located in a small subdivision. Our covenants say you cannot have chickens without approval from the board . My neighbor does not have approval from the board but as we all know HOA regulations aren't worth the paper they are written on. I installed a very expensive 3 board fence several years ago before he even mentioned chickens. He built a small pen for his chickens but has now decided to let them free range. Keep in mind his house is close enough that I could throw a rock and hit the side of it. Now his chickens are pooping all over my drive and patio and have completely destroyed my wife's flower bed. So after shooing them away and constantly washing chicken poop away I approached him and told him very politely that his chickens were destroying my wife's flowers and making a nasty mess for me to clean up. I did this because after reading posts here that's what everyone agreed was the best way to handle the situation. I told him I'd prefer that he kept his chickens in his own yard. He told me he couldn't do that so I suggested he keep them in the pen he built . He went ballistic, screaming and yelling and stormed off and has not spoken to me or my wife in a year. And guess what, when I go out of town and come back I find chicken poop all over my patio and driveway and my wife is constantly upset about her flowers being dug up. The other day I came home to find a hen sitting on the hood of my wife's car.
I'm writing this so if any of you newbies are considering getting chickens you will consider how it affects your neighbors when your not a responsible owner. So here Are the things you need to know.

1. Respect your neighbors property line. Having backyard chickens does not turn your property into a farm. Just because chickens naturally roam doesn't mean they can cross that line .
2. Offering someone eggs which is a suggestion I saw on this site does not make up for them having to clean up chicken poop daily. If your neighbor has complained that your chickens are destroying their property they do not want your eggs.
3. If your neighbor tells you your chickens are causing problems apologize immediately and do whatever it takes to remedy the situation. If you can't afford a pen you don't need chickens.
4. Don't get mad if your neighbor is fed up and tells you so.
5. Be prepared if they go to the city or county and complain because after all you are being pretty inconsiderate.
6. Realize that if your neighbor wanted chickens in his yard he would have his own, not yours.
7. Ask yourself how you would feel if your neighbor decided to get goats, pigs or any other animal that digs and destroys things and let them run loose on your property.
8. Ask yourself am I really ready to do all it takes to be a responsible chicken owner.


Sadly after comming home from our last vacation we found 93 holes in our flower garden . My poor wife just broke down and cried. Today she told me she wants to move . We've lived in this house for 18 yrs and I guess I'll have to consider leaving but who's going to buy it when it looks like a chicken pen.
And just so you guys know, I've already called the county and there are no laws that say he has to keep his chickens on his own property. All of my friends say just kill the **** birds when they come in your yard but I can't do that and besides it would only make things worse. One of the local police officers suggested I get a BB gun and pop them in the butt but I told him it's not the chickens fault that their owner is an inconsiderate jerk.
Don't know what I'm going to do next but I just wanted everyone to realize you have a responsibility with chickens and if you can't be responsible you shouldnt buy any.

Thank you for posting this!! So many here don't see the "other" side to the story, just because I love having chickens doesn't mean my neighbor loves my chickens in their yard! It is the responsibility of us animal owners to ensure that our flock stays where they are meant to stay. Your post needs to be pinned and saved and shown to each and everyone who decides to start a backyard flock!!