Neighbor hates my chickens- will she do them harm?

[ChickenLegs13]

She sounds like an old grumpy bully hen! Instead of "crazy" I think "bully" is the more appropiate term. She is a typical bully suffering from control issues.
Yall seem to have a tit for tat thing going on; do not stoop to her level or play her games. Don't try to manipulate the neighbors against her because that can backfire on you as well. Crazy bullies are better at it and they always win. You can do whatever you want to on your property; she can do the same on hers. If she wants to walk her dog on her property, leave her lights on, play loud music, live in garbage etc on her own property that's her business.
Until you implement a policy of Absolute Disregardment things will only escalate until somebody ends up in the hospital or jailhouse.
And it seems to be headed that way! I agree with the posts that say she is trying to lure your chickens to her property and here's why:

Crazy people really aren't crazy; they're bullies and they never give up until they get their way.
Crazy people (bullies) will use the law to their advantage. And they always win because they play the victim card.
When your crazy (bully) neighbor went to town hall they told her there was nothing that could be done unless the animal was on her property. Then they explained the livestock laws and how she could seize a stray livestock on her property and hold the owner responsible for any cost or damages incurred by said animal.
When your chickens escape (matter of when, not if) and go to her feeders she will catch them and say they were strays. She'll kill them, LOL in your face and say "They were on her property and there's nothing you can do about it."
Then she'll say she was scratched by one and had to go to the emergency room for a tetnus shot. Crazy people never go to a doctor's office for $65; they always go to the emergency room at County General and stick somebody else with the $1200 bill. $450 for a paint job because your chickens roosted on her car and scratched it. $40 for the petunias your chickens scratched up in her flower bed. Blah blah blah ad nauseam
etc.

And I'm not just saying all that for effect; I've had animals injure other people and damage their propert and been involved in running feuds that lasted for years. Life's too short for stress & drama, that's why I have a Policy of Absolute Disregardment. I put a 6' fence around my property so that my business stays inside and I care little about what goes on on the other side of the fence.

Hope this helps or is useful or makes you feel better or something.

 

[TheSitcomGirls]

This is awesome. I feel so much better! It was great to have a good laugh. Just imagining her face the first time she heard the donkey bray! I just went and put a saggy 18 inch chicken wire extension on the part of the pen that faces her yard. All the while stating loudly that it was to make sure that nobody got out! It looks terrible...but it's temporary. We are putting up a garage soon and have decided that on the side facing her house will be painted in giant letters, "Cock-a-doodle-doo". And then we will put up a fence. That is great idea. I am over that it is what she wants!

 

[Blooie]

I'm all too familiar with BPD - my daughter was diagnosed at 13. She's now 43, and it only gets worse with age! . I describe this way : the person with BPD is a little motorboat putting over a quiet little lake. The rest of the family is left floundering in the wake that the sufferer never notices.

 

[TheSitcomGirls]

I always used to spend Mother’s Day cooking for my mom. My mother loved “lobstah”. So that’s what we had. Lobster with Asparagus and Béarnaise sauce made with eggs from my chickens. Red Lobster-like recipe rolls with garlic, sharp cheddar cheese and butter, Greek salad and homemade apple pie for dessert. Food was always very important when I was growing up. My mother struggled with her weight her whole life because food was comfort. If you feel sad, eat a bag of chips. Did a great job on something? Corn on the cob!
The last Mother’s Day meal I cooked for my mom was late because on Mother’s Day she had been in the hospital, but she couldn’t miss her “lobstah” so of course a week later I still made her special meal. This last Mother’s Day meal that I spent with her we actually talked about our relationship with food.
She wanted me to know about the cute black kitten she had gotten when she was in the first grade. Then one day, just less than two weeks after she had gotten it, the kitten was run over by a car. She remembered sobbing and running home to her mom. Her mom had told her, “Don’t cry let’s go get some ice cream.” And so began a lifetime of comforting herself with food and teaching me to do the same. She was telling me this because finally in the last year of her life she had begun to get control of her eating. She wanted me to do the same. I sit here now and I remember just how she looked sitting at my dining room table for the last time. And I struggle not to bury my sorrow in a bowl of pasta with cheese.
Father’s Day followed my mother’s death so closely. When Father’s Day arrived I didn’t have time to go shopping for my dad, I had been planning my mom’s funeral. I tried to make his favorite dishes like she did, but my German Potato Salad would have worked better as the mortar in a brick wall it was so sticky. The raspberry-apricot pie we got right. DH makes a mean crust. But as we packed up the food to bring to my dad’s house I was still so sad. No present. I had nothing. I went outside for the dogs to potty one last time and I heard a kitten meowing. A very LOUD kitten. I followed the sound to my front yard and hidden just over our stone wall in the two foot high grass that was our now-foreclosed neighbor’s front lawn, was the source of the meow.
“Kitty, kitty.” I called and he ran to me. I scooped up the tiny, black kitten as fast as I could and flew into the house. His belly was VERY bloated, full of worms. I didn’t know if he belonged to anyone, but if he did they were not taking care of him. And then I knew. This kitten was from my mom. He was meant to be a present for my dad for Father’s Day. I was keeping him.
I brought him to my dad’s house along with the food. We tried to have a good time, but who could? The only thing we could laugh at was the kitten. My dad named him Blackjack, because that kitten had just gotten VERY lucky today. And we added the MeMew to his name, Blackjack MeMew. Because he never stopped crying for food! I think it was the worms.
We did not leave little Blackjack with my dad that day. Instead we took both of them home with us. He was so sad and just couldn’t be in that house without her, not yet. So he stayed with us for a few weeks. During that time the only thing we could laugh about was that silly kitten. And when it came time and my dad was ready to go back home, he left the kitten with us. My dad had decided that he would spend half his time staying with us and talking care of his kitten and the other half at his home. I don’t think he wanted that kitten to trash his house! Blackjack MeMew is still a stinker. But every time I look at him, no matter what he has just broken, I always smile and remember my mom. Our little Blackjack MeMew, sent to us from heaven, so we wouldn’t drown our sadness in chocolate cake!

 

[newbie32]

WOW she is a mean lady! I could not keep the peace like you are!

I cant say what u should do because I don't want a moderator come bust me on here but you have to do something! Save up bail bond money, give it to someone you trust, then go handle business.

 

[spies04]

WOW - she and her crew are ones for the books. I have had to deal with crazy neighbors before we owned a hobby farm, but luckily we are now far enough away from our neighbors, we have not had issues. I do understand your position about not being bullied and quite honestly, I would have stopped being a nice a long time ago - I give you credit. But you may want to seriously consider getting a fence. The one thing I learned over the years is you cannot change or talk to stupid. People who take this type of vegence do not change and unfortunately, it will result in something happening to your chickens or rooster and then it just gets ugly from there. This lady is crazy no way around it and it sounds like she is just looking for more opportunities to get rid of him. The scary thing is what she could do since she has not gotten the town or other neighbors behind her. And with a fence, you get the benefit of both worlds - you don't have to look at her and she gets to enjoy the chorus of your cute rooster. We also have a rooster that crows in the morning, he crows when we get home and he crows just for the heck of it. If your neighbor just shut her mouth and opened her mind, she would see you don't even hear it after a while and how enjoyable life is with these great animals. Don't jeopardize the safety of your animals because unfortunately, that is where it could go and this type of stupid never goes away. I would check into a fence with a large rooster painted on her side . Good Luck!

 

[FarkerFarms]

I'd get more roosters

 

[NYREDS]

All the suggestions about ways to further annoy your neighbor make me glad none of these people are neighbors of mine. Not everyone enjoys chickens & their noises [& smells]. Doesn't make them crazy. There's that old flies, honey, vinegar thing-we've all heard it. Now I know there are some people you just can't make happy but maybe if you looked for a way to try to work with your neighbor rather than annoy her it would make both your lives easier.

 

[Banriona]

All the suggestions about ways to further annoy your neighbor make me glad none of these people are neighbors of mine. Not everyone enjoys chickens & their noises [& smells]. Doesn't make them crazy. There's that old flies, honey, vinegar thing-we've all heard it. Now I know there are some people you just can't make happy but maybe if you looked for a way to try to work with your neighbor rather than annoy her it would make both your lives easier.

I wholeheartedly agree NYREDS. This neighbor of yours obviously has issues. I wouldn't call her crazy - but unreasonable for sure. I would simply install a 6' (or more) privacy fence along that property line (more to block the light from her house than anything) - without painting anything on her side of the fence. No point in poking the bear, it never ends well when you do. Beef up the security around the coop and run - to make sure the chickens can't get out and she can't get in. As for the trash, maybe send her a mental thank you because inevitably it's drawing flies etc. which your chickens are undoubtedly eating. Sure it's ugly, but it's likely also offsetting your feed costs some. Maybe you could keep yours out that way too, along with a compost pile or two to help out the bug population. The more she complains to the neighbors and the city about you the less attention they'll give her. Sooner or later she'll realize she can't bully you and she'll move on. Live your life how you want to live it and she'll just have to go find one of her own. The more passive aggressive you are - the more aggressive she will be until sooner or later you end up with dead critters or worse. So long as you are following the laws for where you live there's nothing she can do. And you'll be able to enjoy your sweet roo's crows all the more knowing you are in the right and she can't do a thing about it. Someone needs to be the grown up in this situation and apparently it's not going to be her.

 

[Blooie]

If you have a space for them you could raise roasters. You could get strait run or even all male birds. Wouldn’t that just drive her nuts?

It wouldn't be a long trip.