Neighbor hates my chickens- will she do them harm?

[Blooie]

FYI the courts have a long standing precedent that if it's in public view it's AOK to film and is protected under the 1st amendment... So unless said camera is using 'extraordinary means' to film an area where one has the presumption of privacy is expected it's legal, even if that means it's aimed directly at her yard, as her yard is not a place where one would have a presumption of privacy in most cases unless it was fully enclosed and had a roof over it... For example aiming it directly at her bedroom/bathroom window with a telephoto night vision lens would likely be deemed 'extraordinary means' to view an area where there is an expectation of privacy and be illegal... On the other hand having a camera aimed at her property would generally not be illegal in most cases, as there is generally no presumption of privacy when you are walking around outside in the open especially if you (the neighbor) can clearly see the area from your property... This is why paparazzi's can for all intents take all the pictures they want without breaking he law, even if that means following a person down the sidewalk at arms length or putting a camera up on the sidewalk right in front of someones house as many news reporters do...

Thank you so much! I thought that was the case but I just wasn't sure enough to advise it. When in doubt, err on the side of caution, so that's just what I did. You clarified it beautifully.

 

[evemfoster]

I just read the whole thread, wow.

Hang in there, go the legal rout and collect video evidence. More for your own protection than to collect evidence ageist your neighbor. Get a web cam that records sound. They come in Wi-Fi now days and you can get a little USB Wi-Fi connector to plug into your computer. If you have an old beat-up laptop you can extend the Wi-Fi range by placing the laptop in the new garage.

If you go with the bamboo idea you want to get 'clumping bamboo' it doesn't put out the long runners like ordinary bamboo.

Dad planted clumping bamboo back in the early 80's and in 2006 the clumps were about 15-20 feet across. Regular bamboo would have covered acres in that time. You will still want to put in the underground barriers. Just to keep the plants in line on your side.

I do feel for you, i have had a neighbor from H*** too. Well i say neighbor he lived 4 houses and a half mile away. He started harassing me from the day he started construction on his home and kept it up for 2 years. He didn't like my flower beds. Nearly everyone on the road had flower beds he just didn't like mine, not fancy enough for him.

When his house was finished he had his place striped of all vegetation and covered with half a foot of large river rocks. Ugliest yard I've ever seen.

He never spoke to me even once, just started sending me legal papers threating action. Trying to force me to rip out my yard and put in a formal garden or rocks like his yard. It cost me a fortune in legal fees just having a lawyer look at the paperwork and keep copies, we never got to court. In one of the sets of legal papers he said my landscaping was informal and tacky. It was a country yard on a country lane and I just don’t like formal gardens.

The only thing that saved me in the end was the fact that he pretended to be my husband and hired a landscape company to rip out my yard without my knowledge. Fortunately for me the week the landscapers showed up i had just started my vacation so i was home when all the heavy equipment showed up.

The sheriff arrested him, it turned out it wasn't the first time he pulled something like that and he got 2 years real jail time. The landscape company sued him and got a nice chunk of change.

And me i decided i didn't want to be there when he got out of jail. After all that harassment it just wasn't 'home' anymore. It’s a tough decision but enough was enough.

I have a kind of revenge though. I see on Google Earth that his river rock yard is weeds and piles trash now. And it’s still his yard his fancy car is still there.

 

[Blammmo]

Get the surveillance cameras with audio recording put up ASAP, make sure they are in plain view of the nutjob, everyone becomes a completely different person when they know they are on camera.
Even if you have to end up rehoming the rooster you should still put up whatever privacy fence that you can. And x2 on planting some sort of vegetation that will grow and completely screen your property line. Good luck! No neighbors make the best neighbors!!!!

 

[Buttercup14]

I have no words. I'm sorry.

Please write that letter.

 

[sourland]

I have subscribed - hoping that justice for you shall prevail!

 

[lovetopaint]

Yep, cameras, letter, lawyer...good luck.

 

[Peeps61]

Hi Evern,


Wow! To go as far as to pretend to be your husband and have your property destroyed?! What a nut. He belongs in jail, then in the lockdown ward of a mental hospital (as does the Sitcom Girl's neighbor)! Some people just can't live without the drama of creating a problem in someone else's life. If it weren't the rooster, it would be the landscaping, or the dogs, or....... You get my point. I live in a small farming community just north of Pensacola, Florida and I am blessed with wonderful neighbors. The one across the street is nosey, but other than that, no complaints about my chickens, horses or dogs. I don't have any cats because one of my neighbor's cats has a lot of offspring and they catch the rodents and snakes. They don't seem interested in my chickens at all. Good luck to both of you!

 

[TheSitcomGirls]

Yikes, that is crossing the line! Hiring a landscaper to rip out your yard!

Well, DH who is normally reasonable went outside yesterday and fenced up both ends of the gap between their fence and our chicken pen fence. So now crazy lady has no access to my chickens unless she takes down a section of her fence... or goes through our fence that faces the road. I think I am going to plant some more blackberries in the newly fenced space! No zoning laws against that! At the zoning meeting Crazy lady spent ten minutes talking about how if we closed off the fence all the predators would stay in her yard... and we just could NOT do that. But we can..... it's our property....OUR property. If she was so worried about predators then why does she have 15+ bird feeders.... or perhaps she should evict the skunks living under her shed.

While DH was digging post holes near the road a new looking black pickup drove past him and slowed way down... then it turned around a little ways down the road and drove past him and did the same thing. On the town website I looked up the vehicles owned by the two board members that had voted against us. The one who lives 1/2 mile down the road from us owns a 2013 Chevy truck... it doesn't list the color. DH is going to drive down and see if it is his vehicle. When he has a chance. I think that crazy lady thought that we couldn't put up ANY fence as the result of the hearing... so she probably called him. Welded wire livestock fencing like we put up does not require a permit here. It is considered temporary fencing.

DH is also going down Monday to obtain a building permit so that we can build our own 6' fence when we get to it. Time is short because if the town cites us for having a zoning violation then we won't be able to get any building permits until it is resolved. So we have to be quick about it.... then the permit is good for 6 months!!!!!

 

[Peeps61]

Hello,

I think you are going about this the right way. Do everything in your power legally to stand up for yourself! If I were in your shoes, it would be ON with the crazy neighbor. I would complain and have her cited for everything you can find that she can be cited for. If she wants a fight, give her one and do it legally by calling all her violations, etc. to the attention of the authorities. If your husband does find that it was the CC driving past and watching him, I'd make sure the commission knew about that too - it's called harassment. I also LOVED your idea of the roosters under six months and then recycling and getting more! Crazy lady would then wish for the "good ole days!" when Spock was around. I hate that you are going through this, but I'm glad you aren't quiting!

 

[MeepBeep]

Welded wire livestock fencing like we put up does not require a permit here. It is considered temporary fencing.

Be aware that at least in my area, temporary livestock fencing does not need a permit, but placement is slightly dictated by zoning and since your have disclosed you have a zoning conflict I figured it was worth bringing up...

This applies to my area, and I just want to suggest you double check your local laws....

In my area if you are zoned agricultural 'pasture fencing' with no permit can extend to the property line only if it's being used strictly for 'grazing' purposes... If it's being used for containment or corralling there is still a property line setback that has to be honored unless a permit is pulled... I know silly semantics but that is the way the law is written in my area...