Coop close to neighbours house

[ChristinLewin]

Didn't know the coop was there when I bought the house as its hidden by a hedge. The hedge /bush is three feet away from my house. I only discovered this yesterday when I heard some noises. What they have done is put the coop as far away from their own house next to someone else. The question: Why did they put the coop as far away from their own house as they could? The answer is, They don't want it there. And I dont want it next to mine either. Thanks to all the considerate and responsible chicken owners for the good advice ,

They likely put the coop as far away from their own house as they could because the county requires a certain number of feet as an easement between coop and home.

 

[piminuse]

I'm in an eerily similar situation except I'm the chicken owner and neighbors have their house for sale, so I'll give you my perspective.

We have a very wonky shaped yard and property line, so we put our coop where it would be most accessible to us without being right next to our house as law dictates that the coop be 10' from a structure (including neighbors, tho 10' can still seem super close) and our only other available corner that meets that requirement is a dedicated garden bed.

The location also had advantages such as natural shade, level ground and we have a good view of it from our back door and patio so we can chicken watch.

Your new neighbors might not have been so nefarious to try and keep their loud birds away from them and create a problem for someone else. BUT being a chicken owner means being a good steward to neighbors too.

As stated by others, first step should be to see if their setup is legal. If it isn't, don't Lord it over them as a threat, but as a way to open up dialog. Most peeps are happy to find a common solution and you might even end up with some tasty eggs and some feathered friends out of it. A little grace from both sides goes a loooong way (my neighbors are particularly saints while we deal with our new rooster finding his voice).

 

[Jenwisp]

I'm new here, also. When I read your post, it seemed totally serious. And I am a dedicated joker. It also made me question what I know about Salmonella.

 

[Kusanar]

I guess in the current times, unless an emoji is attached to a post it is not understood as a joke. I'm sorry, I don't have facebook, I don't use emojis. some of you understood the joke, some of you didn't. Thanks for being quick to jump on me though. I didnt come here to be bullied.

No, you could also add "just kidding" or "haha" or "lol" to imply that it is a joke. I don't use emojis either and I don't think that any time I was trying to joke that it looked like I was dead serious which is what a lot of people thought you were.

The comment that you are saying was bullying you isn't bullying at all, simply clarifying that what you said was wrong, which you should be ok with if you were already joking and knew you were wrong...

We really are a nice batch of people, but, when you are "jokingly" stating incorrect information that will make people worried about their health if chickens are anywhere near them, then we WILL correct you as unless it is clear that you are joking, that can do a lot of damage to the BYC community from people being afraid is typically what gets regulations changed to make chickens illegal in neighborhoods.

 

[Kusanar]

I'm new here, also. When I read your post, it seemed totally serious. And I am a dedicated joker. It also made me question what I know about Salmonella.

Yeah, came across as serious to me as well, don't feel bad.

 

[wyoDreamer]

In defense of the jokester, chickens will scratch around in their coop and create alot of dust and dander, which would include dried chicken poop. This is the chicken coop that the poster is talking about. And 3 to 4 feet from a living room window is inviting that dust and dander into the home. My livingroom gets dust in it from the dogs running through the grass outside the window.
Not that I am saying that they will get salmonella from the chickens, but it is a very remote possibility. If there was salmonella bacteria in the chicken poop, it could get into the house easily.

" Salmonella live in the intestinal tracts of humans and other animals, including birds. Humans are usually infected by eating foods contaminated with animal feces. "

 

[Kusanar]

and I'll just leave this here...
Airborne transmission of Salmonella enteritidis infection between groups of chicks in controlled-environment isolation cabinets
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9645323/

For those that don't want to read, scientific proof that it's possible for salmonella to be airborne.

Possible but unlikely. It is also possible for your toilet to make micro-droplets when you flush and spread it that way from the humans IN the house or for a passing bird to poop on your window ledge. To avoid it entirely all windows and doors would need to be kept completely closed and no pets or toilets in the house.

But, we are completely derailing the OP's thread with this discussion of possible but unlikely situations.

 

[Kusanar]

I don't understand how this is derailing? My suggestion to OP was to check local ordinances and I gave supporting reasons to support why I felt OP should do so. I was falsely slammed with spreading misinformation, which I rebutted with scientific studies.

So, were you joking or not about the airborne salmonella? First you said you were joking and were being bullied by people who didn't take it as a joke, now you are steadfastly trying to prove you were right which kind of runs counter to your earlier stance. I'm honestly confused at this point.

 

[Ruby Rogue]

Now you two are just arguing...

 

[Ruby Rogue]

The coop should fairly be at the very least an equal distance between both of your homes, if not closer to the owner's home. If you're really cool with chickens, I hope you can work it out. Thanks for bringing up the discussion, lots of useful information and suggestions in this thread.