Did I provoke my neighbor into this?

[Jennie5193]

Quote:
Here's the thing... I checked all zoning ordinances before I got the chickens and I'm zoned agricultural and it specifically states that I can have a poultry farm if I so choose. I thought it would be nice to let my 13 chickens out of the coop yesterday for about 30 minutes. While they were out, I did not take my eyes off of them. They scratched along the fence row and they DIDN'T EVEN GO TO "HIS" FENCE!

Am I out of line for letting them out for a bit, or do I need to just keep them in the run?

I am open to opinions, because this guy blased me... over nothing. I have a dog, yes... and there are fleas in the yard, yes... I TREAT HER FOR FLEAS!!!!! He is out of work (has been for two years!) and since he was selling blood to have money, I offered him the "job" of taking care of my chickens for a few days while we were out of town. I offered to pay the guy WAY too much to do it, but found out when I returned that there were a couple days (we were only gone three) that he didn't even bother to let them out into the run! I know, I shouldn't have asked him... but I figured it was a JOB and he would like the MONEY and since I was going to have to pay someone to do it... I thought I'd be nice. I've gone out of town twice since then and had a responsible neighbor do it in return for eggs! LOL

What do you think? My chickens never even remotely left my property.

ETA: Our grass gets cut once a week... since he doesn't have a job he is free to cut his grass 3x a week and thinks we should, as well.
And edited the offensive term he used...
And changed the subject line... (I promise I'll get this together any minute now!)
And to take out the county we live in (we wouldn't want people knowing where this racist lives!)

 

[greyhorsewoman]

So to protect MY property, I'm informing you that I'm buying rat poison in pellets and going around the perimeter of MY property including MY fence.

This would seriously concern me. You have a dog, as well. He basically has threatened to poison your animals. If he tosses rat poison into your yard it will be too late for your animals, regardless of who is right.

Dealing with difficult people is a challenge. Hopefully, you can meet personally and come to a civil agreement so this doesn't escalate anymore.​

 

[Jennie5193]

I'm afraid of backing down to a bully. Honestly. He is a bully and I know people like that take backing down as a sign of weakness and don't let it stop there. Notice how my 13 chickens in the yard for 30 minutes provoked him to insult my family.

I guess I'm asking if I did anything to provoke this.

Thanks,
Jennie

 

[nzpouter]

I used to have a neighbour like that...

my response was simple... "town is that way ---->",
then we move our cockerels coop next to his boundary..

 

[Jennie5193]

Yeah, he brought up the fact about neighborhoods... but this isn't one of 'em! I checked before I bought the house! I knew I'd want to have chickens and maybe go a couple weeks without cutting my grass... OR have 3 cars in the yard, so I did my homework! LOL

nzpouter :

my response was simple... "town is that way ---->",

I like that!

 

[Whispering Winds]

Quote:
This would seriously concern me. You have a dog, as well. He basically has threatened to poison your animals. If he tosses rat poison into your yard it will be too late for your animals, regardless of who is right.

Dealing with difficult people is a challenge. Hopefully, you can meet personally and come to a civil agreement so this doesn't escalate anymore.

Now, if YOU have fleas in your yard, he has fleas in his. They are not selective little bugs, they just go where they please. What a jerk. The rat poison does concern me, think I might call the local authorities and just see what they think. . .that was about as close to an open threat as you can get. If there are kids or other animals looking around, those pellets just might invite them to try some. . .there are some people, no matter how nice and good and thoughtful you are to them, they will turn it to make you look like the bad guy. I would get my ordinances in order and then go after him with a vengeance. The only way you can stop people like him is to have all your ducks (or chickens!) in order and shoot him down.

 

[Dar]

keep that e-mail..print it and put in a file cabnet... you never know when you are gonna need to protect your backside!

2nd) big fences make for great neighbor relations

3) get a rooster and make sure its the loudest one you can get!

take photos, yes there is really nothing to take pics of right now BUT taking pics now of the property line and the coop and the yard in general, save them with the e-mail that you printed. This serves as a reference point in case something changes like all of a sudden the grass starts dying there or he puts up some sort of electric fence and baits the fence...(here chicken chicken zap dinner sort of thing) the more evidence you have the better it is for you.

protect your family and your backside document EVERYTHING!

good luck

 

[hikerchick]

Honestly - I mean, clearly the guy is a butthead - BUT- his first message was pretty straightforward - he is entitled to his feelings about chickens, however wrong we all know he is. YOu may have avoided some of this by being a little more diplomatic - "don't look if you don't like it" sounds like something a child would say. I would have addressed his concerns and tried to sound like I really cared about them. A little sugar goes a long way.

 

[jenjscott]

well, if you really want my opinion, yes your first answer was snippity. Simply pointing out that the area was zoned for agriculture and your chickens were not in violation, etc. Of course, his response may have been the same, but that would have been on him. be careful, real careful, this could get ugly.

 

[domino7]

While it was entertaining to read, a little tact would have gone a long way. You do have to live next door to him.