Driver hit chicken, wants us to pay for new bumper

[roostersandhens]

Major scam. ....

x2

 

[boskelli1571]

X2. Scams like that are quite common in my area. I would do some further investigating into the situation before I handed him over that much money.

Just how big was your chicken??? I've hit a turkey on the fly and all I got was a huge bunch of feathers! Sue

 

[Coralietg]

Just how big was your chicken??? I've hit a turkey on the fly and all I got was a huge bunch of feathers! Sue

Her "sister" is still with us. They are probably 3-4lbs? I'm not completely sure. We haven't let a flock of ostriches roam free, it is (was) 15 Bantams and 15 laying ladies.

I'm sure we won't hear anything over the weekend either way.

 

[MaPa26]

I subscribed to your thread and am following it because, for one thing, I want to know how this is resolved for your case, and two- I am wondering if I should be concerned that it could happen to us. My chickens don't go near the road. They could easily jump over the four foot fence. A few years ago, a chicken was in our front yard, wandering around next to the road. It turned out she belonged to our neighbor, right across the road.

I just can't see that the person who is claiming damage to their car from your chicken can get anything when they didn't even file a police report (or did they end up doing that?). I am keeping my fingers crossed for you.

 

[Pearce Pastures]

The girl said there were chicken feathers stuck to the bumper and she took pictures. My partner looked and couldn't see any feathers. He said the bumper was a whole moulded piece of plastic, so any repair would mean replacing the whole bumper.

It seems likely that the chicken did the damage, but the chicken wouldn't have done that damage if they had been doing the speed limit.

I just this week had three estimates to repair my plastic bumper which is cracked and scratched from a company hitting it with a trailer---all three companies said they CAN repair it and it is going to cost $300. Sounds like a scam to me too and I wouldn't be paying a cent without evidence from a reputable company saying they agree the damage was from hitting a chicken. Let them take you to small claims if they like and see what a judge says.

 

[MaPa26]

Quote: I agree. The more I think about it, the more I think you are being lied to. I started thinking about an incident that occurred right after we moved to the country. I was sitting in my living room and witnessed someone run off the road and narrowly miss my mailbox, but hit a utility pole. Before I could get up from my chair to see if they were okay, I saw that it was a girl and she backed up and sped away. I went out to survey the damage. There is a row of cedar trees and I thought how lucky she was that they slowed her down before the impact with the pole. There was debris all over, so I knew she did some damage to her car. I was still out there when a couple drove up. They said it was their daughter who had the accident and she told them she had been "run off the road". The only vehicle I saw that was going by just before she came along, was barely moving. It had just left my neighbor's property. There were fishtail tire tracks going back and forth across the road and leading off the road to the accident scene. I told them MY guess is that she was going too fast and went to the side of the road and lost control of her vehicle. She wasn't just "run off the road". Any one with any experience driving on a gravel road knows what happens when you are going too fast and hit deep gravel on the edge of the road. You lose control. If she had been going the proper speed, she shouldn't have lost control. So, my point is, that people lie. The girl who "hit your chicken" may or may not have been the one who killed your chicken. No witnesses. And WHY didn't she stop right away and knock on your door when it happened. It just sounds fishy to me.

 

[Triple Willow]

My question is what kind of car was this person driving? No doubt if a bantam can do that much damage "at 20mph" it is a piece of JUNK! Where I live people hit (150-200lb) white tailed deer at 55-65mph regularly. Oh yeah they have some front end damage. If that person hit a white tail with that piece of junk they would be dead. All kinds of wildlife are ran over here, coons, skunks, possums, coyotes, etc. and plenty of dogs and cats. People don't cry about it. The wiser folks just don't drive a little wussy car. There have been cases of people hitting a big deer, it rolls over the hood and through the windshield and the person opens the door and let's the deer out and it runs off, with a head ache no doubt. LOL

 

[Coralietg]

The car is a Nissan, maybe an Altima? The police report was filed 24 hours later.

Our whole road is about 75% gravel, we actually live in the 25% paved end. It's in good repair and it's a smooth road. We have a 4 foot wood fence back with cattle fencing to the front, with 5 foot chainlink to the side. I'm hoping with a clipped wing, the chickens won't be able to jump the fence. Today we are clipping wings and temporarily putting up some 5 foot cattle fencing to completely enclose them.

 

[Imachicklvr2]

My question is what kind of car was this person driving? No doubt if a bantam can do that much damage "at 20mph" it is a piece of JUNK! Where I live people hit (150-200lb) white tailed deer at 55-65mph regularly. Oh yeah they have some front end damage. If that person hit a white tail with that piece of junk they would be dead. All kinds of wildlife are ran over here, coons, skunks, possums, coyotes, etc. and plenty of dogs and cats. People don't cry about it. The wiser folks just don't drive a little wussy car. There have been cases of people hitting a big deer, it rolls over the hood and through the windshield and the person opens the door and let's the deer out and it runs off, with a head ache no doubt. LOL

This is what I was wondering, about the kind of car....I hit a good-sized raccoon at 55mph in my little Ford Focus and there wasn't a scratch or dent on my one-piece molded bumper.

It just seems so unlikely that a bantam chicken would cause that much damage to a vehicle, even at higher speeds. Given the condition of the chicken victim, it sounds more like it went under a tire rather than flying up and hitting a bumper. According to the OP's description of the stretch of road, I wonder if the driver is using the excuse of hitting the chicken in order to get a previously damaged bumper fixed? It is pure speculation on my part, but the pieces in the puzzle just don't fit. The situation is sad and aggravating at the same time and I agree with the other posters that this incident just screams "scam".
To the OP...best wishes in getting this resolved as peacefully as possible and I am very sorry for the loss of your little chicken.

 

[BrendaJ]

Do you have giant dianasaur chickens????
I agree with everyone - it really sounds like a scam.
Protect yourself - him taking a pic of an bent bumper does not mean it wasnt already there.
Best of luck