Quote:
I KNOW that Cluckin'Along has probably gotten everything out of this thread, but I felt led to comment.
FIRST, PineBurrowPeeps has had the best advice. Though I am a gun owner who unfortunately lives in one of the 5 states that Doesn't allow concealed carry AND discourages ANY legal gun ownership, I am prepared to use a gun, if necessary. I live within city limits of a small, rural town of 200. Periodically one of our neighbors will shoot vermin. HOWEVER, many of us are dog and/or cat owners. I have not heard of either being shot at in the 10 years that we have lived here.
SECOND, It is virtually impossible to keep most outside cats from roaming. I have 4 cats (ALL good mousers) and 2 dogs, one of which hunts and kills mice, wild rabbits, moles, etc. I Have to protect my own flock from my own animals. My cats have learned to patrol the yards of my neighbors who do not own cats. IF one of them were to attack and kill my neighbor's animals, like a pet rabbit, I would feel a financial obligation to assist, the FIRST time. I would also assist in the upgraded housing of such animal. After that, the owners are responsible for keeping their animals safe from...a cat. REALLY, everybody in OUR town is more concerned that a coyote is gonna kill their pets!
I have good relationships with all of my dogs and cats. They are much too afraid of ME to go after MY BIRDS!!
AND, they patrol the property. I only know of one cat who comes onto our property, and he gets along with mine.
FURTHER, any dog or cat that is friendly and does not attack my pets is welcome on my property, even if the owner is chasing it!
MORE IMPORTANTLY, I have predator--proofed my coop, and I Don't free-range my birds.
THIRD, I HAVE to get along with my neighbors. Right now they all like the horses and my next door and across the street neighbors do things like storm cleanup together. Just last Saturday, when we moved the 6 limbs from our front yard to our burn pile in the north pasture, we helped pick up our neighbors' piles and drove them out in the back of my truck. This sort of thing helps keep good relationships going so that we will talk first to resolve any disagreements that might arise. I have an AG2 zoning, but my neighbors do not, although they could raise chickens if they wished.
FOURTH, the courts are very full where we live and would appreciate a case like this were resolved between parties, since no humans were harmed. My atty husband goes to court and waits while the bailiff runs through the docket call of some 20-30 alphabetical list of cases for any particular scheduled time. In big cities there are several locations for traffic court ALONE, that run sometimes 6 days a week. STILL, consult with an attorney anyway. We still have state's rights and differing laws in every county and every state in the nation. I do not know exactly how things work in RI, just like you don't know how things work in IL.
No chicken OR rooster is safe from a predator who is REALLY determined.
I KNOW that Cluckin'Along has probably gotten everything out of this thread, but I felt led to comment.
FIRST, PineBurrowPeeps has had the best advice. Though I am a gun owner who unfortunately lives in one of the 5 states that Doesn't allow concealed carry AND discourages ANY legal gun ownership, I am prepared to use a gun, if necessary. I live within city limits of a small, rural town of 200. Periodically one of our neighbors will shoot vermin. HOWEVER, many of us are dog and/or cat owners. I have not heard of either being shot at in the 10 years that we have lived here.
SECOND, It is virtually impossible to keep most outside cats from roaming. I have 4 cats (ALL good mousers) and 2 dogs, one of which hunts and kills mice, wild rabbits, moles, etc. I Have to protect my own flock from my own animals. My cats have learned to patrol the yards of my neighbors who do not own cats. IF one of them were to attack and kill my neighbor's animals, like a pet rabbit, I would feel a financial obligation to assist, the FIRST time. I would also assist in the upgraded housing of such animal. After that, the owners are responsible for keeping their animals safe from...a cat. REALLY, everybody in OUR town is more concerned that a coyote is gonna kill their pets!
I have good relationships with all of my dogs and cats. They are much too afraid of ME to go after MY BIRDS!!
AND, they patrol the property. I only know of one cat who comes onto our property, and he gets along with mine.
FURTHER, any dog or cat that is friendly and does not attack my pets is welcome on my property, even if the owner is chasing it!
MORE IMPORTANTLY, I have predator--proofed my coop, and I Don't free-range my birds.
THIRD, I HAVE to get along with my neighbors. Right now they all like the horses and my next door and across the street neighbors do things like storm cleanup together. Just last Saturday, when we moved the 6 limbs from our front yard to our burn pile in the north pasture, we helped pick up our neighbors' piles and drove them out in the back of my truck. This sort of thing helps keep good relationships going so that we will talk first to resolve any disagreements that might arise. I have an AG2 zoning, but my neighbors do not, although they could raise chickens if they wished.
FOURTH, the courts are very full where we live and would appreciate a case like this were resolved between parties, since no humans were harmed. My atty husband goes to court and waits while the bailiff runs through the docket call of some 20-30 alphabetical list of cases for any particular scheduled time. In big cities there are several locations for traffic court ALONE, that run sometimes 6 days a week. STILL, consult with an attorney anyway. We still have state's rights and differing laws in every county and every state in the nation. I do not know exactly how things work in RI, just like you don't know how things work in IL.
No chicken OR rooster is safe from a predator who is REALLY determined.
