Help! New neighbor suddenly hates chickens!

[lesjsmith]

Thanks. I am not sure if there is a lumber mill near me. I will try Craigslist again. Also, has anyone tried to do a shed conversion. There seems to be a bunch of sheds for sale near me for this prebuilt sheds/ small building and they seem to be the same as Craigslist but newer for the same price. Would something like this work and what would I need to do other then put roosts, food, water, nest boxes in it. As in, how will I keep it closed, just a padlock or install some sort of doorknob that I can lock? Anything else I might not be thinking of that I can do myself?

Those would work for sure. Make sure that you have plenty of ventilation and windows for light. If you are handy it would also be good to build a chicken yard. You can use chicken wire and 1 x 1 to create the frame and a door. We usually bury the chicken wire about a foot down so that the predators can't dig under the wire. If you have a 4H extension or Boy/Eagle Scounts in your area, maybe they would build the yard for you as a badge project.

 

[Kezs]

You could get make a chicken tractor. Basically, a long tunnel of chicken wire that can be moved around the yard. Then they can go into a coop at night. Maybe that would work? We love our chickens and want to be fancy, but all they need is a safe place to roost at night. A chain link dog run would work, and that could move around the yard too, and add an old ladder as roosting bars. Just put chicken wire under it and over the top to keep predators out. Add a box for nesting and you're good for the short term.

 

[Jajika]

Thanks. And yes, she even would come onto my property to feed them and I had to correct her on that. She would just leave food and attracted a racoon that killed two chickens and hurt two more. This was why I have trouble getting them back to the chicken coop and haven't been able to get them back in fenced area. They started roosting in the tree above the coop and I couldn't reach them to get them back in coop. I do have a fence, but the chickens have found ways around it. I am guessing that was how the raccoon got in and killed the chickens.

When you decide to fence the area, you will want to use material that raccoons can't chew through. They are like little bears and can't chew through chicken wire and other less than tough materials. What is universally recommended is something called "hardware cloth." It's actually a small gage wire that is very, very strong. You will want to dig down a foot so the raccoons can't dig under it, which they try to do. All this is to keep your girls safe, Good luck.

 

[CutieBabyChicks]

You shouldn't have to, as it isn't your fault, but have you asked your neighbor what she has against chickens? Maybe she thinks you did something to her? Maybe ask her if she is having a tough time or something?

 

[whitepowerstroker97]

You can clip their wings to keep them from flying over fence and roosting in trees, I t’s honestly fairly easy. premier1 sells an electric poultry netting set, which I purchased to rotate my chickens grazing area. It’s great. They have a solar version or you can get a plug in one. Mine don’t have their wings clipped but they don’t fly all Willy Nilly. You can try retraining the birds by locking them in the coop for a few days so they associate the coop with home.

 

[quack quack cluck]

So I have been living at my residence for just about a year now. I have owned the property for about 2 years. I have had chickens about that long and never had any complaints except if a rooster had escaped my property and went all the way down the road to a little old lady's house and it ate her flowers. I had to get rid of that rooster along with others anyways. So I had a new neighbor move in next to me, and she was happy that the chickens now are free range since she wanted them to eat ticks and how they ate left overs. Well ever since pandimic she started hating them. She isn't home that much, she takes care of elderly people who have demintia full-time. She said they are going on to her property and eating flowers. Even though she hasn't planted any flowers, she actually killed all of them with a mix of household chemicals. She also was happy to have them on the property which was why she bought it. What do I do. I pointed out that when she started feeding them they would go over there more, she would have to stop feeding them on her property.

Be clear, with yourself and your neighbor. That means recognizing that your statement that she bought the place because she liked your chickens on her property is likely a huge exaggeration. Nobody makes an investment like that for the neighbor's chickens.
It also means recognizing that even of she began excited about the birds, she is well within her rights to change her mind as the impact of your flock takes its toll on her property.
You say chemical spray killed the flowers, she says the chickens; either way, it is her property and she gets to decide if the chickens are allowed or not (plus, if you know she is spraying chemicals, WHY would you let your birds go over there?!).
Be direct and clear: "You said you liked the birds to be on your property because they control ticks and eat your food waste. Have you changed your mind? If so, you will need to stop making food available or it will be very difficult for me to control them as you already trained them to go to your property for food."
The birds are yours, and it is your responsibility to keep them in your yard. You dont get to choose for your neighbor what is best for them or their gardens. It may be frustrating and seem petty on the part of your neighbor(s), but to contain and control your chickens is the law, and just plain decency.

 

[StaffordshireLady]

You shouldn't have to, as it isn't your fault, but have you asked your neighbor what she has against chickens? Maybe she thinks you did something to her? Maybe ask her if she is having a tough time or something?

If she enjoyed feeding your chickens and you put a stop to it that could be the reason that she no longer wants them around. The poor woman is looking after her two elderly parents who have dementia full time which would put a severe strain on any body. Perhaps she is falling to the same illness herself. Fence your chickens in on your own land then they wont offend anyone. Good luck. We are with you - all your friends on BYC.

 

[holycrapliz]

We use an 8x8 pre-built shed for our chickens here in the PNW. We had to add a bunch of ventilation spots, but the shed is otherwise fantastic (and totally unnecessary, but I digress). We also added an enclosed run. The chickens are let out of the run daily so long as we are at home (which we usually are), but the run is there to ensure their safety when we are not home or outside.

People very rarely want their neighbor's animals in their yard, even if they say that they do. They often don't take into consideration the damage that animals can cause when they first see a neighbor's cute chickens or dog or whatever it is. Not to mention that animals are just plain nuisances. They wreck things, they smell, they can bring diseases, they attract varmints, etc., and I say that lovingly with a huge array of animals on our property.

Hopefully your other neighbors down the road can take care of the chooks for you, but if not, you need to enclose your chickens. You can't catch them at night to clip wings, so catch them during the day. Use a fishing net. Works like a charm. Make a skirt around the run with the netting and heavy debris you already have to discourage digging. You can also try to move the chickens to a different part of the yard where your neighbor can't throw them food? Kindly tell her to stop littering on your property again. If possible, you can email her after each conversation to recap what you both spoke about. This is a nice habit to practice just in general because we all have our own versions and memories of conversations/experiences and its extremely helpful to be able to look back and know exactly what you've discussed with someone (especially as time passes and our memory of the situation changes and fades). Best of luck to you!

 

[Lizmom]

Also, she will text me or call, but not sure if that counts as evidt/ writing stuff down in case my phone breaks.

Take screen shots of emails and of your call log. Make sure your phone is set to automatically upload photos to the cloud.

 

[Chickenclaude]

Neighbors can be the pits. One planted a garden right next to the hen house so I put up a fence along the edge of my property between the hen house and the garden-Of all things, they have a huge yard and put the garden right by the poultry-go figure. Another neighbor came on the property in the backyard. My turkeys have poults an attacked her. Now, she threatens to kill them. We will soon start fencing the whole yard. Good luck.

Well...human nature...you get chickens for what they can do for you...tick removal and other pests..You don’t realize that you can have too much of a good thing. Put up the deer fencing and ask her to stop feeding them...to your chickens those flowers are just dessert. Mine have eliminated some vines and weeds from under my hydrangea but continue to my daisies and lilies...
No one wants to be attacked by a turkey ..it’s scary. Can you refrain from free ranging them until babies are older?
You might not always have chickens but you will have neighbors. Good luck