Help! New neighbor suddenly hates chickens!

[Tashua]

Tall fences make great neighbors

So so true & big property as well !!

 

[Vicker]

She could fence her own property but doesn't sound like she would take the responsibility. My problem with fencing is that some chickens fly over them. I've clipped their wings but they still manage to make it up to the top and then hop down. It's an electric fence at that. If yours are used to free-ranging, they'll likely try to escape. Make sure it's a tall fence.

 

[Chickenclaude]

You can get 100’ of 7’ tall deer fencing for around $100. Easy set up easy take down...stuff is indestructible. I’ve had it covering 1/2 around my garden for 10 yrs now. Black vinyl and you can barely see it...can zip tie to trees or Stapleton buildings or posts. Go on line to find it.

 

[7 Biddies]

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.

As long as you’re not violating any ordinances or breaking any laws, I’d tell her to put a sock in it. She knew what she was getting into. In the meantime, put up some sort of electrified fencing to keep them out of her yard, and let her worry about her own ticks.

 

[7 Biddies]

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.

Put a light in the coop just before they roost for the night. They’ll head towards the light and roost there. Then, once they’re roosting, remove the light. You shouldn’t have to do this more than a few nights before they start going in on their own. Even just a flashlight will do the trick.

 

[path.otto]

She is not a nutball, she has probably discovered how destructive chickens can be to property. It is one thing to constantly sweep mulch back into beds from your own chickens, or remember to always look down when walking in the yard so you don't step in chicken poop. The idea of chickens that belong to someone else can be charming but trust me it isn't. My neighbor's chickens always came in my yard and were very destructive. Fortunately, I like chickens and decided to get my own. Also, fortunately, they no longer have chickens and I keep mine in my yard.

It is your responsibility to be a good neighbor and keep your chickens in your own yard. Regardless of how your neighbor felt in the past, she's changed her mind and let you know. She may not really have liked them all that much in the past, but wanted to keep the peace.

 

[Fishychix]

She is not a nutball, she has probably discovered how destructive chickens can be to property. It is one thing to constantly sweep mulch back into beds from your own chickens, or remember to always look down when walking in the yard so you don't step in chicken poop. The idea of chickens that belong to someone else can be charming but trust me it isn't. My neighbor's chickens always came in my yard and were very destructive. Fortunately, I like chickens and decided to get my own. Also, fortunately, they no longer have chickens and I keep mine in my yard.

It is your responsibility to be a good neighbor and keep your chickens in your own yard. Regardless of how your neighbor felt in the past, she's changed her mind and let you know. She may not really have liked them all that much in the past, but wanted to keep the peace.

Yeah, but she keeps feeding them on her property and tosses food onto bantumbarnyard’s property and has even physically gone onto their property. She’s trespassing for sure. Nutball or not, she’s untrustworthy and a danger to them. If I read right, she actually killed one on purpose, that’s just messed up. A couple of things are certain - her actions need recorded, and she needs counseling. I can’t imagine the stress she must be under with her job even under normal conditions. Both my dad and sister did this for a living, it’s atrocious what these people suffer, the patients and their caretakers.

 

[cmom]

I'm not sure if I can add anything that someone else hasn't already said. My land is mostly open pasture. I built pens, but I have large flocks and lots of coops. With the 10 acres you have you must be able to put a coop and pen in a location to keep the birds safe. I have electric wires around my coops and pens, concrete under the gates and good heavy duty netting covering all of the pens, all due to losses from predators in the past. I planted trees many years ago in all of the pens and made rain/shade tables for all of the pens. Now and then I do open the pen gates to let the birds free range but they don't stay out for long and they go back into their pens where they have nice shade. I do have hanging feeders in all of the coops. I also have nightlights in the coops. Initially I used chicken wire for my fences. Since I also have electric wires around the coops and pens nothing has breached. I did put up welded wire too because every few years I was replacing the chicken wire as it deteriorated. I have several game cameras up on my property. Initially I put them up out of curiosity of what predators roam here especially at night. Here are some pictures and maybe they will give you some ideas. Good luck...

The coyote know the hot wires are there.

 

[cmom]

To get your birds where you want them, have you tried treats? My birds will follow me anywhere for some treats. I have a special bucket and when they see the bucket they come running. I also have a special call for treat time and when they hear the call they come running. Chickens are creatures of habits and routines. Again, good luck...

 

[path.otto]

Yeah, but she keeps feeding them on her property and tosses food onto bantumbarnyard’s property and has even physically gone onto their property. She’s trespassing for sure. Nutball or not, she’s untrustworthy and a danger to them. If I read right, she actually killed one on purpose, that’s just messed up. A couple of things are certain - her actions need recorded, and she needs counseling. I can’t imagine the stress she must be under with her job even under normal conditions. Both my dad and sister did this for a living, it’s atrocious what these people suffer, the patients and their caretakers.

@Fishychix, good fences make good neighbors. Her chickens, her responsibility to keep them safe. The best way to do that is confinement, either in a run or by fencing some or all of her property. If her neighbor then continues to come on her property it is a matter for the sheriff or police. It was not clear where the chickens died or if they died from poisoning.

It doesn't matter how the neighbor used to feel, she doesn't want them on her property any longer and has said so. She may still like them and maybe that is why she tries to interact with them on the owner's property (pure conjecture here). Nevertheless, boundaries (physical or otherwise) need to be set.