Help! New neighbor suddenly hates chickens!

[OverEasyRider]

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.

My X

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.

My X was fine as ICU nurse. She was fine for the 10 years she was in hospice. But when she became a psych nurse she became a test case for that stuff being contagious

Treat your neighbor like she's just another raccoon. Go full-on defense of your chickens. Make it so she has to squeeze each piece of corn she feeds them through Hardware cloth.

probably postmenopausal insanity.Yet, better safe than sorry because, the government loves driving wedges between its citizens. And whoever she calls and complains to will happily come out and destroy your contentment.

 

[Rammy]

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...
View attachment 2271693View attachment 2271661View attachment 2271685View attachment 2271663View attachment 2271698View attachment 2271695
The coyote know the hot wires are there.
View attachment 2271691

Nice setup!

 

[gointothebirdsfarm]

Try to keep them out of her yard. Many people think the virus is spread by animals and since she is a caregiver, she may be a little too aware of what "could be".
Once all the hysteria is over, she'll probably chill back out.

That is a really valid point. I have not run into any problems with that so far, but I can see in the near future someone telling me it is highly unsanitary to have chickens cause they spread diseases, including salmonella. Horrors! (Which is true, they do, but those eggs they got from the store...they probably don't want to know the conditions of the chickens that laid those eggs. I can almost guarantee mine are healthier).

 

[path.otto]

She CAN plant it where she wants. But, if she picks a stupid spot for it, she can’t complain. Sounds like the gardening neighbor is causing many of her own problems, but wants to complain or blame others. I’d get a large electrified fence with LOTS of volts for that section of the property line.

Seriously? It is her property she has the right to plant a garden wherever she pleases on her property and she has the right to expect the owner of the chickens to keep them off her property. She can certainly complain and if it would go as far as court, the neighbor would win.

 

[gointothebirdsfarm]

To me chickens are the same as any other animal when it comes to trespassing...I would complain heartily if the neighbor's dog came onto my property and killed one of my precious ducks, so she has the right to complain if my chickens snuck into her property and ate her prize lilies.

 

[lovesfarms]

The worst thing she could ever have done is feed your chickens. She made things helpless for you... She trained them to come to her. It's a frustrating situation, she should be held responsible for her actions. You can't do that and now you are left with only options that are less then satisfactory. I feel your pain but hope everything turns out well for you. Take care!

 

[Bantumbarnyard]

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.

Yes. It's why I have to get rid of them since they are trained to go over there. I know it's her property. Her property her place, just like my property my place. Also, it's not on her property that she's spraying chemicals, it's on MY property where the chickens had been originally been living. And it ended up causing them to go looking for other places to roost, including her property. She also claims she bought the property since it was like a small farm, with fruit trees and some blackberry and muscadine bushes. But she's already started pulling up the fruit trees including the apple being first. And is thinking about the peach tree next.

 

[Bantumbarnyard]

@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.

As for the sheriff's and police. They don't come out here much because it's in the middle of nowhere. It's for people who don't want to be near a city. The closest city limits is about 15-20 miles a way. It's why i moved out here. There's really no ordinance out here.

 

[Bantumbarnyard]

Somewhat off topic, but regard to the raccoon that killed your chickens... how did he damage the hens? I’m trying to identify a Predator that killed one of my hens. Her bottom was eaten out and her inside organs were all eaten. Then she was buried/hidden under the wood shavings on the hen house floor. Does that sound like what the raccoon did to yours?

Yeah. Usually they will go for the neck and Carry them off. If the racoons is too small or chicken to big they eat it where they kill it. Usually they go for the head and neck though. So if head or neck not touched it could be something else that is small that can't carry off chickens.

 

[Bantumbarnyard]

Also for every one saying I have to keep them on my property, I do, I have put in brand new fencing and stuff. How is it my fault that she comes over feeds them, then leaves gate I have open for them to wander onto her property knowing they will escape at the first chance of freedom since she used to raise chickens. So it's not like they are just wandering. The area between me and her is fenced and the only way to get over there is through the gate. As for the posion/ herbicide/pesticides she sprayed it on my property, and she had planted flowers along the border fence of our property same as me because we agreed to it since it looked nice, then sprayed all of it in March/April when she was renting the property, so it was still in the previous person's name, so it can cause reasonable doubt on who sprayed it except she admitted to spraying at least a viniger/dawn dish soap combination she got off the internet and it killed her flowers and mine. That's why I don't get was up. She claims they are destroying her flowers except those flowers have been dead for months. When I politely talked l to her, after making sure gate was closed and chicken wasn'tout, asked again if the chickens have caused any problems other then the flowers and she says they are now getting on her porch. That is at least believe able. I am guessing that is probably why. They didn't poop up there. No messes that I saw. She also complianed about the dog that was destroying my property thinking is my dog but I had to explain to her it was a neighbors and I already personally took it to the pound since I didn't like the dog either. But she didn't understand why it's not my dog and why I couldn't control it. I ended up adopting the dog back to make it legally mine, since she was going to complain about the dog even if it wasn't there and he stays inside all day.