I'm gonna make like a chicken butt and vent...

[Leah-yes I know I'm crazy]

There are a couple basic reasons reasons people don't like chickens or other farm animals. As the oldest daughter of 14 children in a sharecropping family before wwii my grandmother had a distaste for all things farming. In her mind farming=slave labor=poverty. When she saw my birds she agreed that they are fun to look at as long as your survival doesn't depend on them. Seeing them really just dredged up old memories of processing them fifty at a time in the good times or loosing them fifty at a time in the bad times.
I have one neighbor who doesn't like my birds because she is afraid of the diseases they may carry. She has a little boy who is two and is blind. He crawls around the yard and is constantly putting things in his mouth. She has good reason to be concerned. I do not allow my birds to roam near her yard.
People who really do not like them probably have a darned good reason. If you take the time to find out what the reason is you can usually make them feel better by accomidating them in a simple way. I promised Grandma I would never quit the day job...with my neighbor I talked to her about the risks and the steps I take to keep them clean and pest free. I am very careful not to let my birds in her area and come to find out he likes the rooster crows and bird sounds.

 

[chickensioux]

Thanks for all the support, it felt good to tell people who really understand about pet chickens. I also hate it when people ask me when I'm going to eat them or when one is sick they tell me how silly I am for spending a dime on trying to get them well. There's something kind of....eeewwwww about people that don't get it.

 

[urbanhatch]

Some people, like your neighbors, have no imagination, and more than likely do not focus on any real issues facing the world today. Try not to figure out ignorant people. They excel in ignorance, and some of us cannot get to that level. That is a good thing!
Best wishes to you and your feathered friends.

 

[Big Chicken Little]

Remember "ignorance is bliss" Some people are just "born" to complain so let them If your chickens are not on their property then just ignore them. There are three simple rules to live by "Do no harm" Do Good" Stay in Love with God"

 

[HennysMom]

some people..I swear.

I'd just smile politely at them and tell them "Oh I'm terribly sorry, didnt realize I needed your permission to do anything with my property - didnt realize you paid my mortgage, but now that I realize that, here *hands them a stack of bills* utilities need paying this week"

Noooooooo... thats what I'd WANT to say... what'd I do is totally different...

I'd just smile and walk away whistling and doing the chicken dance!!

*da na na na na na na.. da na na na na na na.. da nuh nuh nuh*

 

[Chicken Lil]

Wow, your neighbors sound like the mean girls in high school. Is your neighborhood affluant? If so they just may be a bunch of stuck up city folks who wanted to have a big lawn!

It bugs me when I see someone with property and all they have is a huge lawn!!! Why have land if you want plant a garden or have animals? They all need to go live in a city.

By the way I grew up in NYC, and I don't have a probelm with all city people, just the ones with the superior attitude.

 

[chickensioux]

It's a nice hood but it's also in the country, there are only 13 homes, very wooded and my girls are fenced in and have never left my property. Their main beef is I didn't check with them first. but like I said I told them I didn't have to. Hasn't changed their behavior and I have been ignoring them for 6 years. We get quite the chuckle out of them sometimes but I always bite my tongue

 

[WoodlandWoman]

Some people are just jerks. And ignorant jerks, at that.

If they weren't ignorant, they'd know what the property was zoned for and what the local laws and regulations are and aren't.

If they weren't jerks, they wouldn't think they were the the center of the universe and that all their neighbors should all ask their permission before doing anything on their own property. If they weren't jerks and they had legitimate concerns over something, they would just nicely ask. They would say, "I'm concerned about blah-blah-blah." Then you could reassure them.

Then again, maybe they're just delusional and think you are peasants living on THEIR land...

Maybe they should move to the city and make sure it has a HOA. They could run for president.

 

[miss_jayne]

Quote:
Harumph, miss_jayne! I think you are 100% correct and I think it takes a mighty big person to still smile in the face of neighbors like that. My hat is off to you!

wow! thanks, Pumpkinpup! i am not perfect in anyway, but everyday is a new day to accomplish much.

it is hard to do, especially in circumstances as chickensioux's. the effort is worth it.

keep trying, sioux! you have a good attitude.

 

[chickensioux]

Thanks Miss Jayne....