Irresponsible neighbor and his roaming chickens

[IamRainey]

Yeah! I could vote for keep 'em! Put them in a run where their poop will be contained, your lawn will be protected and you can fertilize/weed at will. If you've got horses then, surely, there's a part of the barn that you could let the chickens occupy. And then their eggs will be easy to collect.

The neighbor obviously doesn't care about them if he slaughtered one in front of your little girl. That's SICK and clearly a person you don't want to deal with more than necessary.

 

[Kiki]

Not my flock: Our neighbor has a flock of about 30 free range chickens that are roaming the neighborhood. We already have a 4' cattle fence separating his property from ours, but it does not keep the chickens out of my yard. We do have a farm, horses, but we do not have chickens. If I wanted chickens I would get them. I want to walk outside without stepping in chicken poop. I want to not get swarmed when I go in my yard. I want to fertilize/weed kill my lawn. I'd like to go approach the neighbor with suggestions, like: we are fertilizing, keep your chickens locked up for XX days, etc. I'm afraid if the chickens or people get sick he will try suing us. Any suggestions/guidelines? History - He tried to sue us when we built our horse barn for blocking his view of our property, and blocking the sun from the solar panels on the roof of his house, built on a hill above our property, surrounded by 60' tall oak trees. I wish I was kidding. He also had chickens many years ago, including a very aggressive rooster that would "fly" at you with it's talons out. We talked to him, and called the police several times and his solution was to follow one of the chickens onto our property and kill it in from of my young daughter. The police did nothing, he was retrieving his "property" from our yard. Do I need to talk to a lawyer? HELP!

You say he tried to sue you in the past. What does tried mean? What was the end result there?

 

[Shamo Hybrid]

You could get a dog that will chomp the chickens if they ever cross into your property. That will deter the chickens from coming over.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I think you need to figure out what the laws are in your area regarding nuisance animals/animals at large, as well as who the authorities would be in charge of enforcing it, whether it's some sort of animal control or the sheriff. Since every city and county have different rules it's hard to say what's the "proper" course of action.

It really is on the neighbor to keep their animals on their property and normally I'd suggest talking it out but this person doesn't seem like the sort that would care.

 

[Bamabexchicks]

Hey y'all, I hate to point out that @chickeneighbor, the OP has not liked or commented on any of the replies to the original post. Leads me to think that we are all just feeding a troll.

 

[chickeneighbor]

Hey y'all, I hate to point out that @chickeneighbor, the OP has not liked or commented on any of the replies to the original post. Leads me to think that we are all just feeding a troll.

Wow, so because I posted a query during my lunch hour and then worked all day, took care of my family and couldn't respond or read posts until late at night that makes me a troll? Thanks.

 

[Bamabexchicks]

Wow, so because I posted a query during my lunch hour and then worked all day, took care of my family and couldn't respond or read posts until late at night that makes me a troll? Thanks.

Sorry you only had time to respond to one post. Guess I should be flattered that it was mine. edit: my second post

 

[ShannonR]

You could get a dog that will chomp the chickens if they ever cross into your property. That will deter the chickens from coming over.

That's what I suggested too

 

[bobbi-j]

Wow, so because I posted a query during my lunch hour and then worked all day, took care of my family and couldn't respond or read posts until late at night that makes me a troll? Thanks.

Don't worry - not everyone thinks that way. We understand that people have lives and don't have time to sit on the computer all day. I do hope you can find some resolution to your problem. You've gotten some good advice here, such as contacting the attorney you used when he tried to sue you previously. Also, contacting animal control if it's available where you live. Wishing you all the best.

 

[Amatsuhono]

I would also suggest finding out if you are in a 'fence in' or 'fence out' county before dropping the money on a lawyer. 'Fence isn't he is required by law to keep his animals on his property, 'fence out' if you don't like them in your yard, it is your responsibility to figure out how to keep them out.

With 'fence in' you have all sorts of options, including legal action. With 'fence out' he may actually have the right to seek legal action against you for failing to keep his birds out of dangerous situations on your property.