Irresponsible neighbor and his roaming chickens

[EileenC]

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.

That's not a nice thing to say. Maybe she works and hasn't had time to answer. Be more thoughtful to what you say or don't say anything at all. She is asking for suggestions not smart aleck remarks.

 

[Toothpick]

I guess I would treat the chickens the same way I do stray dogs. My neighbor had a dog that killed 2 of my chickens. I talked to him once and asked him to take care of it. As in keep the dog in his yard. He was nice about it. The dog came back over one other time and I was nice about it this time, I ran it off. Lucky for the dog it never came back otherwise it would have been a dead dog. My way of thinking is: I asked you once to keep your animal on your property. I have the right to protect my livestock from predators. I’m not asking you again, I will solve the problem myself.

From your side it’s no different with the chickens. You asked him once. If they are a nuisance you have the right to keep them off your property. However you see fit. I’ll be facing a similar issue this year because my neighbor moved and sold his land and left behind a flock of chickens. I’m putting in my garden this year and once they start tearing it up I’ll be picking them off one by one. Same as I would a rabbit, or possum, that was creating a problem for me.

At some point you have to remove yourself from the “pet” mentality and remember they are animals. Animals that are creating a problem need to be dealt with. However you can. Being a good neighbor, Animal control, traps, lethal methods, etc. Your land, your property, your livestock, your lawful right to protect it.

 

[EileenC]

I guess I would treat the chickens the same way I do stray dogs. My neighbor had a dog that killed 2 of my chickens. I talked to him once and asked him to take care of it. As in keep the dog in his yard. He was nice about it. The dog came back over one other time and I was nice about it this time, I ran it off. Lucky for the dog it never came back otherwise it would have been a dead dog. My way of thinking is: I asked you once to keep your animal on your property. I have the right to protect my livestock from predators. I’m not asking you again, I will solve the problem myself.

From your side it’s no different with the chickens. You asked him once. If they are a nuisance you have the right to keep them off your property. However you see fit. I’ll be facing a similar issue this year because my neighbor moved and sold his land and left behind a flock of chickens. I’m putting in my garden this year and once they start tearing it up I’ll be picking them off one by one. Same as I would a rabbit, or possum, that was creating a problem for me.

At some point you have to remove yourself from the “pet” mentality and remember they are animals. Animals that are creating a problem need to be dealt with. However you can. Being a good neighbor, Animal control, traps, lethal methods, etc. Your land, your property, your livestock, your lawful right to protect it.

I hope that the people who bought his property will put up a chicken coop or a higher fence to contain the chickens. It's wrong to let them roam outside of the yard.

 

[Bamabexchicks]

That's not a nice thing to say. Maybe she works and hasn't had time to answer. Be more thoughtful to what you say or don't say anything at all. She is asking for suggestions not smart aleck remarks.

With all due respect, do you see one like or response to any of the posts that people took the time to post here? You are being judgy toward me. Not nice on your behalf.

 

[Bamabexchicks]

With all due respect, do you see one like or response to any of the posts that people took the time to post here? You are being judgy toward me. Not nice on your behalf.

Also, I'm not responding to anything else you have to say, and placing you on "ignore" from this point forward. Dont bother.

 

[Sea Wolf]

The neighbor sounds like he is more than unbalanced. Especially with the lawsuits and killing a bird in front of the kid. Goading you is apparently his new hobby. Chickens come into your yard, they now are your chickens. Round them up and take them for a ride someplace else. You didn't see any chickens, fox or coyotes must have caught them. Eventually he will run out of chickens. They may not be going over the top of your fence. Walk it carefully and look for breaks or holes in it or under it.

 

[BarredRockMom]

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!

So, OP, you started a thread & I don't see any further communication from you. Care to weigh in on what's been suggested or post an update?

 

[BarredRockMom]

That's what I suggested too

Seems a bit harsh to make the poor chicken pay with it's life because the owner is a flaming jackass masquerading as a person. And attacked by a dog & terrorized sounds like a horrible way to go. Geeze, at least kill it humanely if you're gonna do it! Nothing about a dog attack sounds acceptable to me.

I'm all about killing predators, don't get me wrong, but this seems more of an inconvenience than a predator problem.

Your property, your decision. If it were my property, I'd build a fence to keep 'em IN, but that's just me & you've clearly stated that you don't want chickens or you'd have 'em.

You need a professional chicken napper. Or a farmer willing to take in whomever you catch & are willing to relocate, maybe? This is a tough spot you're in, made that much more complicated by a bad neighbor who sounds like he was that way long before he got chickens.

So what's the latest?

 

[centrarchid]

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.

At ten days I think this assessment is accurate.

 

[bobbi-j]

So, OP, you started a thread & I don't see any further communication from you. Care to weigh in on what's been suggested or post an update?

I'm guessing the OP has decided that this is not a friendly place to be and has moved on to better things in life. Hopefully they got some good, useful information before the negativity started. As I stated before, there are people in the world that have more to do than sit on their phone or computers checking their emails or reading forums.