My Neighbor shot at Me and My Chickens This Morning

[theoldchick]

Well, you do have to start there. You have to make legal reports and so forth. So when the situation gets dicey there is documentation. In these type of situations you have to document EVERYTHING.

 

[Kessel23]

I thought I was going a bit bonkers yesterday, when I came home from my in-laws house to find two of my roosters out of the pen with the pen door shut but unlatched.
I carefully caught them and put them up on their roosts, not thinking to check for injuries. Then I got a gut feeling, and upon investigation, found a fresh trail through the leaves leading down to my neighbor's property. A broken branch. Fresh. Wet. This same neighbor had cursed me out two mornings ago for no apparent reason- but I assumed, it was because he didn't like my roosters' crowing. The EE is pretty loud, but only when you're near the coop.
His house is over 100 yards away, and across a road, and separated by trees. And, the four roos spend a majority of the time crowing inside the coop which is fairly insulated and very dampening to their crows. It's so slight and faint within the walls of my own house, that I can't imagine it bothers anyone else inside their house- since I'm closest to the coop out of any neighbor.

But... we can't be paranoid and accuse our neighbors, husband told me last night.
This morning I go out to take care of my chickens, and I'm tidying up the coop for a customer --who is scheduled to come purchase one of the four Roos this afternoon-- when I begin hearing repeated pellet shots. So I step out and look around the backside of the coop to see the two men who live there pumping their pellet guns and shooting at my roosters.

As soon as they see me, the son begins walking forward, still pumping the gun, cursing at me about how I need to shut the chickens up and how they're waking him up every morning. I stand there with my hands out like, "What? Seriously? This is childish? You're going to shoot pellet guns at my roosters and if you injure them, then what? Get a real job and then you won't be around to hear any crowing and shoot at a stay at home mom!" I was in disbelief that someone was shooting at my birds!
They proceed to curse and fire pellets in my direction, so I retreat to my house without exchanging any words, and call my husband before trying 911. We had considered going down to talk to the neighbor and see what could be done to make them happy after the first cursing-out incident.

A while later, five troopers show up and... well, I'll spare you the details. Let's just say that sometimes the two legged varmints are your chickens' worst enemies.

I would go out there and show those teens what a real gun looks like.

 

[HenOnAJuneBug]

A privacy fence is not going to do any good. They'll just use it as cover to shoot over it.

 

[WVduckchick]

Maybe share some eggs with them?? In one manner or another.

 

[JurassicBawk]

As someone with a chronically ill husband, I can completely understand the neighbor's frustration. My husband is at home all day, only sleeping when he is able between his pain and medication side effects. Last year he had to move into our basement because the new neighbors and their 3 screaming kids took over the cul-de-sac and were yelling bloody murder from 6-7 AM, and then again as soon as they got home from school. Even though we have 2 acres behind us, our house is about 50 feet from the road and the land slopes down so our windows are at road level, and it literally sounded like a child was being murdered in our living room when they were "playing." Now I didn't want to be the evil neighbor to go out and scream at kids to stop playing outside, but I tried to nicely talk to their parents and were told to just deal with it. There's no law against having children, so there was nothing much I could do. Luckily they were leasing and moved after a year, but their actions did seriously negatively affect our life for that whole year and made living in my own home hell.

Did I go out in the yard and start shooting at them? No, of course not. No sane person does that. So while I understand the frustration, there's no way your neighbors' actions were appropriate at all. If someone were to stand on my property and start shooting at my dogs, birds, or me, there would be a serious problem and it would not turn out well for them. Good luck in your situation, and hopefully things haven't escalated to the point where living in your own home is now hell for you too.

 

[PirateGirl]

Our property is too narrow for shooting a firearm on. My husband has room to sight his bow here, but gunshots would raise alarm and police would be called.
Also, I am concerned with the benefits of obtaining a license to carry... since I could get into big trouble if I had to shoot at someone... who was just hanging around my coop. It's not the same as them trying to get into your house....

Also, there is a busy road between my place and my neighbors place. They are not adjacent neighbors. They are diagonal to us since our property crosses the road also.

Yes. Good for you doing your homework on firearms! The laws vary state to state so I cannot advise to what extent you are within your rights. Your local police department and/or NRA representative or hunter safety instructor could better point you in the right direction. I hope for your sake that it never comes to the point where you feel you have to fire a gun in your own defense. No one should ever need to be put in that situation even if they are within their right legally.

 

[Debby R]

Believe me there is NO defense for someone shooting at your roosters but just an FYI: our property is a quarter mile from the main road and 1/4-1/2 mile from the house across the road and I hear their roosters anytime of day on most days. Sound carries. Of course I am not bothered by it and there are so many civil ways to deal with this but I'm just saying.

 

[sourland]

Thank all. I understand the booby trap is not legal.

Ag laws would be on our side since we have chicken houses within mile up the road- (and in sight) I live off rt. 934 outside of Annville, PA. Very Ag around here. In fact, two $400,000 homes are up for sale now just because they don't like the smell from the chicken houses across 934. But the chicken houses were built after the homes... the land on our side of rt. 934 is still agricultural.

My husband has considered putting up his trail camera to watch the coop the next couple of days.

I'm going to speak to the neighbors on either side of us to see if the roosters have been annoying them also. If they say the chickens are not bothering them, then I will ask them to help me watch my property without mentioning any neighbor. That way I can leave on errands without too much worry.

I agree with everything you have said except about not mentioning ' the bizarre behavior of this man and his son' to your other neighbors. They need to be warned,

I'm with @theoldchick, and @Counting chickens -I don't have a still, but don't be shooting at the Princess . I don't own a pellet gun either.

 

[KettermanHillCoop]

@Then I Will Holy crap! You're located just a mere 16 miles southwest of me. I'm familiar with your area...and I would consider it to be of a rural/agricultural type of locale...plenty of noisy farm animals. I can't believe the PSP didn't lock them up for discharging a firearm at another person...regardless of caliber. PA DOES HAVE the "Stand Your Ground" law that was added to the Castle Doctrine...I'd be seriously utilizing that right if I were in your situation.

Stand Your Ground:
A person in any lawful place outside his home “has no duty to retreat and has the right to stand his ground and use force, including deadly force if . . . (he) believes it is immediately necessary to do so to protect himself against death, serious bodily injury, kidnapping, or sexual intercourse by force or threat.” (18 PA consolidated statutes 505(b)(2.3)).

 

[Bunnylady]

Also, I am concerned with the benefits of obtaining a license to carry... since I could get into big trouble if I had to shoot at someone... who was just hanging around my coop. It's not the same as them trying to get into your house....

Have you actually looked into this, or are you just going by what "everybody knows?"

My state is what they call a "stand your ground" state; if I feel that I am seriously threatened with possible death or injury, I have the right to use whatever force I feel I need to use to defend myself, and that includes deadly force, whether I am at home or not. If someone is trying to break into my car when I am parked at the grocery store, I would be within my legal rights to shoot them. Of course, I might wind up having to convince a jury of my peers that my fear was justified . . .

But yes, it is better to try to avoid putting oneself into a situation like that in the first place, if possible.

Interestingly, though you need a license to own a firearm here, apparently it has to have gunpowder involved to be considered a firearm. Even high-powered air rifles are not considered firearms. . . . . maybe this kind of explains how a pair of known loose cannons like your neighbors could be shooting at you?