My neighbors car is our predator.

[dianneS]

I have free range chickens. We live on a 25 mph road with very few cars. We have two "chicken crossing" signs, one in each direction and most of our neighbors know they should slow down, but they just don't want to.

If everyone would obey the speed limit, I wouldn't have to worry about my chickens. I've only ever had one hit on the road in the past, before I had the signs. I had another one get hit tonight.

My chickens are so much happier and healthier being able to go free-range, its worth the risk, since there isn't much traffic on our road anyway. I just don't have the heart to keep them penned up all the time. They love being able to run around and we have a livestock guardian dog to keep them safe from other predators, just not the human kind!

I'm just upset because I heard the thud, went to the window, saw it was a neighbor whom I know. I'm sure that they knew they hit a chicken. I went to the front window to look for the chicken, and she was just at the very edge of the road still trying to lift her head up.

I thought "please, I don't want to have to kill her myself". By the time I got outside, she was dead. It was head trauma, like the other hen I lost. She didn't get run over at all. Just blood coming from her beak.

I'm so mad that my neighbor didn't even bother to stop and tell me. That is what is most upsetting. The way the car had swerved to the opposite side of the road when I saw it out the window, I'm sure that they were swerving to miss the hen. If I heard the thud inside the house, upstairs and in the back of the house, I'm sure that they heard the thud inside the car! I just can't believe that they wouldn't stop and say something! I hope I don't see them drive by my house any time soon! I'm so mad...

 

[redhen]

I fenced in my yard so my chickens would'nt get in the road and get hit....

Could you do that?
Sorry about your birds.. the poor things..

 

[dieselgrl48]

I sure feel you here on this one.We have lived here for 6 year's.We are on a horseshoe road on which the about one mile We live on is unpaved.There is No speed limit posted at all on the entire road.Most of the neighbor's that live out here have for year's.The last 3 years plot's have been sold and a doublewide community branched up.I have lost a couple layer hen's a few years ago.But the worst was my Adult white male peacock.A lady hit it going about 50 slid forever on the dirt feathers flew and she didnt bother to stop.My son in law went to her house and asked her she said yea well it flew off and she thought was ok and she was in a hurry to get some med to her aunt 1/2 down road.She siad didnt have gas to come back up here (1/2 mile) to ask about bird.

. Yea well she goes to church every sunday too. hmmm. Doesnt seem to "christian" to me not to even come back and ask about a $300 bird grrrrrrrrrr.But she drives by my house everyday yet even next day after she whacked my bird going like Mario in a dirt bog race on this pot hole dirt road.Hubby just stopped another young kid in road a couple weeks ago driving like crazy person out here. Cows and horses Do get out from neighbor's.Someone will wind up getting killed or something it's not like they don't know or just don't care!I have signs up on trees all down my property too some heed and well the other half oh well.

 

[upthecreek]

dig a deep trench accross the road at the beginning of your property and at the end .......... kinda like the warning bumps in town .


Quote:

 

[kimb]

I'm so sorry for your loss

...

but - what if your chickens were dogs? sure they enjoy being out to enjoy the whole plot of land, but would you let them play in the road? ... sorry but I think you have a responsibility to secure your chickens from the road - even if they are neighbors that know you have chickens, they may be sick of having to slow/stop/wait/go around your ladies in the road

... it stinks, but you really have an obligation to keep objects out of the road, your equally responsible for any damages your chicken causes to a passing vehicle,bicyclist or pedestrian... I would invest in some form of barrier that at least goes long the edge of your property that faces the road.

I won't make excuses for your neighbor, I'm sure they feel guilty (and hopefully! will confront you) ... but they're probably angry too - especially if they did try to swerve, (and have before) ... it gets frustrating when they know that you know that your chickens are in the road, and you make it their responsibility to avoid hitting them on a daily basis.

 

[RM44]

I am very sorry for your loss. It's hard seeing a pet die. I'm sure the neighbor feels bad about it. One thing to consider though is that the neighbor may actually be mad at you over the incident. If the car slid around, then clearly the neighbor didn't mean to hit the bird, and even risked their own safety to avoid it. After almost crashing their car into a ditch or off the road to try to avoid the chicken, they may have thought "OMG! I almost killed myself trying to avoid a chicken! I wish those chickens were kept up so they didn't go out in the road."

Just something to think about. I'm sure they were speeding, and that's a whole different issue. But it's possible that you have some liability if anyone were to get hurt trying to dodge chickens in the road.

 

[Me & My Peeps]

Here's what "a friend" did to solve a similar problem. There was this car that would speed down the street at all times of the day/night. 8 houses on the street, 5 have kids. He would wave at them to slow down when they went by but to no effect. One day he was getting the mail and a piece of mail fell out of his hands and he bent over to get it. At that moment, the car went speeding by. Instantly, a plan was born!

He sat across the street in some bushes and waited. When the car came back up the street, he waited until it was about 100' away and he ran about 10' into the road - then turned around and ran back to the bushes. The car tried to stop but it was too late, the car went into a skid and ended up in a small ditch, snapping off a tie rod. He goes over to the driver to check on him and the driver starts yelling at him about running out in the road. He replies that he was simply crossing the road but had to run back after he seen him coming.

Because the car could not be driven, a tow truck was called. But that was not good enough for "my friend". He wanted to put an end to this for good so, he calls up the local police. They arrive and the driver starts yelling that my friend ran into the road and forced him off the road, smashing the front end of his car. The police measure the skid marks, verify the position of "my friend" in the road (who said he was retrieving a piece of mail that blew out of his hand) and fined the driver for excessive speed in a residential zone. They gave him a reckless driving ticket, speeding and a nice fine for failure to carry proof of insurance. The officer told "my friend" that after all was said and done, the driver would get $450 in fines, a day in court and probably 6 points on his license. Plus the estimated $700 - $1,000 damage to the car and $225.00 tow and storage of vehicle at $25/day

"my friends" wife was not impressed with the event and proceeded to deliver a 10 minute lecture on the dangers of what he did. After she was done, his only response was, "If that car had hit one of OUR kids or a neighbors kid, YOU would be out here yelling at ME, asking me WHY - I didnt do something about it sooner! Now we wont have to worry about that and your welcome. "

Since this incident, "my friend" hasn't had a speeding car on his street in almost 2 years!!

So I said all that - to say this: "you can post all the signs you want. Some people ONLY respond to object lessons and sometimes you just have no choice but to get their attention in a way that they can understand the importance, of what your saying".

 

[vatterpa]

we haven't lost any chickens on our road but we did lose three mini wiener dogs. One car was filled with kids and they stopped in the road. Then they said to each other," Get'em. Go go". I couldn't get there in time, and I haven't seen that car again. Probaly a good sign because I might see them "tresspassing" and shoot. Some one told me once that to slow down people going up and down your road that you should buy about 30 chickens. Then you were to let them run everywhere, eventually they will slow down because they hit the birds. I think that is just awful.

 

[silkiechicken]

I don't fence in my birds but if they went out onto the road and got hit, well, I'm the one who didn't keep them safe.

 

[Me & My Peeps]

Quote:
Not so. You are obligated in every state in the country, to operate your vehicle in an alert manner and at such a speed that you will be able to react in a timely manner to such events.

Ever get rear ended? The driver probably said "WHY did you stop?" but the reality is, that he was NOT paying attention OR driving with enough reaction time to stop.

Ever see a car off the road from hydroplaning in a rainstorm? I guarantee the driver got a ticket for driving too fast for the conditions. Same thing for snowstorms.

It comes down to being responsible and being alert to what's going on around you. I hit a dog once, broken leash trailing behind, it was my fault too. I seen him coming but just didnt think that he would KEEP coming. I should have stopped and I had plenty of time to do so. I was late for meeting a friend for coffee and was rushing. I stopped and did the right thing with the owner.

It's choices.