My neighbour got chickens too

[Just2chickens]

He has them for 6 months now, and this week he put them in his part of the garden next to mine... I love it, because I just have my 2 chickens, because my husband doesn' t want more at the moment, and it' s realy interesting to see how a flock of 6 with a rooster behaves, and also how my 2 ladies react to them...
And I love that I' m in my garden and everywhere I look I see happy chickens...

 

[SourRoses]

I thought this thread would be one of concern, because I've had to deal with neighbors flocks several times and it's always a source of trouble.
It's good to hear you are happy about it! As long as everyone takes good care of their chickens and the fence is secure, it's like you have a second flock. And maybe someone to chat chickens with over the fence?

As a note of caution, problems to watch out for include:
- The neighbors flock introducing disease to your poultry. More common if the neighbor is bringing in outside birds. This can be as treatable as lice or mites, or potentially deadly. Something to chat with the neighbor about if you are in friendly terms, to make sure you're on the same page about bio security.

- Flock mixing. If some make it over the fence, your hens could get conscripted into his flock. At which point they would be determined to get back to the flock all the time by any means necessary. They could also choose to roost at the closest point to the other coop, rather than their own coop.
If the rooster and any of his ladies make it over your side of the fence, they could potentially clean out the feed you offer your girls, leaving them hungry until you notice. Very hard to get a neighbor to compensate you for missing feed especially if the quantity is vague, as it often would be.
Newcomers could also abuse your ladies, especially if they are a more aggressive breed. Most of the time, numbers have an influence in which members of the group are picked on. So 2 ladies would be deemed the lowest in the pecking order. Unless your two are a much more assertive breed than his.

So those are just some concerns to keep in mind. It's more likely to be a successful arrangement if you and the neighbor are on the same page before any decisions are made, such as expanding flocks.
It's also worth investing in fence security - if it's not already top notch.
As I write this, I am remembering the immensely stressful day I had to run screaming after a mean rooster that made it over our fences and was trying to both kill our rooster and cruelly rape our hens. Many missing feathers that day and blood on my hands, along with a shouting match with the irresponsible neighbor who thought he could "free range" a solo rooster of a particularly nasty temperament. While my roo was covered in injuries and blood, the intruder was worse off, though that didn't stop him from trying to fence hop again. Fortunately, he was scared witless of me and ran off when he saw me coming. Until finally, I informed the neighbor that there were no more chances, he was going to be put down if he showed up again. Just unpleasantness all around and not a scenario I would ever want to repeat.

 

[Just2chickens]

O wauw, yes that is very stressful... And I'm so sorry you had to go through that, I hope al your chickens are fine now?

I was concerned last week when the neighbours' rooster had escaped, but he found no way into our garden, I have made the fence so that even cats have trouble coming in, so that if they come in every bird knows right away... And my chickens only free range when I' m in the garden, otherwise the're in their run, we have foxes, raccoons, dogs and birds of prey... The rooster spent the night in a low tree in the playground next to our garden, the next day when he started crowing we spotted him, the neighbour opened his fence close to the playground put his hens there and the rooster walk right back to them...
Yesterday my Lisa spotted the rooster and his hens, came a little closer and than ran of like the wind... Hid in a bush behind me and went on with her daily life ..
Health wise, I thought about that when the avian flu stuff came up, and I think that with all the wild birds and other wildlife here you can count all the chickens in our village (60 people) as one flock... There' s no way you can stop anything contagious here... But all chickens here have to be vaccinated for a lot, (mareks, vnd, ib, and so on) so they all have the same standart health position...
We were lucky when we moved 4 years ago that we found this village, the people are friendly and take good care of their animals, they help eachother out, but also leave you in peace...