Neighbor threatening to "take out my roosters"

[Achickenwrangler#1]

Wow, beautiful place. Very cool. Glad you have contacted the sheriff, they are doing the face/palm thing I'm sure. Now....you should be keeping a record of every time he confronts you, use this thread for accuracy, just make a note dated and what he said/did...doesn't have to be long just the facts m'am. He will be trying to think up something cutsey to cause more trouble, thing is he is impotent and wants to be important....but really, you should be able to pursue your happiness without the harassment. When the judge gets your folder, he will do the face/palm thing and award you a settlement. Pictures are worth more, your projects and improvements...plus the judge will enjoy the moments of peace looking at them...can't hurt. I know it's easy to get roiled up over this stuff, but that his goal not yours, I personally know a little about feudin' and if you want to win in the long haul you are doing it right.....one more thing...it's so much safer to drop the foal at pasture...it's cleaner and she won't risk laying up against a wall where you can't move her. Good going!

 

[ChickiesInUtah]

Your photos are absolutely breathtaking. Man, do I miss eastern Washington.

I do feel bad for your neighbor too. What a sad life. It does sound like things are changing for the better however for you. As a fellow fairly sensitive person who dislikes conflict I'm really proud of you.

Your animals are so lucky to have a nurturer such as yourself.

 

[silkiemelon]

Wow, I love your property! Absolutley gorgeous. I myself live in Spokane, and I never knew there was such a pretty place nearby!

I'm so sorry about your horrible neighbor. I wouldn't have been able to go through that, grumpy old men tend to scare me. If a guy came out and stared at me while I was working, I would go inside, lock the doors and never come out! You handled it very well.
I'm glad things are getting better for you, and by the way, I love your coop and your chickens!
Keep up the good work

 

[Achickenwrangler#1]

Really? I would have prob started throwing rocks at him and calling him pervert or something similar...but then that's just me.

 

[NYREDS]

Yeah, they sure do eat ticks, in my own experience. They prefer to patrol and find them on their own, I'm sure.

They are aggressive toward chickens, though, so that is why I rehomed mine, however, I do plan to have them again, specifically because when I did, tick numbers around the house went way down. I live in the woods. If I had 20 acres and other livestock like Kathryn, I'd definitely not be without them if I could house them away from the chicken coop.

They are most definitely LOUD! You get used to it, though. The neighbor may not, LOL.

True enough. A few years back in Westchester County NY they were having a problem with Lyme Disease which is carried by Deer Ticks. I heard that the DEC released Guinea Fowl to reduce the tick population. In my own experience we have several cats & dogs that roam the woods & meadows near our house. We had Guineas for several years & during that time none of our dogs or cats ever had a tick. Before & since they were a common problem. We'd still have Guineas but instead we have new neighbors who complain about everything. We got rid of the Guineas since we couldn't convince them to stay out of the neighbors driveway.

 

[speckledhen]

True enough. A few years back in Westchester County NY they were having a problem with Lyme Disease which is carried by Deer Ticks. I heard that the DEC released Guinea Fowl to reduce the tick population. In my own experience we have several cats & dogs that roam the woods & meadows near our house. We had Guineas for several years & during that time none of our dogs or cats ever had a tick. Before & since they were a common problem. We'd still have Guineas but instead we have new neighbors who complain about everything. We got rid of the Guineas since we couldn't convince them to stay out of the neighbors driveway.

Bummer you had to get rid of them, Bill. I preferred my loudmouth goonie-birds to most of my neighbors.

 

[Cosmopolis Chick]

Wow.
I have read every single post. I laughed, I cried (honestly!)
I know we are only hearing one side of the situation (I try to step back and be totally fair if at all possible), and I want to say I do believe you and your portrayal of the conversations. That said - I think you are handling things beautifully.

I am not far away (382.5 miles across the mountains ) and wish I could stop by and camp out in my big ugly station wagon and tent for 2 or 3 days, as close to his property as I could get. I have some priceless Hank Williams Sr. tapes, and some Buck Owens, oh, yes and Bob Wills. If those somehow were his 'cup of tea' I also have Nirvana and several AC/DC tapes that I could CRANK UP. Combined with a tent, a cook-out fire, and 6 or 8 people having a mellow conversation while they drink and eat... well, he'd just be jealous! Actually, pretending I am you for a moment, all retaliatory behavior would be strictly in my head. I would enjoy thinking up all sorts of devilish evil things to do - but that's as far as it'd go. I really TRY to not let other people decide how I act on any situation.

I TRY to watch my attitude (see my siggy) but I also have been working on my submissive attitude for years and years. Being adult, civil, and fair does not mean having to be a dish-rag.

I LOVE donkeys and would love to have one but my vote for sheep guardian would be one or two llamas.

I am ready to sell my place and move right in as soon as Crabby Pants sells (at a loss 'cause animals are stinkin' up the place). It rains so much here in Grays Harbor I can't take it anymore. It's now the middle of June and we've only gotten 3 sunny (but wet) days so far. I never knew cars could get moss until I moved here. I am waiting for just 2 sunny days in a row so I can paint my house. I only need a garden hose for the animals - I never have to water the garden or flowers. Maybe by August I can search for my shorts and T-shirts, I own a swimsuit but only get to wear it at the 'Y'.

My "vote" would be to:

• DOCUMENT EVERY CONVERSATION, COMMENT, INCIDENT, ETC.
• do not assume he is "all mouth", I read in the news way too often of crazy people going ballistic, someone getting hurt or dead.
• not give them anything for free, if they want produce or eggs they buy them like everyone else. Any FREE items are to your friends, which that neighbor is NOT.
• never invite nor allow him on your property and certainly NEVER inside your house or any buildings. Post 'No Trespassing' signs, just 1 on each side of your property.
• remain as civil as you can at the property line or in town, the least said the better, just a tiny nod and 'hello' should suffice. Do not say or do anything that adds fuel to the flames, of course that does not mean to be a wimp either.
• watch for any opportunity to make friends with the wife. Do not assume she agrees with his attitude until you hear it from her own lips. She may or may not be subjugated, that is her decision. If made a friend she may give you tips on actions he has planned.
• feel the love sent to you on these 30 pages of posts (as of today). You are not alone.

I call my tiny place in Grays Harbor Chicken Heaven.
After seeing your photos I would just call your place Heaven.

 

[seventreesfarm]

I haven't read the whole thread, but enough to get the gist.

We had a neighbor like that. He went nuts when we moved in and started turning the little old homestead back into a working farm. Before we had the fence up, he'd throw crap onto our pasture (it was the paddock along the property line that he used to mow and treat like part of his lawn). He'd spray round up over the existing fence into a garden area. The one time we let him bring a tractor onto our land so he could scoop some planting holes for hedge trees, he dumped oil from the tractor on the grass. On & on with the harassment, and then he'd always be spying on us. He'd go in the space between his hedge and the cattle panel fence we put up, pretending to trim his trees, but mostly just watching us.

We tried being polite & neighborly. Go okie doked then he'd go back at it. Then we tried being abrupt and no-nonsense. He avoided us then & had his wife run interference so he could pretend he never heard us tell him to quit.

So then we combed over the county code for anything he could be in violation of, wrote up a nice cease & desist letter spelling out the violations, the documentation we had, and what would happen if he did one more thing.

I think it wasn't 2 days before a for sale sign went up and they were gone soon after. Turns out guy had major issues with drinking & wife beating and a biggish arrest record. I thin khis wife figured out he was going to get in major trouble if they stayed, since he couldn't help himself from messing with us. That was also about the time they were out of town for the day and we moved the entire fence over like 8". Just enough so he couldn't access that side of his hedge anymore. I don't think he thought we were that serious.

He was from an old family in the county and thought farming was beneath him since he had a fancy job at the paper mill

His family still owns a dairy farm, so that was silly. Butthe place we bought had been a rental for 20 years and I think he got used to bullying the renters about the goats & chickens they had. Didn't he get a surprise.

 

[Achickenwrangler#1]

People are crazy

 

[ccrow]

He said I lied about my pasture getting eaten by my horses. He even said that no animal has been on the one pasture for over three weeks. Well all I can say is have you ever heard for rotational grazing???!!!! Seriously!

I'm thinking maybe he had visions of the horses munching the grass down to match his lawn...