Neighbor threatening to "take out my roosters"

[Rock Home Isle]

To the OP. If this guy thinks roo's are loud. Order yourself 30 guinea fowl and 10 peafowl. Then see how much he want just the roosters.

First time I heard a Peafowl...In my 12 year old imagination, I thought I was hearing a woman being murdered. Scared the snot out of me. The neighbors a 1/2 mile away had a flock...amazing loud.

I like the sound of a Peafowl, once I actually knew what it was I was hearing...

 

[Sprinkles212]

The cousin (he only has met me twice and I am in my late 30's) told me I was pretty bright for a guy who didn't have a ranch out west (Wyoming as opposed to living in Indiana).

You are "oldrooster" and still in your 30's? I was thinking you were at least 70!

Haven't you heard that the 30's are the new 20's? Goodness! You have the majority of your life AHEAD of you.

 

[oldrooster]

I am rather "old" to get started doing the chicken thing and I get told I seem to think like someone 2x my age but act sometimes like a teenager so it's all perspective....

 

[Kathryn4629]

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.

Thank you so much for your wonderful response!

I have actually been wondering what his wife is like lately. Especially since I have never heard her speak.

I would love to have some fellow "chicken/farm people" to hang out with! Move on over. Oh and I love me some Hank Williams!! I actually lived in Glacier Wa (base of mt. Baker) for a short period of time. I left because I couldn't take all that rain!! The winter I was there it set a record for consecutive days of rain. Had great snow on the mountain, but my truck stated to grow things, lol. So I can somewhat feel your pain.

 

[chickmashnoon]

heheh. Bob Wills is still the King

 

[Pele]

This is all very interesting to read from the perspective of a city person who pulled up roots from Washington DC, and moved to Idaho (granted, I was born and raised to my teens in South Dakota, so I'm not completely city).

I LOVE the wide open spaces, the animals, the chickens, the unusual noises (I'd rather hear a cow lowing in the distance and wonder if a calf was born than hearing a pistol go off and wonder who died for 20 bucks). I love that the land has a purpose, and that it responds to my hands. I love that so much life is available to me, if I'm just willing to sweat a bit, and get some dirt under my nails.

Do I have my moments where I look at a dandelion in my front yard, and shake my digger at it in impotant suburban rage? Sure do. Do I realize that this is my own personal issue, and that I shouldn't expect other people to give a fig about it if they had farm acreage next to me? Yep.

Heck, If I lived next to the OP, I'd be over at her place bugging her to let me help her with her animals and garden (I do actually do this with friends of mine who have a really large garden. In exchange for labor I get produce. Woohoo!).

The OPs neighbor is super duper creepy with his staring. At least most bad neighbors have the common decency to harrass without oggling. Maybe she should find a big cardboard cutout of a pinup girl, and put it in her garden instead of a scarecrow. When the creep complains about it, she can just shrug and say "oh, gosh, I thought I was doing you a favor since you seem to like staring at girls so much....".

 

[ailurophile23]

The only odd thing that she said was about my mare that is about to foal. She asked when I planned to get her off the pasture? Now, I grew up on a ranch and all of our horses foaled on pasture with no help. I still do it that way and so does the rest of the family. We have never had a problem. Horses can take care of themselves. I do go out and imprint the foal the next day, and check everything out. She looked at me like I was crazy! She must be a person that keeps horses in a stall or something. Not that there is anything wrong with that! My horses just aren't kept that way. They prefer to break the ice in the creek in the winter to drinking out of the trough for goodness sakes.

I missed this post a while back and in reading through everything since, I didn't see a reply to this. Some mares, if left on pasture, will not produce milk that the foals can tolerate or will not produce enough milk. Because of this, many folks do put their mares up the last month before foaling and feed them only alfalfa hay and no other mixed grass hay. If your mare has successfully raised a foal before while being left on pasture, then no worries. If not, it is something to consider. We had one mare who foaled and the baby died within a few weeks due to this issue.

Otherwise, congrats to you for coming so far and learning to handle this situation so well. And what a beautiful place you have too.

 

[suezqz_64]

Tough situation but you're right, he's trying to take advantage of you because you're young and because you're not confrontational. If I were you I would lodge a formal complaint with your local police station citing the threats that he made in case something happens in the future. I would also promptly put up No Trespassing signs on the property line you share with him and make him aware that he is not welcome. A police officer can help you do that if you live in an area where they have the man power.

In a passive aggressive move I would also probably collect dandelion flowers and blow them all over his freshly mowed lawn or plant a perimeter of bamboo.

 

[SunnySkies]

Seriously, no right to farm paper in your purchase contract?

We are in the process of buying a farmette, and that was one paper the county makes the agent add to the contract to homes in rural areas in this state. I laughed because I was all, "WHY would you buy property in a rural area if you were bugged by any of that?" but my agent said it happens often enough that they added this one bit of paper. Basically, it forewarns people about smells, sounds, outdoor sex, etc, that accompanies living in farm country.

I'd be digging around looking for that, just to see if something like thst exists in your state, but I think everything else you have done has been perfectly handled, and him calling the humane society blew up in his face, lol. It must chap his hide something awful.

I'll be watching for further developments, but I bet he just huffs and puffs from now on.

 

[XxPandaxX]

This is almost... harassment ! You should tell him "Look, guy. I don't have a problem with you. I'll give you a dozen eggs a week if we can get along. This is my land and I can do what I want with it. If you don't want to, that's no problem, but if you stare at me or kill one of my pets, chicken and all, I'm calling the cops." You have to confront HIM. Bullies mess with people that won't stand up for themselves. You HAVE to stand up. However, GOOD LUCK !