Neighbor's chickens are freezing to death...it's really bothering me..

[noriko]

I agreed with Sonoran Silkies but, I was thinking.....maybe there is a reason that your neighbors chickens don't want to stay at their place(thier coop, their trees, their porch)?! They sleep in your tree....and stay at your porch.....not your neighbors. WHY?

 

[honeydoll]

Dora'smom :

That 10 year old vegetarian sounds like she needs a lesson in animal cruelty. Maybe she doesn't understand that the birds are freezing to death, and that they, as their masters, are guilty of cruelty, and could be fined/jailed? To bad the neighbors allow the child to influence their decision to the detriment of the animals.

I have also had this thought. I don't quite get it either... But they do have other pets, dogs, cats and take great care of them. I think the chickens are too wild for them to help I guess. I really can't judge why this is happening. I learned from this site to teach my chickens to go to the coop each night before winter so they would learn to bunk there in the cold.​

 

[claud]

Quote:
I agree that maybe he doesn't know how to get them inside. I too would suggest offering to help catch them and lock them in the coop for a while. make sure you explain that they need to stay in the coop for some time so they learn that it is "home".

 

[ChooksChick]

The birds would likely go in the coop if there was a light in there and their feed and water was in there- without that and being shown the inside, it just looks like a dark, scary place where a predator could be.

It's very sad, I agree- I can't imagine my birds being out in this stuff. Horrible. Overwhelming life leads to narrowing your efforts to what you can handle and these birds don't get the priority list. Perhaps you can help set up a light in there?

 

[honeydoll]

You know NORIKO I am not sure why they always have come here. They run in my coop if I leave it open for mine to free range and come back freely. Then they run mine off becasue my roo is a sissy and their roos are mean. They eat all my chickens food too. If I ope my garage they run in and poo all aver it and I almost don't have the heart to chase them out into the bitter cold. My DH does though, he doesn't want them eating all our food and getting ours sick. Their chickens we call our "adopted chickens" but they've adopted us.

 

[honeydoll]

Quote:
Well their coop is near their storage shed, , just talked to DH at work, he said the actual coop is just a small dog house. I thought it was the storage shed. Come to find out the coop is like a 5X2ft. dog house.

 

[Robin'sBrood]

In other words, they don't have a coop at all. I wonder if they've ever used that dog house as shelter... they may not even realize what it's for. Do you think your neighbors would let you have them? You could put meanie out of his misery and save the others...

 

[honeydoll]

I've considered, their RIR roo, Foghorn, is not so bad. He's pretty too. The Ameraucauna is the stinker. I am not sure if the others are alive or not, I never see them anymore. I have a 12x12 coop, how many can I have in that space?

 

[millie481]

Quote:
Since they are free range...I'd say just about as many as you would like. 30-35?...maybe more.

 

[fancbrd4me02]

It sounds to me that your neighbors are treating thier chickens cruelly even if they did not intend to. Well the road to hell is paved with good intentions. It would be kinder to process them. Your neighbor needs to be responsible for his birds. If he is unwilling or unable to care for them he needs to recognize that and get help to confine them in a warm place or allow you or another willing party to take over thier care. Letting animals suffer in the cold without shelter is cruel. I don't care if it's a dog, chicken or a fish. They all have nerves and feel pain and we all know how unpleasant the cold is. The reason you feel sorry for thier chickens is because they are suffering. If he doesn't do something or let you take care of it since he can't handle it, you should report him for neglect/cruelty.