neighbors chickens mingling with my chickens

[yomama]

Hi there,
I've tried searching for an answer to this, as to not add another thread to the forum, but I can't seem to find one to my particular situation. My question is, what are the dangers, and, or problems, of my neighbors chickens coming over to my yard and "mingling" with my chickens? We share a fenceline, and normally their chickens stay on their property. Recently, 4 of their pullets have been coming over into my yard. They sneak through the fence, into my goat pasture, then into my yard. The fencing is field fencing, so it is easy for them to get through. As of now, my chickens freerange on the other side of the yard, but I did have plans to let them range into my goat's pasture. I really don't want my chickens mingling with theirs, as they all have nasty scaly leg mites, and who knows what else. Not to mention, their chickens' living conditions aren't that great, which makes me concerned that some of them might have respitory problems. Another problem is that I adopted my rooster from them in February, (they were going to take him to auction) and although he is finally showing no signs of wanting to go back over their, I don't want to take any chances. Not to mention it took me forever to get him back into a healthy state. The last thing I need is for him to get reinfected with mites again or something. I don't want any fighting between the groups either. My neighbors and I are on good terms, so I could talk to them. I just don't think they would see it as much of an issue, as I do. I can't put chicken wire along the field fencing, because my goats, thanks to my neighbors feeding them branches all the time, climb on the fence. They would just tear the chicken wire down. (I have told them to stop feeding them branches there, because the goats are destroying the fence, and they have. But whenever they see the neighbors, they start to climb the fence, anticipating goodies.) I have thought about refencing that section with the pasture fencing that has the 2" x 3" holes(or so), but I don't have the money for that right now. Not to mention, I have already had to do alot of "fence mending" due to the fact that our dogs fight through the fence. They have not contributed to any of that. I kind of figure that refencing is going to be my only option, but what could happen if the two groups came into contact with each other?
Thanks for any advice or suggestions!

 

[fargosmom]

I think you're right to be concerned about the health and well-being of your own livestock, but at the same time it's good to keep peace with the neighbors if you can. I agree that it sounds like beefier fencing is your best bet . . . can you keep an eye on craigslist for anyone recycling fencing material? You might be able to cobble together a better fence, even if it doesn't look great, to get you through this. Otherwise you could build a tractor for your chickens - it seems unfair for them to have to be confined on your property, but it would keep them from mingling with the "outsiders" and maybe picking up any illness. Parasites could be transmitted without direct contact, I fear, so maybe a regular application of DE as a preventive measure might be a good idea. Hope others chime in soon with other ideas. Good luck and best wishes!

 

[yomama]

Well, I did talk to the neighbor, and she said that they could try putting some chicken wire on their side of the fence. We both realize that there is a good chance my goats would knock it down, though. She knew that some of her chickens were coming over and figured that my dogs would keep them on their own side. However,my dogs have been so conditioned to leave our chickens alone, that they don't chase after ANY chicken now (which is really good actually, I'm very proud of them. A year ago, they would of gone into a frenzy chasing and/or "playing" with a chicken to death). I told her that I was worried about what would happen to her chickens if I wasn't out there with the dogs. I also told her that I did plan on letting my chickens out in the pasture and was not sure how the two groups would react to each other. She really didn't seem to concerned about the whole situation. Ultimately, I am more concerned with what would happen if the two groups did come into contact. Are chickens territorial enough to defend their area, or does it just depend on the chicken?