Neighbor's Chickens Trying to Join My Flock

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buffy-the-eggpile-layer said:
Yeah I'm sorta doing a smattering of things... oats here and there; handfuls of feed; clean bowls of water in my yard, and letting them stuff their faces for an amount of time while my girls free range (they are giving back by stealthily dropping eggs in my coop). I have trouble cutting them off because even as I'm trying to grab them they are stuffing their faces as much as they can... and if they slip away, they immediately turn around and run back to the feeder. It's more than typically greedy chickens... there's an air of desperation.

Thanks for your kind words--it means a lot. I've been stupidly losing sleep over this stuff. I'm already up at night worrying about how they'll fare in the summer without ventilation, and haven't even figured out this feed business. Sigh.

Oh, and here's a photo of the OG infiltrator, a speckled who came to my run with a bad injury to her scalp and comb (she'd been attacked by their turkeys). I patched her up and she's been coming to my doorstep every day since.

View attachment 2576930
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What a sweet picture! I nominate you 2021 chicken caretaker of the year.
 
buffy-the-eggpile-layer said:
I'm having an issue with my neighbors flock storming my run and eating like they're starving whenever I let my girls out to supervise free range. It wasn't always like this: a few of the neighbor's hens who were always getting bullied would come down and snack/hang out (I also saved one from near-death from a turkey attack). But in the last few weeks, they suddenly started acting ravenous and would wipe out my flock's supplies in no time.

Well, last week we were tasked with watching their chickens while they were out of town. The first time we were to check on them was an evening; and we were horrified to see they had no feed left. But upon alerting the neighbors, they said they only give them two cups in the morning and that's it because they want them to free range for their food. The sad thing is, before we found out they were getting rationed, we filled their feeder up and they all ate it like they were starving. So, I think the reason some of the lower rung girls from their flock are desperately clamoring into mine for feed and clean water is because they probably aren't even getting any. And when I say desperate: they will dart in under my feet any chance they get, attack the feeder to the degree that it's swinging all over, and keep eating even if my girls start attacking them. This is new behavior. I hate kicking them out, but I have to sometimes.

I'm in a tough spot. I've bonded with these girls and I don't want them to be starving, but I also can't afford double the feed for them, nor is my run reliably open access. It's also impossible for me to keep them out all the time when I supervise free range because my girls like to come and go. Some of the neighbors hens even run in there and lay eggs now!

So, I want to tactfully tell the neighbors that I think they may need to up their girls' feed rations, but I'm worried about coming off judgy, and these neighbors pride themselves on raising a 'tough' flock (the girls' coop is a a large shed with no ventilation, and their water buckets have algae growing in them--they also used to pen them in with turkeys until one of their girls nearly got killed, but luckily ran down to my run where I found her). I feel bad and want to help them but realize it's not my place. What's the best way to handle this?

I should also note that we have a good relationship with said neighbors, just very different approaches to chicken-keeping. They are busy and hands-off, and we work from home, are always the ones to watch them when they are (frequently) away, and otherwise are always swarmed by their chickens and the ones to discover issues.
Click to expand...
 
buffy-the-eggpile-layer said:
I'm having an issue with my neighbors flock storming my run and eating like they're starving whenever I let my girls out to supervise free range. It wasn't always like this: a few of the neighbor's hens who were always getting bullied would come down and snack/hang out (I also saved one from near-death from a turkey attack). But in the last few weeks, they suddenly started acting ravenous and would wipe out my flock's supplies in no time.

Well, last week we were tasked with watching their chickens while they were out of town. The first time we were to check on them was an evening; and we were horrified to see they had no feed left. But upon alerting the neighbors, they said they only give them two cups in the morning and that's it because they want them to free range for their food. The sad thing is, before we found out they were getting rationed, we filled their feeder up and they all ate it like they were starving. So, I think the reason some of the lower rung girls from their flock are desperately clamoring into mine for feed and clean water is because they probably aren't even getting any. And when I say desperate: they will dart in under my feet any chance they get, attack the feeder to the degree that it's swinging all over, and keep eating even if my girls start attacking them. This is new behavior. I hate kicking them out, but I have to sometimes.

I'm in a tough spot. I've bonded with these girls and I don't want them to be starving, but I also can't afford double the feed for them, nor is my run reliably open access. It's also impossible for me to keep them out all the time when I supervise free range because my girls like to come and go. Some of the neighbors hens even run in there and lay eggs now!

So, I want to tactfully tell the neighbors that I think they may need to up their girls' feed rations, but I'm worried about coming off judgy, and these neighbors pride themselves on raising a 'tough' flock (the girls' coop is a a large shed with no ventilation, and their water buckets have algae growing in them--they also used to pen them in with turkeys until one of their girls nearly got killed, but luckily ran down to my run where I found her). I feel bad and want to help them but realize it's not my place. What's the best way to handle this?$
I should also note that we have a good relationship with said neighbors, just very different approaches to chicken-keeping. They are busy and hands-off, and we work from home, are always the ones to watch them when they are (frequently) away, and otherwise are always swarmed by their chickens and the ones to discover issues.
Click to expand...
Hope this isn't too long. I also prefer to be hands-off in regards to my girls. That being said I bought this
container from amazon, drilled 4 holes in it and put in 4 of these

Lauwell 12 Pieces Fully Automatic Poultry Drinking Machine Plastic Poultry Waterer Drinking Cups.​

I also drilled a hole for a float to measure consumption. I had trouble with the water getting skunky so I got water treatment for $20 on eBay that lasts for 3 fills and works great. This now lasts my 3 girls for 5 months. I also bought this

LITTLE GIANT Plastic Dome Feeder (60 Lb) feeder.​

I had to go back and cut 2" off the neck of the bottle for it to dispense. I put in a 50 pound bag of feed on 12/20/21 and still have 1/3 left. You will want to put a cover over it so rain doesn't follow the curve of the bottle into the dispenser.
So all this to say you can tell your neighbor maybe show her this letter to keep the peace. It can be done. I still am out 3 or 4 times a day to 1) let the girls out to free-range, 2) gather eggs & 3) to tuck them in at night. I do not keep either the food or water in the coop, they are in the run so the girls have full-time access to both. Even with full tummies, they WANT to free-range and gobble up all the goodies.
Good luck with the neighbor

​

 
Hey everyone, I'm thankful for your amazing support and advice. I've had an insanely busy few days with some chicken emergencies in my own flock (on top of work/school) which kept me from being able to read and respond in full. I'm looking forward to reading all of your kind and valuable words.

Because I've been so preoccupied, there's not much of an update. I've been making sure the girls that come down get supplemented with feed and fresh water, and they are looking better. (I know this may hurt my case but we'll cross that bridge when we get there). My next battle will be getting them to put in ventilation: I'm ready to take an axe to the shed when they're out of town, covering the holes with hardware cloth and saying a bear tried to get in and we had to patch it up!

I'm catching some zzz's now but will be reading through everyone's helpful responses soon! Thank you amazing people for helping me and others through this community ❤
 
Weeg said:
This, is actually not a terrible idea.
I love it! 😍
I say go for it! Hahahah!
Click to expand...
Then, after the bear tears apart the coop, tell that if they continue to let the hens free range, the bear will eat them all. Show them the pictures you have of the Turkey attack, and say you saved that hen from the bear already.
Then, they will have to give free choice feed since they are't free ranging. Perfect. :D
 

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