Neighbors may be teasing my Emu & Ostrich - Need help w/ correct wording for a sign...

[KYTinpusher]

Video cameras would help deter unwelcome visitors. Even if you can't or don't want to go to the expense of a real system, putting up signs that your property is under video surveillance will scare off most people. You can buy fake video cameras, some even have little red lights on them, to make the signs more effective.

 

[moonjelly]

Good idea. Might get a sign or two that says it is. Though I don't want to overload the place with a million signs... lol

 

[joycespell]

I know it seems kind of harsh but, I had a couple teenagers who are larger and a bit scarier then me come and start throwing rocks at my geese and guineas and when i yelled at them to stop and they LAUGHED at me and kept throwing!! I would have laughed at myself too But , the fact that they kept throwing ticked me off so much that i began throwing rocks at them to see how much they liked it and they KEPT THROWING AND LAUGHING LIKE I WAS A LITTLE 5 YEAR OLD ATTEMPTING TO HIT THEM!!!!!!!! I actually had to let out our great dane male to scare them away!! I took their picture and called the cops and both boys were 18-19 years old and were thrown in jail for animal cruelty. Sometimes i wonder what this world will be like one day

 

[moonjelly]

That's horrible! I really think it seemed like the older kid was just trying to show off to the younger boys and that he didn't mean to be hurting the birds at all. I don't think the birds were scared or upset, either, but the fact remains that they could be very easily upset if one of the boys screamed or otherwise spooked them. Plus, as mentioned before, they are on my property and I do not want anyone touching my animals, unless I'm there and say it's okay. Hopefully, the signs will be enough. Where I lived previously, I had people coming by and feeding my animals over the fence and it was terrible. No harm ever came of it, but it's really scary. Because as you mentioned, there are a lot of strange people out there and I always worried someone might poison them for whatever reason.

I'm glad those teens were put in jail for that. Especially for abusing something so harmless. That's just cruel.

 

[moonjelly]

I'm still thinking about this sign. I want to get it ordered soon. My question is, is it too much to indicate on the sign to please not stop or slow your car down?

I don't own the road, of course and I don't want anyone to feel like I am telling them what to do while off my property, but I've seen people drive at snail's pace (I am talking very very slow) while hanging out the window to look at the birds or parking their car near the fence line all together on the road.

Again, of course the road is not mine, and it was my choice to pen the birds up on a place that faced the road. It's just I live on such a remote area, I never thought for a second it would become high traffic, but they seem to have drawn in the attention. When I first moved here, you'd see maybe... 4 cars a day and they would be both of my neighbors coming and going from work. Now people drive down the road just to see them, which again is my fault for penning them in view, but I'd appreciate people at least did not park on the road and stare. It's making my livestock guardian dog go crazy, too and the barking must be an annoyance to the entire 'neighborhood'.

If you saw a sign that said: "Please do not stop here. Do not approach fence. Shy birds."

Would you feel offended on the basis that you are not on private property? Or would you be understanding?

This is thinking as a person who may not be at all familiar with livestock, farming, or animals in general, as I am assuming most people who are parking on a dirt road to view someone else's animals, probably are not at all familiar with them or maybe even with livestock in general.

 

[JadedPhoenix]

How about "Viewing/petting of the animals by appointment only."? Could even say something like anyone caught doing so without permission will be fined.

Yes I actually knew someone who did this. Something simple like a price chart.

"Viewing/petting of the animals
by appointment only,

First session by appointment, free.
Second session by appointment, $5
Session without permission, $50
and will be arrested for trespassing."

BTW: No one with common sense would be offended by your idea for signs. But then again, if your neighbors had any you wouldn't need the signs.

 

[moonjelly]

Very true.

Though, I like to imagine them as not my neighbors, but strange people from "down the other street" who finally heard there are "strange birds" on that "other street" and want to go and stare at them... nope not my neighbors...

or

 

[KYTinpusher]

If you try to tell people not to stop and look, the more likely they are to do it. :/ Are there any fast growing plants you could plant as a screen along the road?

 

[29PalmsRanch]

I have ostriches. Here's the sign I put on my gate:

Beware of Dogs... all of them. They are English Mastiffs and incredibly territorial. If you need to access our property, please call us at (phone number). Oh watch out for the ostriches too. They have been known to disembowel a lion in the wild. Imagine what they would do to you.

serious.

 

[moonjelly]

I love your sign, I just don't want to admit they're dangerous, as that can be bad if something ever did happen. I'd rather go with they are shy or you are scaring them and they could cause injury to themselves (which is also true). I already have a warning for my guard dog that just says, "Guard dog at work. Do not disturb."