Neighbors!PLEase Reason? page 4 #35 Thank You

[go-veggie]

You really sound like it's privacy you're after even if they are playing nice now. I hear ya' there! We have been through hell with our neighbors...I know what I am talking about on this one, UNFORTUNATELY. Fences aren't cheap and neither are bushes and trees, but I think that if you start planting some privacy bushes and maybe changing the placement of things in your yard if at all possible to angle a little more away from them if at all possible, she might get the hint. Just do whatever you can to establish boundaries but not anger them. Neighbors can be wonderful and they can ruin your life...you're still at the point where you can control how this turns out, for the most part anyway. So far, so good, and it is perfectly fine for you to ask them to come to you first before going right back to see the birds. BUSHES, BUSHES and more bushes! If all else fails, you will have to put up a fence...good luck!

 

[country freedom]

Just a joke here - get a big mean roo - he'll keep'm outta yer yard - Just kidding - You really want to provide your neighbors with fresh eggs and this site, maybe?

 

[CarlaRiggs]

I think you're throwing away a terrific opportunity to make good neighbors... be friendly.

The kids seem well behaved, and if you start this way when they're young, it will continue. As they grow older, they can help out while you're gone or at other times. They will be protective of your chickens from other neighborhood kids that might do something dumb.
I don't see the harm of the kids coming into your yard to see the chickens; teach them how to care for the birds.
No person can have too many friends!

Carla

 

[onthespot]

how about a teensy weensy little setup on your property, right on the line, with one opening facing to them that they have access to "their" chicken(s)? Put an older, not such a good layer in there. Scientists say that intermittent reinforcement (i.e. NOT getting an egg every day) is a stronger reinforcement for addictive behavior than always getting an expected reward from the same behaviors.

 

[tiki244]

I hear you there. I keep second guessing myself about what I said. I just have a lot of conflicting thoughts about this. Like what if her husband is not so 'thrilled' with the chickens?

And with the more kids that come over here the 'news' of the chickens will become an ever broadening circle of 'news' with an ever broadening number of parents hearing about them. This is one of my major concerns. It just sets very uneasy with me. I have no idea how all these people will react and I am guessing that reactions could be 'mixed' at best. The lady (friendly? neighbor) seems to be running a day care out of her house, I forgot to put that in there. That also has me a bit or more than a bit worried.

I really do not want to be part of a petting zoo for day care, more because of the fear of the parent's reactions than anything.

Nobody knew I had chickens till they moved in last year, and it has been way a lot of trouble since then. I dont know if I can connect the dots to them or not.

ETA: They have access to chickens at her brother's house, so it is not like they cant ever see chickens. I may seem obstinant on my ideas but please give me some compelling reasons one way or the other. I am still open to suggestions. My main thing is I am afraid of what will happen(more reports).

 

[BettyR]

My elderly parents wanted a wooden fence across the back of their property. They live on social security so they don’t have a lot of money. They started by putting in their posts a few at a time as they could afford the supplies; they did the work themselves.

Once the frame was finished they started putting up their boards a couple of sections at a time as they could afford the planks. By the end of the year they had fenced off a major portion of their two-acre plot; the section at the back which butts up to the woods; which is all they had planned to fence.

I would give putting up a 6’ privacy fence a serious thought.

 

[speckledhen]

Kris, I completely understand what you're saying. No way would I want to be a petting zoo. It even bothers me a bit when neighbors tell me their grandkids are coming and they may want to see the chickens. I dont want them tracking all sorts of things here-and no, I do not have children here to track in things on their shoes, only my DH and myself. I sometimes resent being the "Farm Tour" in the neighborhood, but these are egg customers and I also dont want them to be unaware of where their food comes from, so I just make them spray their shoes and I have a gated driveway plus my main acreage is perimeter fenced. I also value my privacy. I'm not chummy with neighbors for good reasons I wont discuss and I'd rather the word not spread all over the county exactly what I have on my property here. The last thing I want is a bunch of kids getting too comfy with roaming my property. Sorry, but as I've said before, I'm a bit anti-social. And it's working for me.

 

[risurocket]

I like go-veggie's idea of bushes. It is less conspicuous than a fence and will not seem like you are totally alienating the neighbors right off the bat. It will look like you are just re-landscaping.

Maybe start with bushes a little further from the border with the neighbor's house to give even more of the impression that you are just landscaping. Maybe some thorny berry bushes.

and then if you have thorns, you might be able to do the fence as a "safety feature" since the neighbor seems to have a lot of kids around (I'm being devious here...)

Are your chickens for just pets or for laying or (presumably) both? If you are getting a lot of exposure, do you have extra eggs to offer for sale? *shrug* just an idea to help smooth over fidgety neighbors, if possible. Not that you have to make close friends with everyone, just as an incentive for them not to make trouble. And you did a good job with the kids coming to see the chickens. Hopefully they will respect that. You might have to remind them a few times. Good luck!

p.s. edited to add: I am a bit nervous about the privacy thing too. My landlord has organic produce gardens all around our coop and he is also "partnering" with us on our chickens. There can be a lot of traffic coming in and out. I have no control over that, so I plan on combo locking my chickens' coop and run.

 

[onthespot]

would a long, skinny, fenced off little veggie garden along the property line be more inviting, still could share produce, provide a biosecure zone, not offensive, a place to compost the manure, something the daycare moms couldn't get mad about, and maybe you could run a
U pick sort of veggie stand and turn a puny profit or something, pay for your chicken feed. Plant some exotic varieties to give the neighbors something else to think and talk about besides your chickens.... just thinking here... more ideas to come.

 

[tiki244]

onthespot you do have some creative things going on there

speckledhen, BettyR and risurocket thanks again for the support and ideas. I am thinking along these lines, but felt somewhat guilty about telling the kids that. I think it is going to be ok for me to keep the boundaries. I am a private person too, and just havent encountered this in years. Had me thrown for a loop. Thanks everyone for your support and ideas, I will save this thread to reread if I waver.

I can just see me planting some bushes in the dark of night

I think I could probably swing a few fence posts at a time, that sounds like a plan too.