Not sure if I should, what would you do?

[Momo]

Personally I'd keep any heavy drug user at the end of a very long arm. You say he's clean, but is he really? I mean, they all say that ... maybe I'm a cynic but you need to be careful about keeping clear boundaries so that you can continue to consider him a friend in the future. Those are your chickens and your coop; if you give him a hen it could invite him to feel more entitled around your place. I get that he's a long lost friend, and I agree we should help our friends (and anyone else who's down on their luck, when we can). But you need to be smart about it too. Listen to your gut. Give him eggs whenever you have some extra. But don't give him a slippery slope.

 

[Junkmanme]

Quote:
I'd agree with that. (Not knowing any other particulars...)

-Junkmanme-

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Quote:
I'd agree with that. (Not knowing any other particulars...)

-Junkmanme-

Yes, this was my feeling exactly.

 

[greathorse]

I think it depends on whether or not you have the means to help out a bit, if so, l would think about letting the guy buy/ own a chicken or two and give him an appropriate number of eggs from time to time. If the real issue is having him hanging around, you might have to head in entirely different direction with him. I would likely assume no matter if he owns a chicken or two that you would be doing all of this out of some generosity.

Good Luck

 

[drdoolittle]

Well, I have an older brother who is kind of like this guy, and I'm sorry, but I keep contact minimal. I worry and pray for him, but giving him a pet/livestcok? No. I would give him food or clothing if he needed it, but could never offer him a place to live (I have to think of my children). I love him a lot, but he made his choices and I made mine.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I give all my friends their first dozen eggs, standard price after that.
I have a couple friends like that, I try to help with advice - few freebies. Tough love.
I helped one build his own chicken tractor so he could keep his own. 45 minutes is too far to drive for a dozen eggs whether free, cheap, expensive or from ones 'personal' chicken or whatever.
Depending on the breed he'd be lucky to get a dozen eggs every 2 weeks from 1 bird.
1 bird alone isn't good either.

 

[Mattemma]

I would not do it-adding his hens. You do the work and pay for the supplies while he gets the eggs free. Nope I would not get involved. Maybe give eggs one time and tell him the cost if he wants to buy more. I would not be driving that far to give free eggs.

 

[blueberrychickens]

Thanks for all your input, the devil is definately in the details. We'll see what happens & if he brings it up again, I hoping maybe he'll forget!

 

[ranchhand]

Quote:
We must have the same friend, are the initials A. J.?

Very similar situation, except I helped him find work- I hired him part-time at the seafood store I managed. Since he couldn't drive anymore, I picked him up and dropped him off. Then it gradually started becoming a problem. Stop by the grocery store, go downtown to pay bills in cash, shop at WalMart, (which is a good way to torture me), run by so-and-so's house. Need more tools, can we go by X store. Started calling me constantly needing/wanting something. Forgot that he was getting a paycheck from the store, not a paycheck and free seafood to bribe his other friends with. I finally had to let him go, which I did very gently, but firmly. I'm fairly certain he is mooching off another old friend now. Would I do it again? Yes, but the rules would be very carefully laid out.

Before we married, DH let an old friend move in with him because the friend's wife had kicked him out. He had work and a car, he was supposed to keep working, pay rent and his share of the bills. Paid rent three times, quit his job, started bringing a different girl back every night. Ran the phone bill up into the thousands and when confronted, moved out while DH was at work. His emotional issues made him lose his touch with reality. Would DH do it again? Yes, but there'd be some serious ground rules.

DH's sister called us several times. Said that's it, I have had it with this boyfriend of 10 years, I want to move back. DH was wiser at this time, so he said fine, but you must have a job within a month and be paying your share of bills. (that was when jobs were plentiful) Funny, she decided to stay with the boyfriend every time. Rules were in place and she didn't want to observe them.

My point is this: If he gets a hen and adds it to your flock, which is a hazard to your flock anyway, he may decide he needs to visit with her. And it may spiral into he wants to be there each day when she lays "his" egg. Not good, since you don't want him there every day.

I'd say hope he forgets, but that would be unrealistic. Maybe you could explain that you rarely have extra eggs and you'll let him know when you do. Explain a closed flock if you have to, to keep him from showing up with a hen he got somewhere. Be firm that your paying customers will get eggs before you give any away. Help in any way YOU feel comfortable with, but by letting him have a chicken on your property you are giving him the "right" to your property.

 

[chuckzoo]

I have a next door neighbor that got into drugs and would come knocking on my door at all hours. It became unbearable listening to the things he wanted to speak about - his expoites with young women!

I stopped anwering the door, kept my curtains closed and would not go out for fear of running into him. It was an extremely unpleasant situation. Later his eighty plus year old mother got him admitted to get him straightened out. Now apparently he is a different person, but I learned my lesson and avoid him. Sorry - once bitten, twice shy! This may sound harsh but I have no desire to get into that situation ever again.

If you want to help him, I would scrounge some materials together and help him to build a small coop and run. This way he can have the satisfaction of achieving something and being responsible for a few hens. This should help build his self esteem which would not happen if you were taking care of a hen or two for him which is what will end up happening.

I am all for helping people - to help themselves and achieve some modicum of self-sufficiency.