Now I have to LOCK the coop and run...

[Cetawin]

Quote:
You do realize that a vast majority of homeless individuals CHOOSE to live on the streets don't you? Just ask most of them and they will tell you that they are happy doing so and make more money from handouts than they do working a regular job.

Quote:
Logic would say if someone new appears in the neighborhood, homeless or not, and suddenly there are breakins and attempted breakins that the odds are in favor of it being the new person.

It is sad that you should have to worry about such things as padlocks on your coop but it is also a reality. I would hate to have to deal with that, but would if I were in your shoes.

good luck.

 

[KrisRose]

When the ecomony went downhill and neighbor was'nt acting his age then I decided to lock up.
Forgeting the key was a big problem at first. But know its a lock thats frozen solid

. Buy yerself some de-icer.

 

[SpottedCrow]

We have thieves here too...I feel for the homeless guy but DANG!!! they're your livelyhood, not an all you can steal buffet.
This was in my weekend's paper:
HALIFAX
SUMMIT STREET MAN SAYS DUCKS, PHEASANTS STOLEN
Summit Street resident Bob Waterman reported that birds he raises on his property have been the target of thieves. The largest theft took place a few weeks ago when 15 pheasants and 20 Mandarin ducks were stolen from the locked cages there were kept in. Waterman sells the birds for about $15 for a pheasant and $35-$50 for a pair of ducks.

Dollars to donuts THESE buttswabs aren't eating them but selling them.
A trail camera couldn't hurt either. And if you can get the thieves, it might be a larceny if enough birds have been taken.

 

[lovemychix]

I hate having a key too. I lock mine because I use the storage area for garden tools and my tiller. I put a key hook by the back key and the front door that way one is always there when I head out. I have gotten in a routine to grab it on the way out. It will get easier. It would be horrible knowing someone was messing in the henhouse.

Good luck.

 

[bluey]

...buttswabs...

never heard that one before.....

 

[amazondoc]

I am about the worst there is for losing keys (and everything else).

My keys are on a carabiner (available at Walmart or any hardware store), attached to my belt loop. Any time I leave the house, I count to four: 1. keys on the loop; 2. wallet in the pocket; 3. phone in the pocket; 4. brain (PDA) in the pocket. If I don't stop and count, I'll forget something every time. I also count whenever I leave the car, same reason.

I managed to lock my car keys in my trunk the other day, when I was 200 miles from home. Fortunately, I keep a spare key in the glove compartment for just that kind of emergency -- and the car itself wasn't locked. Otherwise, I would have been calling a locksmith. I can't tell you the number of times I've done something like that.

 

[Duppydo]

Sorry to hear your having to deal with theives after your eggs and chickens. Seems to be the way things are in these harder times. I can't even leave a hose or lawn sprinkler on my front lawn without it disappearing.I've had to fence in my whole property and still i still fear someone stealing my hens and honeybee hives. A woman a couple miles down the road had her bee hive stolen this past year. I guess i need to get a chicken friendly guard dog, and soon...!

 

[orbirdman]

SSS!

 

[Verboten]

I am sorry to the OP that they are feeling vulnerable (for good reason)- try to get the sheriff to do something more - it shouldn't be too hard to move someone along whos whole way of life IS illegal (ex: Where are they going to the bathroom?, Is panhandling legal now?, Is it still illegal to sleep in the park?)

I tend to agree with Cetawin's post. Many homeless are there because they are addicted to one thing or another or have mental problems (or both) and there are very few ways to help someone ***who does not want to be helped***. In my town (and I suspect many others are not very different) it wouldn't be possible to not be able to sleep in a warm cot if you chose to follow the rules of the shelter (no drugs, alcohol, weapons, help out, get help, etc. - they are posted at the door).
The problem is not economic, it is FAR more complicated. Help is there and it is sadly often abused.

edit (not directed at the OP): I would add that just because they are on your corner do not assume that they grew up on your block - and I am not saying that because I feel that they should not be helped wherever they are, I am saying that because others have tried to help them and failed. ---The worst way possible to "help" is to give a panhandler cash---

 

[mudhen]

Thanks all for your support/comments. I tend to agree with you. It is evident the man does not really want help, since he keeps coming back after being taken to a shelter.
I admit that I don't know if my chickens have ever been in danger from becoming a free meal for him, but it just seems a good idea to lock them down ... just in case.
Yesterday, a third neighbor's alarm went off in the afternoon. We don't know what or who caused it, but there was no break-in. (No one was home)
I hadn't realized how many of us BYC'ers have been locking our coops. That I am not alone is a very small consolation.
I can say that if someone tries anything here, this normally mild-mannered old lady will greet them with a load of buckshot.