Oh, I'm so mad

[BeckyLa]

I do hope you are making a paper trail concerning these neighbors. Pictures, vet records, dates, times, etc. And I hope all this has been reported to the authorities. God willing, it will go no further with their nastiness, but if it does, and the police already have your complaint on record, you will be far better off legally. I'm so sorry you are going through this.

 

[Wattles]

Ha, yes, you're right silkie. That was just a rough list of points - I'll let my husband refine it all and make it all sound smooth and nicey-nice. I would love to get them fried but frankly we just don't have the time, money or the energy for what might potentially turn into a war. Yuck, I would rather just avoid confrontation - I hate ugliness and fighting. I just wish an airplane might 'accidentally' discharge one of those big frozen chunks of latrine waste right over their house and have it crash through their roof, landing right in the middle of their bed.

Make chickens, not war

Tara

 

[TxChiknRanchers]

Quote:

 

[arlee453]

Small claims court.

You can file your own paperwork, don't need an attorney, and the law is CLEARLY on your side - their dogs crossed the fence into YOUR yard and harmed YOUR livestock.

They will lose and will be ordered to pay your fair expenses, plus court costs.

Call your local clerk of court's office and ask them how to proceed if you decide to go that route.

 

[rosyposyosy]

my neighbors stray cat that she was taming (she already had 9 cats at the time) attacked my 8 week old chick. I brought her to the vet, a $100. I didn't bill her since we're on good terms, but i told her that i was going to trap the cat and bring him to the animal shelter. she said she would trap him and bring him to a feral society since he wasn't fit to be a person's pet. A couple days later we get a letter saying she talked to the neighbors and "van" (he didn't have a name before) wasn't a nuisance, it was my chickens, and that chickens are illegal in the city i live in and that i had no right to trap her PET. I am still trying to change the law in my town, but the city hasn't responded. I haven't talked to that neighbor since, but have talked to the neighbors she referenced in the letter. They think she's a crazy cat lady now, and that they said NOTHING of my chickens. hehe. my miniature rant.

 

[Wattles]

Heh, thanks Brenda. You're absolutely right. That is one thing I love about TX. I do have the legal right here to protect my property and I do intend to do that in the future. I will take precautionary measures (fortifying the fence, only letting my girls free-range when I'm in the yard with them) and I will arm myself in preparation for the worst. I will let them know that if their dogs enter my yard again, all bets are off (once again, I'll let my husband put that into purrty talk

). As to reporting it to the authorities, no unfortunately we did not and here is why. Legally, in San Antonio, chicken housing is supposed to be 20 ft from the closest residence. Technically, my coop is roughly 17-19 ft from our closest neighbor (not the neighbor involved). For that reason, my husband didin't want to involve the police, believing it might jeopardize our existing chickens. So it's a real conundrum (ah, a fun word I don't get to use nearly often enough

)

What if you catch a bird of prey attacking your chickens, is it legal to shoot it in TX? I wonder. Does anyone know?

Tara

 

[devora]

Shoot a condor b/c it's killing a chicken? Hmmmmmm, don't know that one.

I'm so sympathetic to ya about the dogs. We live in open country and folks let their animals loose and the dogs, get this, kill deer. They don't eat them, just kill them.

Our neighbors took a crossbow to a dog that had killed one of their turkeys. Not that I'm suggesting you do anything rash...

 

[theMickster]

Wattles,
I hope I never have a neighbor like that. They've clearly shown that they CANNOT understand the situation. If I were in this circumstance I would'nt even try to communicate any further. They CANNOT be reasoned with. You have made great points and it is you who is clearly in the right, and clearly you who wants to do the right thing, but you are wasting your time and testing your patience trying to deal rationaly. So what I'm getting at is SSS.

You really, really need to obey the last "S". Discretion is key.

Mick

 

[ole-crone]

Yes, you should point out how much a chicken is worth grown. To back up your claims print out pages from hatcheries that states how much a full grown pullet costs. Don't forget that in many rural communities the worth of an animal includes the value of future income in a normal lifetime of the animal. In the case of a chicken, you could figure out how many eggs you could have expected OR how many chicks you could have hatched and sold.

Why they think it is up to you to inform them that you have chickens is beyond me. Is it because they KNOW they have chicken killing dogs? But in any case, if they have dogs that can climb a fence, it is up to neighbors to let them know that they have children who might be attacked by their dogs?

 

[country freedom]

Quote:
Word for word I second that! Dogs got out of their yard-their wrong-into your yard-you make it right=no-more-dogs! You've got legal right to protect everything in your yard that belongs to you. Teach them to protect whats theirs the hard way. They are just trying to intimidate you=you show them you can't be intimidated without consequenses towards themselves. Sorry, I feel stongly about whats mine in my yard rights!