Ohio Revised Code and Ranging Chickens

[Lazy J Farms Feed & Hay]

Quote:
Maybe the neighbor refuses to accept your chickens trespassing on his property. Maybe he was being nice about saying get chickens and now feels you are being irresponsible by letting your chickens free range wherever they want to go.

Remember the old adage: Good fences make good neighbors.

Jim

 

[VA from WV]

Quote:
My husband is also concerned that it won't end here. The neighbor in question recently lost his job, only a few years from retirement, and I think he's looking for somebody to vent on.

It won't, until your chickens are contained. It might not then, either, but at least you have shown Due Diligence in dealing with the problems.

You're right about protecting the girls. We're looking at options this evening. And I'm definitely going to get something in writing from them.

All of my chickens live in covered runs or tractors. At the point your birds are in spacious runs that keep them out of the flower beds, you've pretty much done your job here. Just remember that you are going to have to demonstrate absolute responsibility to the officials for them to show you the Good Will you need to have here.

I don't want anybody to come back after we contain the hens, only to tell us that what we did is still generating complaints merely because the neighbors can see or hear the birds.

You cannot prevent the complainer from complaining. You can't stop someone bent on making trouble from making trouble. Due Diligence does not, as far as I know, require that you soundproof your coop so the birds are quiet 24/7, but your coop needs to be lightproof so the roosters don't wake up and crow at 4:30am because of a passing car's headlights, or the flicker of a motion-sensor outdoor light, etc.

I will say that part of the problem here is that you took the assent of your neighbors as permission to do what you wanted. The problem is that when you asked, they had a different vision of what chickens are and how they are contained than you envisioned. Most people don't have a clue what a free-range chicken is in the rubber-meets-the-road sense--they see a coop and a fence and eat eggs.​

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Well, I have to disagree about needing a light proof coop. OP is allowed chickens, including roosters; she is within her rights in that regard. If I planted a bermuda lawn and my neighbor complained about it would you say--gee--kill off the bermuda (ha!--if someone can figure out a way they would make a fortune!) and plant tiff so that they won't complain? Or if I had a dog that someone was scared of it being in the yard, I should always keep it inside?

I absolutely agree that she needs to keep them on her own property, however.

 

[VA from WV]

Quote:
True. However, the OP has also expressed the fear that this will go on and on. A lightproof coop at least limits the middle-of-the-night crowing problem. (We just had a 4:30am rooster call here that was caused by headlights on the road, so the light issue could have an ultimate impact.) But if the neighbor wants trouble and a court fight, then there isn't much the OP is going to do to stop it.

 

[chickenannie]

You could also buy a length of Premiere poultry fencing/netting for your yard (instead of building a run) and it would easily give your chickens a place to range, plus it is super-easy to pick up (by one person) and move to different parts of your yard.

 

[AHappychick]

I can see the neighbor being poed if they are going onto his patio and in his flowers pooping. easiest thing is a fence, a simple one 6 feet should be fine and if they jump over it clip their wings, why fight about it. This way they can go all over your yard and free range like you like and the neighbors wont mind either.

You can do the welded wire kind, they have it at home depo, just hit the stakes in with a mallot (sp?) and hook on the fence. 1 person can do it but it is easier with 2 and wont break the bank, and you dont even need dh to help if he is working those hours. It is hardly noticable too as they have it in green

I do think the neighbor should have told you first though.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:
True. However, the OP has also expressed the fear that this will go on and on. A lightproof coop at least limits the middle-of-the-night crowing problem. (We just had a 4:30am rooster call here that was caused by headlights on the road, so the light issue could have an ultimate impact.) But if the neighbor wants trouble and a court fight, then there isn't much the OP is going to do to stop it.

I understand where you are coming from,and it is a neighborly thing to do. However, giving up one's rights simply because someone complains is tantamount to willing agreeing to no rights. If one is within one's rights, following zoning ordinances, as attested to by animal control/compliance officers, the chances of losing a suit on those issues is pretty small.

 

[Lazy J Farms Feed & Hay]

Quote:
I know you and I agree that the OP should contain her livestock on her premises, so I am not taking issue with your stance.

The OP claims that the Ohio laws do not require her to contain her livestock asserting that it is her RIGHT to let her chickens roam. What about the PRIVATE PROPERTY RIGHTS of the neighbors? Don't the neighbors have the right to walk through their yard without stepping chickens feces, to have landscaping with out the fear of destruction by the OP's chickens, and don't the neighbors have the right to expect decent standards of decorum in the SUBURBS?

The bottomline is that the chickens need to be kept on the OP's property.

Jim

 

[VA from WV]

Quote:
I do not see where containing and mitigating known issues, and potential issues, with chickens on the OP's property is giving up their right to have chickens, or gives up any rights at all. If the chickens were causing damage to the neighbor's property, then the OP is liable for he damages. If the birds are running up on to the deck and then leaving deposits, it is no different than a dog or a cat doing the same--and there are plenty of nuisance complaints caused by free-roaming dogs and cats.

So, my point is that if you know that you can have a rooster crowing at 4:30am, because of light from a passing car, then you mitigate that by limiting the light that can get into the coop at that hour. Because, IMO, if the neighbor is already causing problems, why not think two steps ahead and limit what they can legitimately complain about? Certainly, if you can not only prove that you've taken reasonable steps, and can get al the officials to agree that you have, then they are more, not less likely to do an administrative roundfiling.

My argument is that once the OP establishes themselves as someone clearly practicing Due Diligence, and the officials all agree on this, then there is only so much power that a disgruntled neighbor making anonymous calls has. IMO, until this individual has to out themselves and demonstrate actual harm caused by the OP's chickens, so that the matter can be finally decided, the OP A) has already lost a lot of their rights because the anonymity of the complaints guts their right to Due Process and Facing their Accuser, and B) it's going to continue to be a death by 1000 cuts. Due Diligence, especially when you carefully detail it, is a powerful weapon in these kinds of situations.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

I believe that noise-proofing a coop to prevent complaints (as compared to noise proofing it so that your animals don't disturb your neighbors--a fairly subtle distinction) is one short step away from agreeing that roosters do not belong.

As I've clearly stated, the birds need to be contained on the OP's property, not roaming onto neighboring property. Preventing the birds from roaming off-property is indeed an appropriate step, and not doing so could cause OP to lose a suit related to the damage caused by her birds to someone else's property. Saying that OP needs to build a light proof coop is the same as saying that she needs a light proof doghouse for her dog or other animal that might cause a disturbance.