Predators and pests, both describe my neighbors

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:
Au contrair.

My neighbors hate my farm. The same farm that was here long before most of those neighbors bought their houses across the street from me. I have been in[ected and visited by every official from the State and town, several times, and was found to be within all laws and rules and standards. My animals are all fat and healthy.

And this was BEFORE the rooster.

The OP did make the concession of not keeping a rooster until their animals came onto his land and killed his hen, not a chick, a HEN, and a layer, which usually means a larger bird. Whether the OP spoke with the neighbors who have cats fitting the description, I do not know, but in just about any other thread if a predator is killing one's birds, one is old to protect one's birds. That is what he did.​

 

[[email protected]]

First.. I'm sorry for your loss... We put a lot of blood sweat and tears into taking care of our animals! Period. You may do this however! This will have them pretty scared in the nicest possible way. Spend the money.. it will be so worth it. Send registered letters to all of your neighbor's in the area.. about a twenty dollar fee..@ 2 bucks a pop.. In a very official letter... state that you are currently investigating with local law inforcement about your chicken theft and cruelty to animals. Remind them that cruelty to animals and theft of property carries a three to five year mandatory prison sentence in most states(Maine they will crucify you). Also inform them of your intentions of two roosters and security system.. thanks to the money(wink wink) from insuring your flock. If anyone has any information.. substatial reward will be offered. Just watch and see what that does to a really guilty party!!

 

[dragonlair]

My land is strung with electric low impudence fence. I have horses and goats also. I even run electric fence for the dogs. Unfortunately, the fences also have gates, which they know how to open. Sunday night someone came onto the property and dropped the horse gates and let the horses loose. Last year someone let the dogs loose, even the ones in my house. The year before that they let the horses loose.

All this stuff happens when I am at work. I am working on finding a camera, but it would have to be more than one.

We don't have town cops, we have state and county. 2 county cops for 1/2 of the county. 1 trooper for an entire section, sometimes. There is no one who can give extra patrols. The town Animal control guy is also a constable, so he does watch for me, but he works the same hours I do!

I have no one to watch, because all the neighbors are in this together or they are in the wrong position to be able to see.

These people have been warned by the town, the state, the ACO/Constable to stop the false reports/claims or they will be charged criminally. That's why all the sneak attacks.

I have to padlock the dogs kennel gates, so i started padlocking the chicken pen gates too. Unfortunately, if they really want to get in, all they have to do is tear off the top and climb over, or remove the chain link from the frame.

I had a Hav a Hart trap out to catch the cats, but I ended up catching things I really didn't want to mess with. I'm not sure who owns the cat, it was big and solid black. There are 3 of them in the immediate neighborhood. Actually 4, I own a solid black cat too. She never goes outside. The Roo was to keep the hens safe, plus I was going to raise chicks. I bought an incubator, but hadn't gotten around to setting the eggs yet. I was waiting for the brooder to be free.

I don't think they were really bothered by the roo crowing because you can barely hear him from my front yard. I have the chicken area in a dip in my back yard, just under my bedroom window. The pens are surrounded by tall weedy plants. Then, surrounding those are pine trees, berry bushes, huge areas of wild sunflowers, my house, the goat barn/dog kennel. Then the horse barn. Lilac trees, Maple trees, Rhododendron bushes, big round bales of hay...etc.

Picture a near perfect square. In the center of this square is the house, garage (goat and dog home) and horse barn. Behind and below the house is the chicken area. Thick vegetation surrounds the entire property on all 4 sides. Then, the area running to the east of the house has Lilac trees, huge Forsythia bushes, tall, thick old rose bushes and pine/elm trees which meet the section running north/south. The same for the area from the garage running west to the north/south boundary. Its like a square within a square, within a square with the chicken area in the middle of the 3 sets of squares. All the vegetation and buildings insulate the sounds from my back yard. The only clear area is a 4 foot section between the house and garage (goat barn/dog kennel), however, there is actually only a small walk way between the 2 buildings because I have tall, thick day lilies, wild sunflowers and Jewel weed growing along the foundation on both buildings!

I think they are just using the roo are a reason to complain. I can't prove who did it. I wish I could.

 

[MysticScorpio82]

I am sorry you are going through this, and I wish there was something I could do to help ya.

In the words of Happy Bunny "Mean people suck!"

 

[noodleroo]

Dragonlair; I'm so sorry this keeps happening to you. I wish you could prove it, too. I didn't realize that this has been going on so long. I just can't imagine someone being 'after you' for that long. Surely, they realize by now that neither you or your farm are going anywhere.

It almost sounds like it could be an unsupervised child. Do any of your neighbors that you don't get along with have any children in the age range of 12 to 17 yrs. old? They may be acting on their parents opinions. It just doesn't seem like an adult would continue to harrass you like this.

 

[herfrds]

If you have a fish and game agency call and ask if they have game cameras they lend out. Explain what is going on, they might be able to help you.
Our county sheriff's department and city cops have a couple with camera boxes they lend out.

 

[la dee da]

Quote:
Not all adults are grown up

 

[noodleroo]

Quote:
Not all adults are grown up

So true...but....my original thought about it being a juvenile is calling Child Protective Services (or whatever it is in your state) to investigat the parents to make sure that the children are being cared for and supervised properly.

Another thought; Dragonlair, maybe you could write a letter to the editor of your newspaper and state that you have been having trouble with someone, you suspect a child, letting your animals loose. Explain that you are afraid that if it is a child, that they might get hurt (especially with the horses) and that you are looking into getting CPS involved. Explain that you are concerned that there may be unsupervised children in your neighborhood (and NAME the neighborhood) and you just don't know what else to do. Might work and at the least, it might make the neighbors who DO take care of their children put pressure on the 'perpetrator neighbors' to leave you and yours alone so as not to get a visit from a state agency. If you need help writing the letter to the editor, let me know.

Most people that have been through it would rather have both my eyes gouged out with a dull stick than be investigated by CPS...

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

There really is no evidence or indication that it is a child. Could it be a teenage prank? Of course, but those usually get old after awhile and kids turn their attention elsewhere. This seems more like someone determined to harrass the OP; trying to convince them to "go away."

Seems like the anonymous complaints need to be investigated: not the complaint, but the complainer. A few questions about the complaint might help determine where the complaint is coming from. For example: "How far away is your property? Please provide details about your complaint?" (and based upon hte answers, more questions related to the complaint that might help pinpoint the complainer. Maybe a few more location questions, and finally, "a change in our regulations requires that those filiing complaints provide contact information so that we can provide followup to you and address any questions that arise. Please provide your name and a phone number where we can reach you during the day?"

 

[noodleroo]

Quote:
This is true, but that really has nothing to do with my suggestion of writing a letter to the editor is so that the NEIGHBORS will see it and not want to be bothered with a visit from Child Protective Services. If she or the authorities can't catch the neighbor or neighbors doing this to her, the next best thing is to put ALL the neighbors on notice that their lives may be interruped by an investigation from a state agency making sure that their children are supervised. Why? Because someone is messing with her animals. Doesn't matter if its adults, children or space aliens; the threat of investigation is the same... Hopefully they'll talk and decide to leave her alone...