RIP Stripey Boy

[ninabl]

sorry i need to vent real quick
so i got one neghbor where i live. i have (had) 9 barred rock chickens (2 roos and 7 hens). they told me when i got the chickens that they didnt mind if the run free and ate the bugs from there yard. they usally stay around my yard untill the neghbors kids started feeding the bread (fine with me) i didnt mind but the chickens figured out that there was always kids overthere with bread so they spent most of the day over there eating. then yesterday i laid down to take a nap befor work about noon ( i get up for work about 4 and work from 6pm to 6 am) about 1 pm someone knocks on the door and my wife answers it. its the lady from next door. she says "i ran over your chicken with my car, im sorry) my wife went to have a look. its my rooster stripey boy. she came in and woke me up to go get him. she said she thinks they ran overf his head. so i got up (not in the best of moods) and got dressed and prepared myself to process this chicken. i went out to see what happened. he was laying in there driveway and they completly ran over him..... what a waste of meat. now my younger rooster is going to have to step it up and start taking care of the ladies. what would be the best approach to take on this matter? i understand it was a accident but if i would have ran over there cat i would feel horrable and do everyhing i could to make it right even if it was a accident. they were gone when i went to pick him up so i told the wife if they come by later tell them they owe me a turkey next time they got to the grocery stor. she said a turkey? i said yeah thats about the size he was. she said i should just let it go bcause it was a accident.
what do you think?

 

[chickenzoo]

Sounds like an accident, and at least they had the morals to come over and tell you how it happened and they were sorry..... they could have just bagged him up and never said anything. If it had been in your yard and they ran him over, I could see asking for damages....... but it was in their yard. Chickens running loose, even if they feed them and enjoy them, are still your responsibility. Im sorry you lost him, but I don't trust my chickens anywhere but on my property. If your rooster spurred a kid, it could turn bad quickly, even if it was the kids fault.

 

[Florida_country_boy]

Ultimately you made the decision to allow them to free range, so you must accept responsibility. I also free range my birds, and have the same agreement with my neighbors(although they are slightly related). And I lost one of my Barred Rock girls a couple months ago to the nieghbors pit-bull, who I thought would be chained at all times. I knew it was my fault, but they went out and bought a shock collar for the pit-bull, and apologized.

I was still ticked and went a little crazy. I wanted a replacement because I wanted four laying hens, and ended up getting 6 more hens, LOL