Someone keeps making complaints about my chickens! (Update post #222!)

[cassie]

Any response to your email yet?

 

[Andora]

Not yet! But if they do respond I'll share. I'm hoping she'll tell me my street, and then I'll ask her who her friend is so that we can work together to do something about it. Then my husband will be paying a very ticked off visit to this neighbor.

It makes me so angry that they are totally lying! I would be happy to share my chickens with the local news. Anyone who wants can come see them in my yard, scratching and pecking and minding their own business, roosters included...I would call the news myself but at this point I'm not sure if it's wise to draw more attention to the issue or not.

 

[Eggs4Sale]

Quote:
Agreed. Agreed. And agreed.

 

[Eggs4Sale]

If YOU are the one they are talking about, and they have gone to these two extremes, be aware they have received the advice from most likely many people with the advice to poison your chickens. That's bad enough on it's own, but with your toddler there, also, I'm worried. IF you find a dead or very sick chicken, please be prepared for a necropsy. Find out now who you would go to, and what they would need. Hopefully it won't go this far.

 

[horsejody]

I would knock on each neighbor's door and say to them, "I know you are a good neighbor and I'm sure it wasn't you, but somebody has been lying and turning me into the code enforcers. I just want to make sure that everybody in the neighborhood knows that they can always come to me if they have any problems or questions about my chickens. Can you believe that somebody would actually lie and say that my roosters run loose and scare children and that my birds run around the neighborhood eating shrubbery? I have contacted my lawyer. My lawyer is going to subpoena the records to find out who is doing this, and they will be sued for harrassment. Again. I know it wasn't you, but if you ever do have any issues with my chickens, please come to me. Have a nice day!"

Maybe you could tell by the reaction who the guilty party is.

 

[Andora]

Quote:
Don't worry, I always necropsy ever dead chicken with our local diagnostic lab. Luckily it's only $10 per bird here. I would be so sad if someone poisons my chickens. I'm going to leave one of my dogs out as much as possible. But they can't stay out at night because they bark at everything in the shadows...

I'm going to see if my husband will go with me to talk to all the neighbors tomorrow. I'm leaving the suspected neighbor until last...

I might use some of what you suggested horsejody!

 

[BirdMom]

I'm so sorry you're having such trouble with a nutso neighbor. I wonder if the code people can send the cops to their door for wasting city employee time? That's hilarious that the code people had no idea about Pekins!

We bought that chicken tractor from you a few months back, and my hubby said your place was so clean and neat you'd never know you HAD chickens!

(Our four silkies and 3 three-month old chickies are loving the tractor!)

I hope you can get to the bottom of it and get it worked out. I wonder if you could just take some eggs around to all the near neighbors, including the complainer, or maybe some nice home-baked goods, and be really friendly, and maybe that would get them to stop. I'm torn between recommending being nice and being nasty. Being nice might be more effective at stopping things. A cranky visit with them will just make them feel more justified in their harassment, I think, because it will reinforce their unjustified low opinion of you.

Keep a copy of that email on cheapcycle. You could end up using it in court if this neighbor goes too far with something. Also, it could be used to show defamation of character. They're lying about you on a public forum. Probably not completely illegal since they're not naming you or saying exactly where you live, but you never know. I'd actually send copies of her emails on cheapcycle to the code enforcement and health departments. Maybe they can take some action since she's publicly defaming you.

I am sooo glad we live way out in the boonies!

 

[Andora]

I wish I lived way out in the boonies! Most of our neighbors are so great, but the few bad ones make me really wish we didn't have a single neighbor at all. I'm glad the chicken tractor is working out well for you! I'll tell my husband your husband said my birds seemed clean, that will make him feel better.

The person who posted on Cheapcycle responded to my email and said if I give her my info she'll pass it on to the angry neighbor. I debated about it, then I gave her my name and my husband's cell number. We'll see who calls!

I'm not sure what to do if/when the person calls. I'm going to be 100% sure they live on my street and find out how close they live to me. I'm going to try to be nice...because I haven't done anything wrong so far. I also want to find out why they are embellishing the story...I'll tell them that I'm horrified someone would accuse my animals of chasing children, and mention that my roosters are fat boys who don't fly. (One can't even make it up on the roost pole!)

I'm seriously considering putting the phone on speaker phone and recording the call, not because I really need to, but just because I want to share it with you all if they say anything funny...or threatening. No harm in posting the call on the internet, right?

 

[wombat]

Have you tried having a lawyer write a letter to the code enforcement people to see if they'll give up the name of the complaintant? It might be worth a try, and if you shop around, you should be able to find a lawyer who'll send a letter for a fairly low fee.

Plenty of low-end lawyers make ends meet by renting out their letterhead, so to speak.

 

[ThreeBoysChicks]

Quote:
Be careful recording and posting on the internet. In many if not all states, it is illegal to record a covnersation wtihout first notifying all person involved in the conversation.