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

[onthespot]

It is not about "acting crazier" than your neighbor. It is about letting them know from the get-go that you will NOT be intimidted by their harassment. You are going to enjoy your legal birds, in your legal back yard, and they can pound sand. I speak from first hand experience here. I have two of my five neighbors that spend considerable effort filing reports, lawsuits, spreading hateful lies and just tying themselves up legally in cases where they have done egregious wrong (pushed down an older woman and broke her arm, that cost them their house. they lost the ranch over that one, literally, and had to move. Unfortunately the wound up across the street from me.) They just go from one conflict to another and thrive on hate and manufactured drama.

There is no cure for that other than drawing a line in the sand, which I stood out in the street at the edge of his property line and DREW the line and called their bluff, him and his foul wife, both of us shouting nose to nose until he figured out I was NOT backing down, was NOT afraid, and was absolutely willing to take a hard stand on this one. Have not heard from them since.

Nor have I heard form Animal Control. The other neighbor has killed seven chickens of mine by hosing them off in their run in the dead of winter (silkies) and has filed numerous false AC reports, tried to conspire with neighbors to drive me out, complained at City Council meeting. I finally had a loud row with him in his driveway too, with his wife standing there too, and when the AC came for their last visit I made it ABUNDANTLY clear that this has just become harassment and legal action will swiftly follow any more of these bogus calls. I have not heard from any of the above people since. I see them all the time but they avoid me, which is fine.

 

[Wifezilla]

Bullies want you to be quiet and be nice and not make noise.

 

[ginbart]

Well I have read all the posts and I hope you don't mind me telling you about my neighbors.

They are right across the road and sometimes my chickens go across the road to their yard and I need to go call them back over. Thank God they come when I call them. One morning taking my son out to the bus, and we stand in front of the same neighbors drive way to get on the bus, I told her I was sorry they keep coming over and I try to call them as soon as I see them over there. I explained that the poop is good for their yard and they only come over to eat the bugs. The wife said they were taking tomatoes off the vines because they were bad and throwing them under the bush and she saw my chickens were coming over and eating them so she told her husband he couldn't put them there anymore because she didn't want the chickens to get sick. LOL Every once and a while I give them eggs when I can. It's to bad we don't all have neighbors like that.

I ope the PO's neighbors grow up. IMO I would leave them alone. It seams like they are feeding on you if you don't feed them they will die. Meaning leaving them alone is not feeding them.

 

[france]

Quote:
You know when this first started that is what I thought. Now that you think it is another person further down, is it possible chickens further down the street are getting into the persons yard? Or perhaps something is being destructive in their garden and they assume it is chickens just because.

I would ignore the email. Do not respond to it at all. Still keep track of all calls, emails to you, etc etc. Document it all just to be safe.

 

[TarzantheChickenMan]

I would have to agree go ask all your neighbors
a kid in town got a variance for pigs in town so long as he got his neighbors to sign off was pretty cool they had a large lot on the edge of town but in city limits the neighbors all signed off the kids showed the pigs at the county fair that year

but go talk to em and have a sign a partition so that you have a list of who is OK with the birds so they call call and possible support you efforts

 

[Andora]

The friend of anon. neighbor posted on our Cheapcycle group again.

First of all I don't understand why these posts are allowed on Cheapcycle because only posts selling things are allowed.

Second of all, this post is even more ridiculous than the others...

I've been leaving my chickens in their crowded coops until 3 or 4 every afternoon, then letting them out into the pen when my DD and I can stay outside and keep an eye on them until dusk when they go back to bed. It sucks for my poor chickies, but I want to be absolutely 100% sure they aren't escaping and no one is harming them, you know? As soon as we can get the privacy fence I'll stop worrying so much...

With that in mind, check out her latest Cheapcycle post.

Well it seems the lady with the chickens in the pen till code enforcement is closed for the day...then she lets them out. This is soo nasty she has over 50 chickens right here in fayette county in the city, can anyone help? They are going in other peoples yards, tearing up and destroying other peoples property, and all the chicken poop, you can smell it over in my friends yard.

How funny, first I had over 30 chickens. Now they've multiplied to over 50. And when I'm being very careful about letting them out and watching them, 100% sure none have gotten out of the yard, they are still destroying other people's property. And...they don't stink. I lime regularly.

I don't know what else to do, so I emailed the owner of the Cheapcycle group. This is what I sent her...

Hi,

I am having a serious issue with a neighbor--they are harassing me. A friend of this neighbor uses Cheapcycle and has now posted three times about the situation. She isn't selling anything, but her posts still go through and appear on the group.

Her user name is divorced_mom2002 <her email here>.

She continues to post untrue things about the pet chickens I have in my yard and asks for help from Cheapcycle members, then I guess members are emailing her believing the posts and giving her further ideas for harassment.

She has called code enforcement no less than 8 times, and they have approved my chickens and closed the case. They no longer take her false complaints seriously. She also called the health department twice and they came out and also approved my set up with no problem. I'm doing nothing wrong and not only do I not have nearly as many chickens as she posts, they also do not escape from my yard, destroy any property, or chase small children.

Yet this person continues to exaggerate and post on Cheapcycle! She is giving out my name and address to people who respond to her post, also.

Considering that her posts do not have anything to do with the purpose of this group, can you please moderate her and remove all of her posts concerning chickens?

Please get back to me as soon as possible and let me know.

Thanks,

Amy

This anonymous neighbor is really starting to make me angry. Irrationally, hormonal pregnant lady angry.

 

[GaNewChick]

It sounds like the Cheapcycle poster and your neighbor are one in the same. Screen print the post in case it is pulled ~ and forward it to the code officer your husband spoke to. Let them keep it on file.

 

[vicki2x2]

If she is really giving out your name, it sounds like harrassment and slander. I would print a copy of it, see if you can get the police involved. Maybe they will play along and email her. Or have a friend play along and email her, sympathize and see if she will give out your name, save and print those emails and turn them into the police.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:
No where on there does it say anything about having chickens caged. Does it?? If the chickens are in my fenced in backyard, they aren't running at large. And beyond that, they're inside of a fence within my fenced in yard. Their wings are clipped, and the ones that climb the fence are fully enclosed in my 8ft. run inside of their pen.

My husband called the phone number of the officer who signed the letter, and he called the supervisor. Neither answered or returned his messages. I guess he'll be calling on Monday.

I'm not sure what else to do. I can't easily erect a run large enough for my birds, their pen is perfect the way it is.

If my husband gets a job at Toyota, we are so getting a tall privacy fence ASAP. He has an interview for the job on Monday morning. Cross your fingers.

Somewhere in your town/city code it should list definitions. See exactly how it defines "at large." If that term is not defined, check county and then state laws. If still not listed, check a few common dictionaries. In general "at large" means roaming off your property and out of your direct control, but you need to make sure that my common sense, off the top of my head definition is not superceded by your local ordinance/law. BTW, since your yard is fenced, you could call THAT their pen. You just happened to put your swing set/BBQ/lawn furniture, etc. in the chicken run

 

[wombat]

If she is really giving out your name, it sounds like harrassment and slander. I would print a copy of it, see if you can get the police involved.

The police won't get involved in that, they'll say it's a civil matter, not a criminal one. Filing false reports with an enforcement agency, however, is another matter. That she could get action on.​