stupid neighbour!!!!

[zezozosee13]

hi there. just wanted to get something off my chest!!! I have only just joined byc today btw.
my wife and I have kept chickens for 6 or so years now. we have a very happy bunch of hens - they are all various breeds but all get on so well. they have a lovely spacious coop and a huge run. the only chicken I let out of the run is fifi my little black silkie as she is easy to catch if I need to and I never leave her unattended (I have cats and most of my chickens are bantams so I never let the others out). they are well looked after.
the trouble is I have one of those neighbours who has to have whatever we have. 2 years back I returned from holiday to find he had got some chickens of his own - fair enough. but he had them in a coop on a plot of land you couldn't even see them (we live on a working farm and his were kept out of sight behind a barn)
he never really bothered with them but then started to let them roam free. ok - we lived on a farm and all. but we both only rent our properties. the farmers were not too happy with him letting them roam free as it is a very busy farm. anyway one night foxes got his chickens. I found them the next day and was nearly in tears. he was working late and when he got back I told him. he just said that it was their own fault for being stupid!!!! he didn't even care!!
then he bought a new batch - unbeknownst to him that 3 were cocks. he told me he had them rehoused but I just know he rang their necks.
whenever one of mine is poorly and he finds out he asks me if I want him to kill it?!!!! I don't think he sees chickens as pets. I just don't understand him at all.
lately he has been letting his chickens out again even though there are so many foxes around. I think its extremely cruel. sure let them roam around in the garden but not all over the fields just to get eaten. the thing is my hosue is like a menagerie and as I said I own cats too. they were farm cats and I have tamed them and feed them and basically took over their welfare. he is cruel to them too. he finds it hilarious when he child once went up to one of my cats and screamed in its ear. anyway I digress....
my cats always have their food outside my back door. but now his chickens keep coming around, crapping all over near my door, eat my plants in tubs outside my door and they scare my cats and eat their catfood.
I spoke to him about this and he said sorry but was very laissez faire about it. it is still occurring. but the other night my wife was in the kitchen and she heard the cat dishes being turned over - she ran outside shouting "the bloody chickens!!" he must have heard.
so now instead of keeping them in his garden roaming freely he continues to let them roam and if they go for the cat food he thinks that throwing ice cold buckets of water over them is the answer!!!!!!
I have seen him do it!! I really wanted to report him for animal cruelty. he doesn't deserve to keep chickens. I used to get on with the guy but he jstu doesn't respect animals and to me that is a huge no no.
the other night I got home and he asked how my chickens are - one has been a bit poorly but nothing some antibiotics didn't cure. he said I am a pussy for being worried about my chickens!!!
then one of his came around the corner and said to me that he thought it didn't look too good, and what did I think was the matter with it as it seemed skinny. I looked at it from a distance and answered that she looked wet to me. he answered "oh yeh, I just threw water at the bloody thing!"
it is really distressing not only his chickens but me and wife also as we are animal lovers. is there anything we could do about this guy?
It is cruelty but would the authorities just dismiss it? so upset with this.

 

[iwiw60]

Gosh, your so-called "neighbor" sounds like a total idiot. About the best thing I could say is yes, call your local animal control department and see what they say about the situation...good luck!

 

[laurengeeves]

Oh wow, I can't advise you as I'm from England and it's different laws and regulations, you sound like me tbh! Took my girls to the vets plenty of times antibiotics, pain relief, anti inflammatory.. Many other problems that I've managed to deal with by cost antler cleaning, hand feeding and drinking, and I've got another sick girl! you and your wife must be doing great with yours, and it must break your heart seeing him treat his badly

 

[bugflipper]

First of all welcome here, it's nice to have you.
The only things I can't see justifiable, where he could talk his way out of it is livestock running at large and damage to any property.
With the ice water he could claim he is trying to prevent them from doing whatever. With wringing their necks, that's a common way to kill them. Even with carcasses all he would need to say is he dispatched them and got too busy to clean them. That I'm aware of the majority of laws for poultry are either against them being raised in certain areas or their commercial rearing to ensure a suitable product is delivered to consumers. Instead of being viewed as pets they are generally categorized as livestock or more simply food. Of course not trying to be cross or anything along those lines but there is very little that can be done as far as I'm aware when it comes to cruelty with livestock.

My suggestion would be to look into your local livestock laws and become familiar with them. Give him a warning that you are tired of his animals running at large, destroying your property and costing you money. If it persists call your local sheriffs department and ask for an officer to be sent while they are in your yard. Likely that will be just a warning to your neighbor. If that's not enough to dissuade him then repeat and let the officer know you would like to swear out a warrant. He will advise you of the process for doing that during business hours at the Sheriff's office. Of course that will mainly just force him to keep them up. However it would appear that in the past he lost interest in them being penned so hopefully that will happen again. Or possibly he will get rid of them if he cares nothing about them and they are causing him grief.

Sorry to hear about your dilemma. I wish you luck and hope you find a happy ending.

 

[MarcoPollo]

!

Your neighbor must be a nightmare to live next to. Is it possible that he is drunk or a drug user? He may be speaking and acting out while under the influence of something.
You should discontinue talking to him about your chickens. Heck, discontinue talking to him at all.
I agree that he should be reported. You'll need evidence though. Or you could attempt to ask anonymously for a police officer to check on the welfare of the chickens. The people that rent to you should be contacted so that they understand that his chickens are damaging your stuff and that he is behaving strangely towards you and them. I really hate to say this, but the police may need your landlord to chime in on this too before anything is done. Even then, there may be a limit to what the law can do.
I really feel bad for you cause your neighbor sounds like someone who cannot be reasoned with.
A neighbor like that is a prime example of why some people just keep to themselves and don't associate with neighbors.

 

[roostersandhens]

If you are up fore having more chickens, and he really doesn't care about his chickens, you could ask him if you could have them... I would report him for animal cruelty though..

 

[donrae]

Personally, I don't see that he's breaking any laws at all. He's being a jerk, yes, but that's not illegal

If killing a rooster is illegal, I'm in so much trouble. I've got the evidence right here in my freezer.

If having a bird taken by a predator is illegal, most of us on this board are busted.

If hosing a bird or dunking it in water is illegal, my Grandma would be in jail.

I think what you have is just a basic philosophical difference. You see chicken and likely all animals as pets. He doesn't, he sees them as livestock. It's just two different points of view, neither is wrong, just different. You will find both ends of the spectrum on this board, and we all try to be pretty tolerant of each other's viewpoint.

Now, his birds on your property is another story. It doesn't matter that you rent, etc. Complain to the landlord. I don't know if animal control in your area will address that or not....it seems kinda hit or miss. I don't think there are many legal ramifications on animals roaming your property except you can trap them and turn them into the shelter. But the landlord needs to enforce some boundaries on that issue.

Why do you interact with this person to the extent you do?

 

[newfoundland]

I am also in the UK and laws are different here. For example throwing an ice cold bucket, or indeed any bucket of water over a hen would be illegal. It is an offence to cause any animal suffering and I mean any animal including wild life. My advice is check out your laws. As for free ranging, that is a vexed question. You see some would argue that keeping hens confined to runs is less animal friendly than letting them free range. Many around here do free range and yes, sadly some are lost to the fox. Even those that free range their flock, lock them in a shed or hen house at night round here. Killing or culling the flock, well, if they are raised for the table, this is part of the process. It is not something i have ever done, or ever could do, but then I am a vegetarian and I can see the hypocrisy of buying butchered meat and then saying 'I couldn't kill an animal.'

 

[subhanalah]

I worry about having confrontations with this person. I don't know that I would want to have someone that unstable unhappy with me and living right next door. Maybe I've just watched too many crime shows, but it doesn't seem like a safe situation for you, your family or any of the chickens in this story, whether your of his. You just never know some people.

Is there a way to resolve this, save the chickens and avoid having to have confrontation with this person. I don't know, I'd imagine he wouldn't be too happy about you calling the authorities on him either.

 

[Dwells]

I agree with most everybody posting here. The dispatching of roo's is a part of having chickens. Now if it was being done just for pleasure then that would another matter however, hard if not impossible to prove. The main point you have to work with is the animals in your yard. If they are in fact causing damage or creating a situation with you and your wife that is stressful then action can be taken.
If this was my situation and i have spoken to the individual voicing my concerns and nothing changed then logging a complaint with animal control would be a way to go. I would video record the chickens in your yard for several days so there is a permanent record of the violation.
I have only had chickens now for close to a year. In those months I have a lot of issues (none with health thankfully) and use the chickens as source of eggs, comic relief and a great learning experience for my kids. I have seen chickens go from simple farm animals to pet status and think its great but there are after all chickens.
Animals are animals, if someone is going to take on the responsibility for their care then it should be done with respect and not to be taken lightly.