Updates on the last pages: Neighbor is threatening me and my chickens

[Mutchi]

If you are within the law and your chickens aren't going on his property.
You need to put a stop to his actions now!
Tell him nicely you are feeling threatened by his out of control out bursts and if they continue you will be forced to have a restraining order placed on him.
If he has half a brain he will back off and leave you alone.
Drunks are very unpredictable especially a mean drunk.
Good Luck.

×2

 

[Geena]

My opinion- since he had been so nice previously, would be to take a step back and try to relax. Seems to me he was just using the "my dog might kill them" excuse because he really just wanted you to move the chickens further away from his house. You already have a bad neighbor on the other side and you and your kids have to live there for the foreseeable future. No sense in riling things up any more than necessary. Move your coop back as far as possible and do your best to keep things on a neighborly basis. Do not retaliate, do not talk bad about him in front of your kids, and hope that things will simmer back down to the way they were, for your own, and your kids, safety and sanity. It's quite easy for people on here to get all outraged and say do this or that to him, but they don't have to live there, YOU do.

 

[Smileybans]

I don’t know if I want to take legal action against this guy. The mayor adviced not to do a war doesn’t start. All I want is to be able to enjoy my chickens again. But every time I look at them I feel sorrow. I used to enjoy watching them run around. It made me so happy. Now all I want to do is stay in bed and cry. I’m trying not to think about all the bad things that could happen but there’s so many ways this could turn out bad. I started chicken keeping on accident but began to love it. It kept the sadness away. Now all I feel is anxiety about possibly having to get rid of them all.

I did decide that if the ordinance guy says the coop isn’t far enough back or whatever I’m going to keep my silkies as house chickens. I know many people here don’t agree with house chickens but I have two special needs silkies. I couldn’t let them go. I don’t want to let any of them go. I also told me kids we would use the run as a rabbit enclosure. It’s cemented into the ground so there’s no moving the run.

 

[NatJ]

I also told me kids we would use the run as a rabbit enclosure. It’s cemented into the ground so there’s no moving the run.

Rabbits are known for digging out of pens. So a dig-proof pen sounds perfect!

 

[April In New York]

I don’t know if I want to take legal action against this guy. The mayor adviced not to do a war doesn’t start. All I want is to be able to enjoy my chickens again. But every time I look at them I feel sorrow. I used to enjoy watching them run around. It made me so happy. Now all I want to do is stay in bed and cry. I’m trying not to think about all the bad things that could happen but there’s so many ways this could turn out bad. I started chicken keeping on accident but began to love it. It kept the sadness away. Now all I feel is anxiety about possibly having to get rid of them all.

I did decide that if the ordinance guy says the coop isn’t far enough back or whatever I’m going to keep my silkies as house chickens. I know many people here don’t agree with house chickens but I have two special needs silkies. I couldn’t let them go. I don’t want to let any of them go. I also told me kids we would use the run as a rabbit enclosure. It’s cemented into the ground so there’s no moving the run.

He has already taken legal action against you in the form of the complaint and bringing a state officer to your door.

 

[Bill752]

"He’s worried his dog will come into my yard and kill my chickens." I didn't want to shoot my neighbor's dogs to protect our chickens & ducks so I went over & talked to him about different ways to keep them in. Electric fence will keep them from jumping & climbing over, cement blocks 1/2 buried on the inside of his fence should work, or he can get rid of them. When he's being nice then talk to him & give him options to lessen his worry, when he's being mean then give him a Clint Eastwood glint & through clenched teeth repeat those options & check the laws of your land, if a dog kills a pet whether it's a chicken, duck, or something else then you're entitled to the value of the life taken, but it it's an investment & you have reason to believe could provide an income for you then you may be entitled to the value plus your loss of future income of your investment. Mine hadn't even started laying yet & I settled for $100.00 although he did offer me $200.00 for the chicken & the duck but that is not how I want to make money. What if it would've happened again within a week then his dog would've been shot, he'd pay $200.00 a bird, plus the cost of a shotgun shell. I like it better this way, his dogs doesn't get our & our flocks aren't traumatized by them from being 2 houses down.

 

[Good Chicken Daddy]

https://library.municode.com/ is the website I use to check local laws, as a lawyer. Poke about there and if you are still worried, ask your local planning commission/ code enforcement section or call a lawyer. We are expensive. However, when you get free advice, you often get what you pay for.

 

[Smileybans]

The ordinances for my village aren’t posted anywhere online. Like no where. The mayor does everything with paper still. He prints out the ordinance and zoning books. Then you have to go to the village hall to buy one. A freaking paper copy. I lived here all my life and the ordinances for this place are almost old enough to drink. Once the new ordinances are made up, they’re doing it this year, imma buy a copy and post that crap online.

Edited to add: The zoning and ordinance guy for the town only works one day a week. Even though his business card says mon-fri. So we have been trying to call him to tell him the plan for the chickens. He is never there. The guy I got my coop from said don’t bother calling him back. He’s an a-hole. But I feel like my neighbors aren’t going to give this up.

 

[SheilaCondit]

I’ve looked into the state laws because I couldn’t find any local laws. The state laws say I have to own more than 3000 chickens to require registration to sell eggs. Otherwise the eggs have to refrigerated below 45F and packages labeled with the federal guidelines. To sell chicks under the age of 8 weeks I have to sell in numbers of no less than 6.

Sounds like he is getting fixated and overworked about the chickens. Smile, and tell him kindly that you have looked into all the laws and everything is fine as it is. Wave, and smile nicely again and walk away. Avoid escalating the situation. If he is retired then he has all day to think about it and create terrible scenarios in his imagination

 

[Good Chicken Daddy]

The ordinances for my village aren’t posted anywhere online. Like no where. The mayor does everything with paper still. He prints out the ordinance and zoning books. Then you have to go to the village hall to buy one. A freaking paper copy. I lived here all my life and the ordinances for this place are almost old enough to drink. Once the new ordinances are made up, they’re doing it this year, imma buy a copy and post that crap online.

Edited to add: The zoning and ordinance guy for the town only works one day a week. Even though his business card says mon-fri. So we have been trying to call him to tell him the plan for the chickens. He is never there. The guy I got my coop from said don’t bother calling him back. He’s an a-hole. But I feel like my neighbors aren’t going to give this up.

go to the meeting and demand that they publish the city code online. Not publishing online restricts access to the law to those who can afford to buy a copy or take a day off from work to go and look something up at the Mayor's pleasure. Ignorance of the law may not be an excuse, but keeping the law secret is unjust.