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

[NatJ]

Hose could be handy but still needs to be 'calibrated',
hard to measure something that long.
I have a 50' tape and would mark hose with tape every 50'.

A hose might stretch over time.

If you use the hose to measure, and it causes you to put the coop farther from neighbors' houses, that will not be a problem.

But if someone else measures with the hose, and says your coop is "too close," that would be a problem.

 

[Smileybans]

The “official” used a measure wheel. He also guessed at where the edge of my nice neighbors house is. He didn’t stand by the fence, next to her house, or ask to measure her yard. Just measured straight down my yard. Then called it accurate.
I am going to take my 25’ tape measure out on Sunday, if it isn’t raining, and spray paint every 25’. A 25’ tape measure is the biggest I have. I’ll do this on my side of the fence until I hit the 300’ mark. Then ask the nice neighbor if I can measure in her yard too. I bought the hose to go from my well to my chickens. An easier way to get water to them. I will measure the hose as well though. Marking that in the process.
I know this jerk ordinance a-hole is going to tell me I can’t build in the flood plain. But here’s the flaw in that. There’s a whole back street where people live that’s in the flood plain. And after Irene hit everyone rebuilt there. So how come I can’t? Just be-freaking-cause.

 

[aart]

A hose might stretch over time.

True Dat...and depending on material it could stretch or contract with temps.

 

[Iluveggers]

The “official” used a measure wheel. He also guessed at where the edge of my nice neighbors house is. He didn’t stand by the fence, next to her house, or ask to measure her yard. Just measured straight down my yard. Then called it accurate.
I am going to take my 25’ tape measure out on Sunday, if it isn’t raining, and spray paint every 25’. A 25’ tape measure is the biggest I have. I’ll do this on my side of the fence until I hit the 300’ mark. Then ask the nice neighbor if I can measure in her yard too. I bought the hose to go from my well to my chickens. An easier way to get water to them. I will measure the hose as well though. Marking that in the process.
I know this jerk ordinance a-hole is going to tell me I can’t build in the flood plain. But here’s the flaw in that. There’s a whole back street where people live that’s in the flood plain. And after Irene hit everyone rebuilt there. So how come I can’t? Just be-freaking-cause.

The spray paint is a good idea. If he comes back to measure it will be really hard to argue with your measurements if they are written that way.

 

[Smileybans]

Measured today. I know I’m into the flood plain but not sure about being over my property line. Since I can’t find the deed. I don’t want to move my banty shanty all the way down there just to have these jerks tell me to move it. I want to tell the ordinance officer I’m moving and to just drop all this. We found a house but with my husband out of work we can’t get a loan now. Hopefully I’ll talk to the lawyer tomorrow and she can help more.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Gosh darnit, @Smileybans ... This whole situation just isn't fair! I can't imagine the frustration you must be feeling. I wish I could wave a magic wand and "disappear" your neighbor.

I'm wondering if there's someone who can take your flock until you get a chance to move. I know they mean so so much to you, but at least you could still visit them and care for them.

REALLY wish I had an answer. You don't deserve this.

 

[Smileybans]

Gosh darnit, @Smileybans ... This whole situation just isn't fair! I can't imagine the frustration you must be feeling. I wish I could wave a magic wand and "disappear" your neighbor.

I'm wondering if there's someone who can take your flock until you get a chance to move. I know they mean so so much to you, but at least you could still visit them and care for them.

REALLY wish I had an answer. You don't deserve this.

Husband and I found a home we are hoping we can get. It’s not too pricey and meets all of our perimeters. But we have to wait. For the mortgage people to get back to us and all the other crap. I hate waiting so much. I always feel like if I wait I’ll miss out, or lose, on something.

We made a ton of calls today. Told one of the board members that the plan so far is to call out the ordinance officer again and have him measure to our 300ft. Dispute with him about it being in the flood plain. And place our chickens there. The board member said the only thing they can get us on if it is in the flood plain is animal cruelty. That’s a freaking stretch. When the worst hurricane in 30 years came through it didn’t even touch my yard. But took out half of the back street where people, and their animals, actually live. But I’m being cruel. Whatever.

Left a message with the dog warden today too. I also found a FB post by my neighbor, that me sister sent me, stating she was afraid her dog would kill my chickens. Oh boy. The dog warden won’t like that once I add on all the other crap these people have been doing with this dog.

I know a guy who owns a farm with like 200+ chickens. He said he would be willing to take mine in, if I had to move them off the property, while I figure stuff out. My problem there is he wants to throw them into his general population. These chickens look healthy. But I’d be afraid to take mine back after they were with his. I also have some really small bantams that I don’t want in with that many chickens. I asked him about setting up a separate run temporarily and he was weary about it. Which I understand. I don’t want to be a burden to anyone else.

 

[Smileybans]

The universe just won’t let up. I apparently deserve to be sh** on by the universe this year. Or it has a sick sense of humor.

The power company was out a couple days ago to cut down trees in my neighbors, the nice lady, yard. They saw our 50 year old shag bark hickory and decided it was dangerous. It needed to be cut down. This tree was a wildlife sanctuary. Squirrels nested in it every year. Currently living in it. Bees were living it. But the mayor came out with his crappy tree service and decided NYMO, National Grid, was right.

So my mom and the neighbor went halvies on paying this crappy tree service. Took them two days because they weren’t equipped to deal with the bees. I made them save them instead of just killing them. The squirrels they just threw on the ground.

Today this is what we’re left with. The patio stones weren’t broken until they drove their machines through.

We went from a nice big tree. With green leaves. To a stump and a broken walkway. Where the dirt is I had a succulent garden. It was beautiful. With two other cactuses and many hens and chicks. You can see one of my prickly pears by the stump. That would have been ruined too if I hadn’t asked them not to ruin it. They had no care for our lawn and had no idea what they were doing.

This is yesterday after they cut all the leaves off. I’m not standing on the ground to take this picture. They came back today at 530am to finish so no one would watch them. They used the bees as an excuse. I can’t wait to move. Hopefully we will be soon.

 

[Smileybans]

I’ve run into a new issue. My run is a muddy mess. The hurricane working it’s way up the east coast has brought another bought of rain my way. Making my 300ish square foot run mud. I don’t have access to wood chips and even if I did they would come in on a dump truck. Which would have to drive through our driveway… next to my neighbors house. The last time we had a dump truck come through the drive he complained that it wrecked his foundation. The foundations in these houses is the original foundations from the 1800s. So stone stacked on stone. I don’t want to deal with that on top of everything else.

Any other ideas on what I can do in the meantime? Covering the run would be too expensive and not practical for winter. Since the run isn’t cemented in I know it would collapse in winter if I covered it. I can post this question elsewhere if need be. But I figured I’d try here first since having wood chips delivered via dump truck would make my problem neighbor more of a problem.

 

[Brooks_]

I’ve run into a new issue. My run is a muddy mess. The hurricane working it’s way up the east coast has brought another bought of rain my way. Making my 300ish square foot run mud. I don’t have access to wood chips and even if I did they would come in on a dump truck. Which would have to drive through our driveway… next to my neighbors house. The last time we had a dump truck come through the drive he complained that it wrecked his foundation. The foundations in these houses is the original foundations from the 1800s. So stone stacked on stone. I don’t want to deal with that on top of everything else.

Any other ideas on what I can do in the meantime? Covering the run would be too expensive and not practical for winter. Since the run isn’t cemented in I know it would collapse in winter if I covered it. I can post this question elsewhere if need be. But I figured I’d try here first since having wood chips delivered via dump truck would make my problem neighbor more of a problem.

A lot of bagged mulch. Cypress.