What would you Do?

[Ziggi]

i have a lovely flock of 4 austrolorps, just started to lay.
Next door is a tragedy of a home for neglected chickens. The lady puts them in a very poorly sheltered coop, 2 hens and one rooster, with minimal feed and water, sometimes she leaves them there locked up for weeks at a time. The rooster stopped crowing.
It is hot here now, about 85-90 degrees.
They pace up and down all day without a thing to do or eat or drink.
I’m calling rspca on Monday but sadly they rarely do a damn thing. I hate cruelty to animals.
What would you do?

 

[chrissynemetz]

I would talk to your neighbor about them, see what she says.
Would you be willing to take them?

 

[DiYMama540]

Would you be interested in giving the birds a home? You could talk to your neighbor about it and see if she would be willing to give them up to you. You could even offer her to come visit them, and have some eggs from time to time.

 

[Ziggi]

The neighbor hates us because we also had previous problems with her dogs that she left tied up for weeks without any kind of stimulation. I would be more than happy to give them a home, but she is disagreeable. I should have included this in my post.

 

[Ziggi]

We offered to take her two dogs also previously but she eventually gave them to someone else or had them put down.
We have one of her chickens that jumped her fence and about six months ago, we began caring for that chicken and she was angry at us for that. But in the end we gave her twenty dollars. The chicken is still with us and really happy.

 

[DiYMama540]

It may go a long way for your relationship with this neighbor if you attempt to talk with her directly about it first. Consider writing what you'd like to say in a letter and leaving it. Don't dwell on the negatives of the situation, highlight the positives. (You have more time and interest for chickens, she can still get some eggs, still get to see them, no coop cleaning for her)

 

[DiYMama540]

Hmmm, she sounds like a tough egg to crack!

 

[chrissynemetz]

Well there's a thought, maybe offer to buy them from her?

 

[Ziggi]

We really did try to have a good relationship with her in the beginning and did lots to help her out. But she hates us now. Not the kind of person you can really work with...

 

[Ziggi]

It may go a long way for your relationship with this neighbor if you attempt to talk with her directly about it first. Consider writing what you'd like to say in a letter and leaving it. Don't dwell on the negatives of the situation, highlight the positives. (You have more time and interest for chickens, she can still get some eggs, still get to see them, no coop cleaning for her)

Lol, she never cleans their coop anyway, and I think because of neglect the chooks eat their own eggs... so it seems there is no point in her even having them except for her own cruelty? I am stumped.