What's the best way to let your neighbors know???

[1mommahen]

Tall fences work!

 

[The Chicken Lady]

I don't think you need to print up fliers or anything. That's more of a, "Hi, I'm new here and I'm forcing this on you," kind of approach. It's also completely impersonal. I'd be offended if someone moved in on my street with a rottweiler and passed out some kind of, "We Raise Rottweilers" fliers without even getting to know me or the other people.

Just raise your chickens as if it's the most normal thing in the world. Don't alert anyone to it. In the meantime, get to know your neighbor as a person -- bring her some of the baked goods you said you enjoy making, for example -- and be all-around nice. Ask her questions about the neighborhood, about her kids, even about things you might already know, just to make conversation and make her feel important. Admire her landscaping, etc.

By the time the fact you have chickens comes up in your conversation, you can approach it from the point of view that, oh yeah, that's just something you do. You'll have built up a relationship/friendship over the past few months and it will be difficult for her to dislike you over it.

Oh, you also said she has kids? G et the kids to help you with the chickens sometime -- after your neighbor trusts you. If the kids love your chickens -- and are being EDUCATED about animals -- your neighbor might like that.

 

[Gindee77]

Wow! I feel your pain! I have a crabby neighbor and I got chickens with the blessing of our village clerk who said "Go ahead and try having chickens as long as your neighbors don't complain."

I have been holding my breath ever since I got the chicks and put them out in the coop. We built the coop inside a garden shed at the same time we were building frames for our raised bed gardens, so all the sawing and hammering wasn't suspect. The coop is staying in the shed and we have our yard fenced with a 6' privacy fence.

I was very cordial and talked thru the fence to the neighbor man this weekend about our garden , but NOT about the chickens. But it's his wife that's the crabby one. I'm just trying to lay some friendly groundwork for possible future eventualities.

We put the chicks in the tractor not far from their house, but so far all they do is peep so they sound like all the other wild birds outdoors. My chicks are 7 weeks old right now and I'm not sure when they start to cluck because that could be the give-away...I just hope they are quiet. All I've got is quiet breeds but they will still sound like chickens.

Of course, if the neighbors squawk I hope they do it to me, then I'll tell them I talked to the village clerk before I got them ...but I am also gathering info if they say something to me...about odor control (I use food grade DE and zeolite in my coop...both natural odor control methods safe for chickens) and noise (we will have NO roosters) and insect control and all the issues they could have.

If all else fails, I'll try to rent a stall at a farm where we used to keep our horses to keep my coop in. But that would sure make the eggs expensive with board and gas to get out there twice everyday!

I have no idea how my neighbors feel about chickens and I don't know how far they'd go to make me get rid of them. But I feel I must be ready for anything. It's part of my worrywart nature!

I just wish I lived in the country and may just do that too, if it comes to that.

In the meantime, I'm going on my favorite saying..."I'd rather ask forgiveness than ask permission" and I'm keeping my chickens.

Good luck!!

P.S. Great thread! I'm learning a lot for my situation here!! Thanks!!

 

[the simple life]

In our town you can't even get a permit to keep chickens without a letter from your neighbors agreeing to it.I had to submit letters from the neighbor on either side of me and the one directly behind my house.When I got to the clerk's office they took the letter and looked in the computer and told me I was missing a neighbor. She said that a woman on the street behind me,her property abuts mine and I needed her signature.I was shocked, if her property abutts mine its got to be like a half an inch.I can't even see her house from mine, but I know she has a bunch of cats.So I said to the clerk do you mean the lady with all those cats? So she said, well if she has a abunch of cats then I guess she can't complain about you having a bunch of chickens and they gave me the permit.
But I did have to get a letter and I am wondering if it would be better to make sure that your town doesn't do that as well.Its not in the legal mumbo jumbo that that they write in the ordinance but its told to you on the phone when you inquire about the application.So even though its not written anywhere,it is a requirement.I would hate to see your neighbors complain and you have to get rid of your chickens.Just look into all the aspects first.
What I did was I wrote up my own letter stating that I was going to be keeping chickens in a coop on my fenced in property and that any concerns the neighbors had now or in the future would be addressed accordingly.I knocked on their door and I told them that I didn't need their permission to have the chickens, that the letter was just to inform them of my intentions and I asked them to sign it. All of them did, but I think sometimes if people think you need their permission to do something its a different story, thats why I did it the way I did.

 

[amystours]

Well the catty part of me is saying "if she complains about YOUR chickens, YOU complain about HER dog"...

However, the sensible part of me is saying "ooh, good luck with that, hope it all works out".

I think you should just go about your everyday business, and if she does happen to say something, just be nonchalant about it, and start by saying something about egg prices, shoot, I don't know!

We have a daycare right next door and they haven't said anything when the little ones got out and were hovering by their playground...

 

[the simple life]

I think that you have gotten some good advice already from others.I think that as much as you might not personally like this person it does help sometimes to kill them with kindness.I moved into my house 15 years ago and the lady next door was a real crab.Just like your neighbor.Everytime she yelled at my kids for hitting a ball over the fence I would go out of my way to apologize while retreiving the ball and I would ask her how she was doing and compliment her on her gardens.I know it was hard for her to be nice to me while I did this and she would answer me in short clipped tones.Then one day I heard her yelling my name from her yard, I went around to her property and she had dug up some of her plants and a sapling tree and gave it to me to plant in my yard.She said I notice that you cleaned up the property when you moved in so you might like to plant these.That was it after that, I never had a problem again.She moved out of state a couple of years ago and a new neighbor lady moved in.Same deal.She is now also very friendly to me,I was still a little nervous about telling her about the chickens and she shocked me by being very supportive and said she was excited about it.I think unless this woman is a true beast you can turn this situation around.I have noticed too that some people are very territorial when you move into their neighborhoods and that could be it too.I think you have a good idea with befriendling her kids and educating them.It might be fun for them to come over and collect the eggs themselves rather than you sending over fresh eggs.Just let them know when you have some available.Maybe they can name one or two of the chickens as well.It may get better after you get to know her.Bake some cookies or invite her over for lunch,bbq whatever.Keep your friends close and your enemies closer is what they say.

 

[SpottedCrow]

You had a good plan, Natalie...

I had an old neighbour and I was the only one who actually got on well with him...in my age range I should say. We'd talk and he'd give me honey and veggies. And I loved him as much like he was my own grandfather...he'd tell war stories and I always wanted to get him recorded and write a book. I never got to before he died...

 

[MrsCountryChick]

Quote:
What is "food grade DE"? & What is "zeolite"? Always interested in oder control methods.

Quote:
I LOVE your quote,

so true.

 

[Rhett&SarahsMom]

mine are pets

I had a rooster living in my basement for the winter. You could hear him outside. I am pretty sure the neighbors heard him as well. But. The neighbors on one side are DEAF! and on the other side they love animals and are big into self sufficiency. And I dare anyone else to say a word to me since they have dogs out 24/7 barking.
No roosters. Keeping it clean. Giving eggs to neighbors.

Pets.

 

[Lazy J Farms Feed & Hay]

If there are restrictions on the keeping of poultry/livestock in your town then your neighbor is WELL WITHING HER LEGAL RIGHTS to call the appropriate athorities to report your violations of the cities legal codes.

Jim