Will neighbors rooster steal my pullets?

[azelgin]

I used to turn the hose on my free range chickens, when they decided to wander into the carport. Sure, they would get out when they saw me coming, but when I wasn't around, they were back. I finally gave up and fenced them out.

 

[Starfire669]

Yeah, and the same would hold true for the dog. I don't like chaining my animals unless it's needed for safety or something. Hence the escape proof dog pen in the back. It wasn't that she killed a chick, it had no business in my yard, it was that she could climb out the front fence and I was tired of chasing her down the street.

I guess my hope will be on the geese turning territorial when they mature. I don't think a Roo will take on a gander, much less win if the gander decides to go after him.

As for my garden, guess my lovely herbs are gonna have fencing put on top of them, as well as around them. And I'll probably have to do the same to my strawberry patch, which the chickens haven't found yet.

 

[sepaditty1]

If he were willing to give up his rooster, his flock would eventually wane. Then you're only asking him to give up one bird. Maybe he'd be more willing.

 

[Starfire669]

That might be an option, although it would make me feel bad that he would have to give up his Roo. The Roo is very good at protecting his hens and chicks, it would be a shame remove that protection. Plus it isn't just the Roo in my yard, there is a black hen with gold head and neck that is usually the first to come over and the Roo followers her. She is very determined and I have chased her out 5 time in 15 minutes just to stand there glaring at her and yelling and she just waits for me to walk away. Dang chicken. Sometime the whole flock, complete with the chicks come over, the Roo gets up on my front porch and crows when this happens. I did not enjoy that as my chicken killer dog heard it and went nuts trying to get at them. I had to kennel her before I could chase the chickens out of my yard.

You think I could maybe rig up some kind of motion activated system on the fence line? Maybe have a sprinkler start up when the chickens fly over? Or a speaker emit a sound? If it worked, not only would his chickens be kept in his yard but any of mine that might try for his yard would also be kept in check. What do you think?

 

[Starfire669]

I know people are wondering why this I'm trying this hard on something that seems simple. I grew up here, my parents house is right behind my house (my mother is sick with cancer and I wanted to be close to her), the people who lived here before me used to babysit me as a small child. My nieghbor with the chickens has also been here all that time. When we purchased the house my husband was overseas active duty. My nieghbor, he watched out for me, even took my boys fishing and shooting their BB guns while my husband was away. When his pitbull gets sick he brings it to me to patch up. (with 6 dogs and 6cats of my own i am really good at playing doctor to animals). My outside cats and his cat are buddies and roam both of our yards, but we keep other cats out. We trade gardening tips and seedlings back and forth, he just doesnt have a herb garden or strawberry patch, he does bigger veggies that his chickens can't kill. He is a good guy and very nice. So it feels very wrong to make him give up his birds that he had before I moved in. I just want to protect my garden and flock from his chickens.

I know it seems like a hopeless situation, but maybe a radical idea would work. Maybe we can design some kind of humane chicken repellant system, lol.

 

[azygous]

Havahart products has a solar-powered sprinkler that runs around $150 that is designed specially to sense body heat and motion and to come on to discourage animal intrusion into your yard. http://www.havahart.com/store/animal-repellents/spray-away

It should work fine on chickens.

 

[Starfire669]

Thanks, I will check that out. That is probably my best bet right there

 

[Starfire669]

You may have also solved my problem with cats. They know better than to come into my yard during the day but at night they try and break into the chicken coop. I managed to trap 1 and re-home it to a barn that needed mousers but there are 4 more. Putting 1 on a corner of the coop would effectively repell the cats!

Thank you so much! That will do exactly what need! Keep his chickens out of my yard and it will keep the cats away too! You are a brilliant!

 

[Egghead_Jr]

It's his responsibility to contain his birds. You should remind him of this, as nicely as possible. If he doesn't attempt any containment you'll have to call animal control.

An animal escaping from a yard now and then is one thing but if his only containment is that his yard is where food and water are left for them it's quite another thing. If they roost in trees does he even have a coop? It's obvious there is no run.

 

[Starfire669]

He has an old shed, he converted into a coop for them, tried to train them to go in at night, by locking them up for 3 weeks but as soon as he let them out they go right back to the trees. I have seen it happen, he called 2 male friends to help him round them up, tried luring with food and even tried to round them up early in the evening and only caught some while the others took to the trees, then used poles to try and get more. Some were 10 feet high in the tree. After they were locked up for 3 weeks and he let them out, not 1 returned to the coop. Is this some instict ingame chickens?

The Roo and momma hens are particularly dangerous when rounding them up and caused wounds. So while there is a coop available they won't go near it.

When they did the round up is also when he gave half his flock to 1 of the men helping him to reduce their population, including the 2nd Roo.