[Demelza]

Hi chook lovers,

New to the board and would be very grateful for some advice.

First, I might not have any chickens, but think the principle of zero food miles, fresh eggs and happy chickens is great, whatever you might suspect after what I say next!

A few months ago my neighbour got some bantams - initially two roosters and three hens, now just the one rooster and the hens. We have a right of way through our back gate over her garden which we need to get bikes and bins out etc. I live in a village, and both our gardens are backed by a dry stone wall over which there are meadows. (Yes, it's lovely, and I know I'm lucky!) Although I'd prefer her to have asked our views before getting them, wish she didn't leave corn cobs out overnight, the rooster was a bit quieter and that it didn't go for my ankles when I push my bike through her garden, I can live and let live about most of that.

What's now started happening several times a day over the last couple of weeks is that the bantams are now coming over the gate and wall into my garden. They have already had the grass seed I had optimistically put down a few weeks ago, and are getting bolder and bolder as they head down the garden towards the veg patch. Twice when I have tried to shoo them out the rooster, who has become accidentally separated from his ladeez, has been over doing the chivalry and really flying at me. Now I try to coax them with a long pole held horizontally. I don't mind doing this occasionally but daily, let alone hourly is getting rather much. I'm also worried given the rooster's behaviour about my 7 year old nephew visiting later in the week.

My neighbour is very difficult to talk to at the best of times (she doesn't like the right of way, and to give you just a taster threatened me with her solicitor before she even moved in three years ago, and has made three separate legal claims against us just this year all of which our solicitor says are nonsense). Her garden is pretty small and the chooks initially confined to a small part of it near the wall. I have however noticed that she has kept the gate open to the rest of her garden and is trying to coax them through there when she feeds them in the morning, so I do think she recognises there's an issue.

We were forced to put our gate into the small gap between the two properties after she moved in or she would have put on one herself (on the boundary we own) and lock it! We are concerned she would use this as an excuse to erect more barricades. We don't think we should have to put chicken wire over our waist high fence/ back wall just so that she can keep chickens in a small space. It's a narrow gap and we have enough trouble using it already.

If you have any advice about anything I can do short of barracading the garden to encourage them to go elsewhere, that would be really appreciated. I don't really want to risk making any suggestions to her, but if you do have any ideas about what she could do that would be great too.

Apologies for the length of the post, and being literally from the other side of the fence. Just want as good a neighbour relationship as possible AND chooks out of the garden!

Demelza

[Casey76]

Hi Demelza,

Well I think you are a good neighbour from this short bit you have written here - very patient and understanding.  There is no need for aggressive cockerals at all, imho.  Certainly you wouldn't want to breed from them and if they are just pets... well there are plenty of gentlemen-like cocks out there without having the hassle of an aggressive pet.

How high is the boundry between you and your neighbour?  Would you object to a screen upto 6 feet high?  Unfortunately banties tend to be quite good fliers due to their low body mass, and unless your neighbour clips one of their wings they could fly over a lower barrier.

Hmm... re-reading your post, it seems that you have quite a low boundry between your gardens.  If I was your neighbour I would confine the chooks to a run, since a 1m/1m20 fence will be just a hop and a skip for a bantie to get over.  It should definitely be her responsibility to prevent her chooks from getting into your garden and destroying your property (e.g. when they ate the grass seed)... but how to communicate this delicately and diplomatically, I don't know - sorry.  Fortunately I have never had any "difficult neighbours" to contend with.

Hopefully wyou should get some more good advice here.

[Demelza]

Hi Casey,

And thanks so much for your advice. We have a nine feet hedge for most of the boundary between us which fortunately does keep them out. I can't do much about the dry stone wall at the end which boundaries both our gardens with meadows at the back. That's the bit, or the waist high fence, which they are getting over.

I just ran into another neighbour who suggested putting something fluttery on the wall next to the gate - so I've stuck a handy butterfly and CD from the veg patch on sticks and am hoping. Last time I looked a few minutes ago, the rooster seemed to be having a face off with the butterfly. That can't happen too often!

All the best - and enjoy your chooks!

Demelza

[redmolly]

Put a big sign outside "Bantam Curry Served Here!!" 
My neighbours have just been to see me!! A couple of the youngsters were on the 6ft high fence looking like they were going to go over....straight into the mouths of their Staffies too!!!! Will be wing clipping later!! Not just because I don't want them to annoy the neighbours, get eaten by their dogs....but also so I don't lose them anywhere if they did decide to venture nextdoor or into the field!! Especially this time of year!!! Tell your neighbour.....perhaps she ought to clip their wings as you've seen several fox cubs in the meadow lately!!?!

[Demelza]

Hi Red Molly,

Yes I have been contemplating my fresh herbs & casserole pot! I looked online yesterday, and please forgive ignorance as a chookie rookie, as there seemed to be several points of view. Is wing clipping (done properly) painful? And are coops unkind? She has a small garden so it would have to be a pretty small coop.

Thanks

Demelza

[redmolly]

No wing clipping is pain free!!! You just trim back the one row of flight feathers! No blood involved!! They just don't like it being done that's all!! Coops are not unkind, however there are certain size requirements per bird. Hopefully wing clipping would solve the issue for the best part! 

[Casey76]

Wing clipping is not painful at all, as you should never clip as far back as the blood supply.

As for the run size, it depends on how big the bantams are.  For a total of 4 bantams, a 1x4m run should suffice if she is really pressed for space, though as always, the bigger the better.  For large fowl, the minimum is 1sq m per bird, but recommended is 2sq m.  For bantams, you can go a little smaller as they are not so hard on the ground as large fowl.

[Demelza]

Thanks all for helpful advice,

Will try to make bantams act all chicken with the butterfly and CD ploy (worked for last two hours of daylight, fingers crossed) and not ruffle neighbour's feathers or make her fly off the handle. Fox story/ coop and clipping stories at the ready if needed.

Wish me luck

Demelza

[too many girls]

i think your being very patient with your neighbour, if i were in your shoes i'd be tempted to write a very polite letter explaining that when your nephew visits he will be bringing his terrier with him and, should the bantams stray into your garden "oh my i just don't know what would happen" your concern obviously (at least to her) is the birds safety, and wouldn't it be beter if she could pop them in a run? i mean she wouldn't want them eaten or anything
if you need a terrier at short notice you can borrow Archie, he thinks chickens were placed by God on this earth for him to chase and as my dad says who are we to interfere with Gods work? he's actually caught one once but he didn't kill it, que e-bay for an electric shock dog collar (there's something quite satisfying about zapping him when he heads off for a chicken )...........................

[coco]

  electric shock dog collar ... am I a bad person 'cos the imagine of that made me laugh??

We have a persistent escapee and have managed to stop her by fixing a brush head to the spot where she is jumping from/to ... think the fact that the surface is not solid stops her from landing on it ... she does give me evil looks from the other side though 

Perhaps you could use something similar until he gets out of the habit of using the wall as a way to get into your garden.

xx

[joyfull]

TMG if your Archie is anything like one of my old dogs who used to chase anything the electric shock collar didn't work. We had it on the highest setting with the longest prongs fitted (as she was a collie with long hair) and you could see it working (hair didn't quite stand on end carton style but it made her stop for a couple of seconds) but she soon realised that she could ignore it until she was out of range then she was off chasing rabbits and pheasants (she died just as we got the chickens - luckily for the chickens as she would have eaten them no problem). I will have a hunt round to see if I still have the collar this weekend for you if you like.

[too many girls]

Archie's collar works a dream, it has 8 levels and we haven't needed to go past level 4, Sam was a bit sceptical about electrocuting his dog :blink: but i think he was very afraid Archie might start to kill the chickens if he got a taste for them and would have to go Archie has only ever caught one (Juno) and inspite of us all screaming at him and chasing him round the garden trying to catch him (we couldn't) he kept on chasing her even after she got away and he caught her again, she was missing a few feathers but had no wounds and is as right as rain, we couldn't risk that happening again, we practiced with the collar to find the level that was suitable, one zap on level 4 stops him in his tracks, he then rushes back to one of us complaing he's been hurt, he hasn't needed it for chasing the chickens (he hasn't chased them again yet) but he has been zapped for chasing the cats.

[ehs284]

Oh, you're so unlucky. My biggest chook/neighbour problem is that she gives them too much top class human food (salmon, beef, etc etc - stuff we can't afford).
I would NOT write to her. Keep it informal. Your 'unsafe landing area' idea is probably best. If the CDs etc don't work, a small net along the top of the wall will probably work, because although they can get onto the top of the wall they will not be able to jump/fly vertically to get over it. They do learn and after a short while decide to go elsewhere.  A bantam dinner might be enticing, but you'd feel guilty. HTH

[coco]

Just wanted to add, that you sound like a really nice neighbour being so kind and thoughtful when she is obviously so difficult .... she should consider herself lucky to live next door to you   
xx

[Flowerpower136]

Sounds a similar set up to us, edge of countryside and informal boundaries.
When we moved here, we had to tighten things up a big because of the dogs, so where there was hedging we added green mesh fencing (can't see it against hedge), and where there was low dry stone walls, we added lattice panels on top.  Also some extra fencing of 4' picket type.
I didn't want to start sticking up waney lap or similar because it wouldn't have been in keeping with the style of house or location.  It all looks fine, and has kept the dog in.
However, now we've got chucks, and I'm certain that they would be out on the rampage, even if I did clip their wings. 
Rather than fence the garden in, I've fenced them in, and they are confined to a good size secure pen.  Partly for their own safety, dog, foxes etc, and also because I love my garden, and they would wreck it, and also because I do quite like my neighbours, and they would wrech their gardens too.
Its a tricky one.  The odd escapee can be forgiven, but it's not reasonable to have someone elses animanls invading your garden.  I think you will have to bite the bullet, and tell her nicely (you sound such a nice person) that you are not happy, and she might want to think about building them a pen.  Mine are perfectly happy in theirs.