Recently my neighbors have started letting their chickens free-range, which I do as well. The difference is that I have land all the way around my barns and house so my chickens free-range on my property. The neighbor’s house is built up against one of my property lines, so when their chickens free-range, they do it in my pastures and eventually make their way up to my house and mix with my chickens. My only concern was that some of their roosters are trying to take my hens back with them and knowing this neighbor they wouldn’t try to return my hens but instead think “hey I have more hens now, cool.”. Their chickens also don’t look very healthy compared to mine. It’s just another pain in the ass in a long list of pains in the ass dealing with these neighbors.
This brings me to this weekend. I heard my 2 TBs running and playing in the front pasture, but didn’t think too much about it. I ate my lunch, then went to take the dog out. When I walked out the front door, I saw it, a dead rooster. My TBs had managed to trample one of the neighbor’s roosters to death.
I’m not quite sure how to handle this situation for a few reasons. I would gladly replace their rooster with a rooster of my own and I have some youngsters who are quite nice and a fancier breed than their rooster was, but these neighbors are, well, a$$holes to be quite frank and I’d rather not deal with them face to face. I actually don’t think I’m at fault at all since their chickens were in my pasture, but whatever. The 2 options I’m thinking of is 1) taking caged rooster over to their house and leaving it with a note explaining that it was a replacement or 2) leave a card with some cash in it to pay to replace the rooster. Do either of these ideas seem ok?
FTR, my history with these idiots involves them poaching off of my land, stealing fish out of my pond which I had just paid to have stocked with large fish, calling Fish and Game on them, one of them being arrested by GW for having illegally caught alligator in their freezer, them trapping barn cats with fur traps, them shooting barn cats, and now I think they have started poisoning them, trying to feed my horses rotten fruit and vegetables, shooting at deer behind my truck in my driveway, etc… I think you get the idea.
Good luck! I believe you do have the right to protect your property, and that includes animals , but, check to what extent that allows in your state:yes: