HoosierSilkie
In the Brooder
Hi all,
We were out in the yard with our 3yr old and chickens tonight. We live in town. Our back yard is completely enclosed with an 8ft privacy fence. Our 70ish yr old neighbor came out and "voiced an opinion" about several things. Her back door overlooks our backyard.
Her first complaint: the chickens stink; she then pointed to the temporary coop we had some chicks in but haven't used for a month.
Second: they pose a health hazard for her and her husband. She claims they cannot even sit out in their yard because of this.
Third: our dog (inside dog) barks at the chickens in the yard all day.
Fourth: the rooster that we have now crows and wakes her up, but the one we had before didn't bother her.
She then cited an ordinance that we are only allowed 4 chickens in town. Her husband is a retired state cop and he knows this to be true.
I'm not really sure how to address these complaints because
1: the chickens live in a small garage that we converted that truly doesn't stink - it's cleaned regularly and fresh bedding is put down.
2: What health hazard do they pose? Is this my responsibility to address?
3: the chickens are kept in the coop during the day, so the dog is not barking at them. She could be barking, but she's kept in the basement of the house when we're gone. Our other neighbors can't hear her.
4: we have the same rooster that we've always had. His habits haven't changed. He does crow a few times around 7am most days.
Finally, I checked ordinance before getting chickens and our city doesn't have one on poultry. I even called the police department tonight to check.
How do I handle this? I have to live next to these people, so I'd rather not be on bad terms.
We were out in the yard with our 3yr old and chickens tonight. We live in town. Our back yard is completely enclosed with an 8ft privacy fence. Our 70ish yr old neighbor came out and "voiced an opinion" about several things. Her back door overlooks our backyard.
Her first complaint: the chickens stink; she then pointed to the temporary coop we had some chicks in but haven't used for a month.
Second: they pose a health hazard for her and her husband. She claims they cannot even sit out in their yard because of this.
Third: our dog (inside dog) barks at the chickens in the yard all day.
Fourth: the rooster that we have now crows and wakes her up, but the one we had before didn't bother her.
She then cited an ordinance that we are only allowed 4 chickens in town. Her husband is a retired state cop and he knows this to be true.
I'm not really sure how to address these complaints because
1: the chickens live in a small garage that we converted that truly doesn't stink - it's cleaned regularly and fresh bedding is put down.
2: What health hazard do they pose? Is this my responsibility to address?
3: the chickens are kept in the coop during the day, so the dog is not barking at them. She could be barking, but she's kept in the basement of the house when we're gone. Our other neighbors can't hear her.
4: we have the same rooster that we've always had. His habits haven't changed. He does crow a few times around 7am most days.
Finally, I checked ordinance before getting chickens and our city doesn't have one on poultry. I even called the police department tonight to check.
How do I handle this? I have to live next to these people, so I'd rather not be on bad terms.