Neighbor threatening to "take out my roosters"

[jak2002003]

I think I am a similar person to you. I hate confrontation and get really upset easily. I had a big problem with my nieghbour a few years ago. From my experience I recommend.......

1. If he talks to you again like that, simply tell him you don't care at all what he thinks and he should mind his own business. If any of your animals go missing...so will his cats - tell him you mean it! Then end the conversation and walk away, even if he tries to argue with you.
2. From then on totally ignore him. If he sees you are getting upset or responding in any way, he will respond back and it will go on and on. When you see him in the garden, don't even look at him, or respond if he starts to talk to you. Act like he is not there.
3. Finally, get on with enjoying you own life and don't think about him. If anything does happen then you can call the police.

DON NOT TRY TO BE FRIENDLY WITH THIS GUY. These kind of people will go on causing you trouble and playing games with you..its just how they are. Don't wast time or money on fencing or trying to annoy him.......it will make it worse. If he can see he can not intimidate you and he is not getting any response form you, he will likely get bored and stop.

Good luck.

 

[Medo]

best to diffuse the situation..

http://www.wbng.com/news/local/Man-...ling-6-of-his-Neighbors-Horses-149564715.html

 

[bj taylor]

it's not your roosters, your horses, your garden - it's you. he's having himself a good time terrorizing a young woman. it's probably the highlight of his life.
plant some sunflowers that grow fast & tall along where he likes to stalk you. like beekissed said, get yourself a real dog. whatever you do NEVER let him in your house for any reason.
even if you're scared spitless, don't let him see it. if you let him, he will take all the joy out of your home. he will spoil every sweet moment you spend with your chickens, in your garden, or anything else. it's your home - defend it.
if you want to give him eggs - give him rotten ones. he's a beast & should be treated like one.

 

[Eowyn2]

I'm like you, I don't like conflict with people like that. It's really hard to deal with someone who appears to be very unreasonable - how do you reason with the unreasonable, eh?

When I first saw the title of the thread, I thought, "Oh jeez, don't tell me you can't understand how someone finds roosters incredibly annoying." - but then I saw that you had 20 acres, and the coop is a ways from his house. Yeah, I think he's being unreasonable, I agree.

Those of us who tremble at the thought of conflict often don't have very good boundaries or don't know how to enforce them well. I would suggest that if this is a particular problem for you, find a book on boundaries and read it over. It will help you a lot, and not just with this person. Bullies are good at sniffing out people they can push around, and being able to set firm boundaries puts them back in their place.

I read a thread a while ago where someone else had a nasty neighbor; the person finally just confronted the neighbor calmly and asked why she was being so unpleasant and rude when they had never had any trouble before and hadn't done anything to her. She persisted and didn't let the person ignore her, and turns out the neighbor was jealous of some of the improvements they had made to their property and that was her way of dealing with it. So you never know what makes someone act like this - because we all know it's wrong. Even that person, I bet. But he feels justified for some strange reason. Maybe he's jealous that at 25 he was slaving away his life for The Man and you have the freedom to do something you love and make a living at it? When you feel strong enough, it would be a good thing to just plain ask him why he's being so unpleasant.

I'm also going to buck the trend and say that you're perfectly justified in giving this man eggs or produce if you want to. Kindness is hard to stay mad at. Just examine your motivation for it - try not to think of it as a bribe or a peacemaking tool, because you don't owe him anything. If you can find it in your heart to find something worth liking about him and want to share your bounty with him because of that, you can better ignore the nasty and it won't sting as bad when he does something ungracious when you graciously give him the fruit of your hard work. Maybe his immaculate yard is genuinely beautiful. Compliment him on that, if you really like it. You might even ask him for some gardening tips on a problem you have. People like to feel needed.

I heard a mental health provider recently say she likes to play a little dumb when someone attacks her, and assumes they just don't know enough about the situation so she's happy to provide the information needed to make them realize they have nothing to be mad about. I don't know how to apply that to your situation, but it's worth thinking about. Because clearly this guy doesn't understand the lovely place you have.

And finally, setting good boundaries includes standing up for yourself when necessary. Completely and utterly agree with those saying you should report his threat and research your rights, and not be afraid to enforce them gently and firmly. You can be kind and giving while you also draw a line and say, "no further". It's tough, but you can do it. If you can farm 20 acres, you can set good boundaries.

 

[centrarchid]

Sound logic Eowyn2.

 

[cassidy22]

OH man, I sort of know where you are coming from.

I hate to say this, but there might be something else underneath his issues. I moved into my first house at 24. A few days after I moved in, I had to go to a conference for work for 10 days. My mom came over and painted and tore out nasty wallpaper while I was gone. She chatted up the neighbors the whole time.

Then I came back, and everything was fine for months.

Until one of the neighbors asked my mom something when she was over for a visit. I don't remember the question, but the answer involved something like "oh, this isn't my house it's my daughter's..." He turned around, went inside, and never spoke to either of us again. And shortly after that, the nasty notes on my windshield and front door started to appear. Then came the banging on my door, the yelling at me from their bathroom window, etc. It went all the way to having the cops called on me and going to court.

He used my dogs as his excuse, but it was the same dogs that lived there when he thought my mom owned the house. as soon as he realized that a 24 year old single female bought a house next to him, he just couldn't stand it. Not sure what his deal was. Jealousy? Some sort of latent chauvenism? Who knows, all I know is it didn't matter what I did, he raged after me until he and his wife moved out (and tried to finance their new house by suing me! didn't work!)

So it might not matter what you do, if this guy is jealous of you for what you have at your age, or some stupid issues with independent women, it won't matter what you do. You might want to talk to your local police about what you should do next, what behaviors you should document of his, and what is perceived as a threat. They might be able to help you figure out what you need to do to protect yourself. He sounds like a real loser to me!

 

[Amarisus]

I say don't let him bother you. If he really is in his 50's/60's I 90% sure he is all empty threats and nothing more. I come from a small town in cali filled with old retired rich snobs. They think they're superior and think everyone else should bend to their will so everything can be there way, its just dumb. It's likely he's just a pompus "you know what" and is hoping he can intimidate you, when in reality he's probably too old and lazy to even carry out his threats, let alone climb your fence lol Next time he comes out just smile and wave

this pisses them off more than anything, and if he talks to you again trying to be mean just say something like "Wow you are so intelligent and wise!

" and agree with everything he says but never do it! people like that love having their butts kissed (you don't have to mean any of it) they just like to hear it and he'll see his jerkyness is waisted on you and move on. He wants a rise out of you, just like a school bully an old bully is no different, act like nothing he say hurts you whatsoever, be bullet proof!

 

[SaltyClucker]

I would make 100% sure I knew where the property line is AND double check your town ordinances. Many towns require that certain "enclosures" such as a coop be within so many feet of property lines. The worst he can do legally is stand there and scowl, next time he waddles on over let him know that he's trespassing ") I would however call my local police department and file a complaint against him for threatening to kill your livestock. It's best to start a paper trail just in case things go south. I wish you the best of luck!

 

[cheri n chicks]

I would not worry about him making trouble for you if you give him "Free" eggs after all he is not the only one eating your beautiful eggs. Our neighbor poisoned our dogs, the dogs were taken to the vet and saved. This same neighbor was caught walking across the street with a pail and ax in hand to kill another neighborhood dog that was barking "to much". We ran out and confronted him and he went back to his home.
Mothballs will keep cats out of the flower beds, but I would not use them in vegetable gardens.
First I would ask them why they are so mad they made the choice to live in the country, if not an answer then I would not talk to this neighbor - yours. The world is a beautiful place and why put up with that hostility. Keep an eye on your animals and hope he does not do anything crazy to your crops, Yes electric fence and you need one to keep your livestock out of the garden, and other "things" !
Yes, I would file a complaint after he has threatened you several times, if something were to happen the police need to know about his bad behavior.
Hard to tell what makes people tick sometimes just be careful lock your doors at night.
Who was it that said " Fences make the best neighbors" ??

God Bless

 

[Achickenwrangler#1]

The guy s just a bully, and will back off when you stand up to him, they like to prey on people and when that gets difficult for him he'll give it up.