Neighbor Woes

[Renee']

May I suggest that you tell the son that you feel sorry for the chickens trapped in the shed and suggest that they let them out, or go over there yourself and let them out. Then when they fly onto the fence or into your garden, YOU clip their wings and send them home. Problem solved. They aren’t going to notice the clipped wings and eventually you won’t have any more visitors. Good luck to you, I know it isn’t an easy situation. I have neighbors that don’t treat their dogs properly. I have had to step in a few times but they seem to take it well.

 

[Dora'smom]

Stop being so involved in their business? Forgive me, but that is just silly. How comfortable would you be, sitting and listening to a little bird being torn apart at night by dogs? I would not be able to sit still for that, and if I tried, I would not be able to rest, and it would haunt me the next day. Also, what if some of their birds come over the fence, and the OP's birds catch mites or other things from them?
I don't think the neighbor's birds are necessarily used for egg production alone, as it sounds like they tend to go missing around holidays.
The next time you are awakened by the neighbor's dogs terrorizing their birds, go over to their front door and bang loudly on it. Look very concerned, and tell them earnestly that something is trying to tear apart some of their birds. Tell them that you fear for your own birds, and that you can hear it, and came over to tell them rather than call the police. Offer to go back there with your frying pan, gun, nunchucks, whatever, to help them ward off the wolves, coyotes, bears, etc. If you make enough of an earnest performance, I think they will take the hint, without getting angry. If this does not help, you can hide a bird, and call animal control.
In the meantime, seeing if their son would like help constructing a proper coop would be a really nice idea. (You could certainly tell him that the birds would be much safer, and grow much better if they are not continually stressed). He also may like the idea of making their yard nicer, and more garden-like, like yours.
Good luck, let us know what happens, and I hope that the situation improves.

 

[mypicklebird]

Hello, SF has a great animal control/SPCA group. What I would do is start by calling them and explaining the situation. They are nice people, and they can send out an officer to do a animal welfare/premise check.
http://www.sfgov.org/site/acc_index.asp
You can ask advice and remain anonymous to start with. If you are over the chicken/duck limit, you don't really want to attract their scrutiny, but IMO if there are animals being torn apart by other animals- you should take action. Minding one's own business goes out the window IMO if I saw that.

They will be more interested in animal cruelty and/or neglect than you being over your limit. If you & they decide that a premise check on your neighbors is going to happen- then you can always temporarily board a few chickens in cat carriers at a friend's house for a day. If the birds in the shed are being fed, look relatively healthy and are not living in complete filth- nothing is likely to happen to them if AC inspects, as the laws on animal keeping and housing are not that strict. If they appear to be diseased or in distress- the owners may get a fix it ticket or have their animals impounded, depending on how bad it is.

I don't know about SF's rules on keeping birds for meat/eating either. Humane dispatch and eating of poultry does not bother me, but allowing dogs to kill/shred/eat chickens doesn't fall into that category. You can also document things--- dogs tugging on dead chicken ect.

Cultural differences do play a role here it sounds like- you appear to have neighbors that chickens= food vs you which chickens = pets & bonus eggs. BUT SF does not allow animal baiting, cock fighting, and has fairly clear rules on prevention of animal cruelty. You can't get them for keeping chickens but you can get them for being way over the limit of animals, allowing animal cruelty, and maybe neglect. You can enable them to keep their birds safe and healthy- teach them/help them build something better, or take the decision out of their hands and put it in the hands of the SF AC/SPCA.

 

[cobrien]

I still think that since you haven't expressed the stress that it caused you hearing the chicken torn apart by the dogs, that your relations with the neighbor has a better chance of not having irreparable damage if you tell them this BEFORE calling animal control. Of course you have every right to call animal control right now, but why not give it one more try. Calling the authorities on anyone, whether legitimate or not, can turn things very ugly. Again, I'd focus on the impact on YOU rather than the chickens because I just don't think they'll relate to your compassion for the chickens (but know you're not alone on BYC!). Good luck and let us know how it goes.

 

[Siler]

It's pretty much a necessity now to do something about it. As a last resort I would call the ASPCA or whatever organization you would call for your area. Myself I would hate to make an enemy with a neighbor so close to me.

I would go over there and sit down and have a talk with him about it. Discuss the most pressing issues you have like the dogs torturing the birds. That's animal cruelty right there. If they're meat birds than that's his prerogative and that's just fine as long as they're processed in the proper way. During their life they deserve to have humane treatment and living in a shed with no light is not humane. Local laws would take care of this, but perhaps he's unaware of the local laws. This may need to be explained and if not by you then the local authorities in the matter. If he needs help building a proper structure than perhaps he may allow you to work with the son on this.

I hope this all turns out for the best and I would hate to see everyone lose on this. Good luck to you and yours.

 

[fancbrd4me02]

Its a misconception that calling animal control always results in criminal charges. If you call animal control, they will come out, survey the situation themselves and decide if changes need to be made. If changes need to be made, they will cite the nieghbors which usually just means that they have to put in appropriate housing and then animal control will come back to check one or two more times. Thats it. It's not as bad as peple think. So stop thinking of it as getting your neighbors in trouble as much as it is getting them the guidance they nedd. Call animal control, those chickens can't get help for themselves.

You won't make an enemy... animal control doesn't tell who called them.