A
female
age
51-59,
anonymous
writes:My neighbor has free range hens which she rescues from battery farms. While this is commendable, they are also an unmitigated nuisance as she allows them to roam where they like including our gardens!!! There are now about 30 and she keeps adding to them. I have expressed my concerns but she cannot seem to get it into her thick skull that free range doesnt include the whole neighborhood for her hens, she thinks it does. You cannot get through to her. My husband is at his wits end, we have fences and gates but they STILL find a way in either by flapping over the fence or nipping in when the postie calls. We cannot plant anything as it gets scratched up and they crap everywhere and it gets trekked into the house. I have already killed two of them accidentally just by reversing out of my drive which was just horrible. Two other neighbors have done the same as well as did my poor daughter who is learning to drive. The neighbor went nuts and accused us of doing it deliberately and called the police who wouldnt do anything as its a civil matter. They advised her to get proper fencing for the hens and to keep them in her garden but she wont. My daughter and I were in shock for weeks and even now check thoroughly before driving off. The whole neighborhood is utterly fed up with wrecked gardens and its only a matter of time before someone gets seriously injured as they wander all over the road. The RSPCA have been to see her but she had them in the hen run on that day so they couldnt do anything and we have all filmed them all over the place and sent the footage but still nothing gets done. This has gone to court before and it was found in her favour which is totally unjust so now she thinks she can do what she likes. I love my neighborhood but I feel like selling up and moving as we seem to hit a brick wall at every point. We have tried being sympathetic to her cause and my husband has even offered to build a bigger hen run but she told him to eff off and mind his own business. How do you get through to someone like that? Reply to this Question
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male
reader, idoneitagain  +, writes (28 March 2011):
If it were me in this position, every time a chicken came onto my property, I would catch it, cook it and eat it. And invite the neighbour to dinner. I LOVE chicken :)That's probably not a good solution to the problem though..... The best paths to go down are the paths you have already gone down. That is, talking to her to find a reasonable solution, and taking legal action. You say that you cannot get through to her. In other words, you cannot communicate with her. This might have as much to do with your inability to communicate with her, as her inability to communicate with you. That's not an accusation, but rather raising the possibility that you might be able to communicate with her in a different way. In stead of going to her with a problem, try going to her asking her advice for a solution. Ask her if she can think of a solution to the neighbourhood's problem. Try get her on board as an ally. She might not come on board but different people respond differently to different ways of communicating. Try a few alternatives with her. You say that there has been a previous case which she won. It is not clear which aspect of the issue the case was arguing, whether it was disputing her right to have them, or the manner in which she has then, or a related but different issue, that was ruled against. I am sure that having chickens unrestricted would be some kind of issue and that there are regulations which would say that they are currently not being contained in a manner that they need to be. Other options include:Increasing the height of your fences and improving your gate system so that chickens can't get in. I know it shouldn't be your responsibility to manage the access of your neighbour's hens, but it is an option that would be a solution. Option two, get a dog, or borrow a friend's dog for a week or two. If a dog is a threat to the chickens, it would deter them from coming on to your property, and would also force the neighbour to provide protection for the hens so that they can't jump over the fence and be harmed by the dog. Option 3, call the rspca or applicable service to come and remove any hens found in public areas or on your property. Also, inform yourself. Is she breaking the law, despite having won a court case? If she isn't it doesn't make sense to try going down a legal route, but find out what regulations she might not be meeting, and who is responsible for enforcing those regulations. I know its a pain but there are various options at your disposal, some more agressive than others, but you can find a solution to your problem. Try and find the simplest solution, and try and get her on board if possible. Good luck.
A
male
reader, CaringGuy +, writes (27 March 2011):
More photos, more videos, more more more. Then take in a lawyer's advice about what can be done. Also, speak to the council about having a rates reduction (grounds that she runs a farm, say), again speak to the RSPCA, and again speak to a solicitor. Depending how old the woman is, also speak to social services - it might be that you can claim she's insane. Also check out the DEFRA (department for environment, food and rural affairs - covering pets), and explain that there may be a major health risk of, say, bird flu. Write to your MP.
Basically, get as much physical evidence as you can and try again.
Finally, ever time you find a hen in your back garden, pick it up and take it to the RSPCA or an animal welfare centre and say you found it.
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