It is a blessing indeed to have people close by when you need them. The problem arises when someone takes advantage of you, letting their chickens into your yard, regardless of whether you own chickens or not. Imagining that you do want to maintain a good relationship with the neighbors, how would you prevent the chicken from getting into your yard?
The use of chicken repellant smells, owls, and hawks as fake predators, as well as automated motion devices, does scare the chickens from your yard; thus causing little shock to the birds, scaring them away. However, should they still stray in, you can always seek legal measures to solve the issue.
In light of how important it is to have a solid relationship with your neighbors, you may wish to read ahead to find out how I handled such problems both as a resident and a neighbor.
How Do I Get Neighbor’s Chicken out of My Yard?
Chicken keeping was one of the most basic agricultural principles that no serious farmer could do without in the mid-19th century. Then, I could not have imagined that such a mindset and many other myths would catch on with the current generation; not when folks forcefully made their kids feed the noisy chicks; back then.
Today, it is not surprising anymore to meet people in urban areas leisurely feeding chickens and running around admiring the little chicks. Nonetheless, this is understandable, since birds may come naturally to them as pets. However, when the chickens get out of control and into the neighbor’s yard, I think the whole fun thing turns into possible harm and bad eye contact between the neighbors.
You can, however, try the following for peace’s sake.
Use Chicken Repellant Scents
Sadly, animals and pets today have no choice but to take in the variety of attractive and enticing smells and sounds that aren’t healthy for them. The results of a recent study on pet offenders showed many veterinaries train and continuously remind their staff against wearing perfumes that could upset their pets.
Thus, this is perhaps the simplest and most affordable method of chasing off chickens. Here are some scents you may reliably use.
- Spices such as black pepper, curry powder, garlic, cayenne pepper, paprika, and others
- Citrus peels including orange, lime lemon, and other flavored herbs that chickens dislike.
I do not recommend using mothballs because they are toxic to both animals and humans since approximately 30% of chickens that consumed mothballs died instantly, so you don’t want to do that.
Use of Motion-activated Devices
The weekends are an important part of your life and you wouldn’t want anything to come in between that and innocent chicks. So when you use motion-activated devices, such as sprinklers or noise actuators, you will have threatened the chickens from overstepping their boundaries.
In addition to being less harmful and stressful, this method also has a lasting positive effect when the automated sprinklers water your garden while scaring away chickens.
Use of Fake Predators
Using this method, you should know specific predators known to scare chickens from your yard, such as owls and hawks. In addition, the chickens get stressed thinking about their possible experience with the real predators.
Use Chicken Wire Fence
The use of chicken wire is a very expensive option, so it should be the last option, and accounted for solely by the owner of the chickens. However, if you feel offended enough to not want to engage your neighbor, you can purchase the wire mesh and set it up within your property; at your own cost.
Is It Bad to Keep My Neighbors’ Chickens Out of My Yard?
Even after using all feasible means to keep them off, seeing neighbors’ chickens still intrude on your backyard and scratch up the flowerbeds is an unexplainable headache. Although one may seem overly caring or soft-spoken, that does not mean their backyard is an open ground for farming. Although this is a painful act, here are some tips on how to avoid hurting someone else’s chickens. Instead, use the legal means I have outlined towards the end of this article.
Things You Should Not Do to Your Neighbor’s Chickens
- You should avoid shooting, killing, kidnapping, or injuring the neighbor’s chickens; since such acts are punishable by law.
- Avoid the use of poisons such as mothballs; these will kill the chicken
Are There Governing Laws on Stopping Neighbor’s Chickens from My Yard?
I guess you noticed I didn’t mention talking to my neighbors about stopping the annoyance caused by their chickens as part of the means to stop the chickens. Despite how easy this may seem to achieve, you may not know how they would react to your claims. This owes to the fact that some people are too insecure and if you haven’t met the neighbor before, they may assume you are on a different agenda.
Nevertheless, I am not stopping you from trying, the neighbors might not be aware of their straying chicken. However, you can lawfully handle the issue by:
You can make a formal complaint by writing to an appropriate agency. Be sure to add pictorial evidence in the form of pictures and videos that prove your point.
Depending on your country, you can consult with the animal control agencies about how to handle the situation. In such instances, these organizations have the right to take whatever action they judge necessary. You also have the option of settling for compensation, which could be advantageous to you.
Depending on your state’s laws, it is acceptable for you to hold and feed the chicken until the owner comes to pick it up. When you have the evidence at hand, you can then hold a meeting or propose measures, such as setting up wire mesh fences at their expense only after the owner of the chicken comes around in search of their bird.
Chickens will always go where they please, as long as they have access to water and dust filled with tasty insects, this includes wandering into your yard. It is all up to how you stop them, considering that some methods are punishable by law.