# Neighbor's Chickens



## ChickenAdmin (Jun 4, 2012)

My neighbors have chickens they let free range all over the neighborhood. I've never seen chickens go this far from their coop. 

Should I take precautions to keep them from mingling with mine? I'm concerned there will be fighting.


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## Apyl (Jun 20, 2012)

I wouldnt worry about the fighting, I would worry about health issues. You never know whats going around in another flock. Thats why its so important to quarentine when bringin in new birds. Also it is interesting the chickens are wondering so far from home.


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## Clearcut23 (Apr 25, 2013)

Both neighbors on either side of me have chickens. One is a fenced in yard they roam around in and the other is wide open. Last week they came over and tore up a bunch of my tulips in the front yard. Mine are still baby's but I ensure they stay in the backyard. My girlfriend just replaced a bunch of flowers in the front yard yesterday so if I catch them in my yard again ill put them in my smoker


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## 7chicks (Jun 29, 2012)

I was instantly thinking the same thing Apyl - potential health problems. All I thought was if that's how well cared for those chickens are, who know what illnesses they are carrying. I'd be calling animal control if it was a repeated problem. Its not worth risking your own flock getting diseased or sick from.


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## cluck_and_quack (Mar 21, 2013)

I have neighbors. One of them has chickens but they are not free range. Mine are. But they have NEVER left my yard. It isn't fenced in. I figured they just always stayed close to home. Guess this isn't the case. I would be afraid of illness too.


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## ChickenAdmin (Jun 4, 2012)

They are two houses down and both groups merge in the neighbor in the middles house. 

They do go far though. He has some adventuresome chickens.


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## ReTIRED (Mar 28, 2013)

Austin said:


> They are two houses down and both groups merge in the neighbor in the middle's house.
> 
> They do go far though. He has some adventuresome chickens.


_Perhaps...._THAT neighbor's chickens aren't getting enough FEED at home ? 

I sometimes let MY chickens into my front yard (_fenced_) so that they can _scrounge _weed-seeds and grass if they choose. ( usually...they just pick at my garlic leaves ! )

Loving GARLIC, mine must be "Mediterannean Chickens" ! 

*Ha-Ha !
*ReTIRED-


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## ChickenAdmin (Jun 4, 2012)

That could be. His seem... less plump.


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## Roslyn (Jun 21, 2012)

I've had some that wander VERY far away. My first flock of 9 hens loved to go on day hikes. They would cross the road and wander up through the little camp that was there and into the woods, up the hill. They also went down the creek bed (dry year and the creek stopped flowing) and my daughter and I followed their conversation sounds from the road. They made it a good quarter mile to my neighbors yard. But they came out of the creek bed, into the grass and started mingling when all of a sudden they all stopped and looked up (at the neighbors house) and then as fast as they could they ran back to the creek bed and scurried home!! My daughter and I had a long laugh over that one!!

My flock now doesn't wander too far. When I first moved to this house (next to the train tracks) the chickens routinely went up and over the tracks and into the pine woods beyond. Back then the train only came through at night, then it switched to during the day. I think this stopped them from crossing the tracks because they rarely cross them now. I have had hens cross the tracks to make nests and lay eggs. My son saw a hen VERY far away when he was walking and told me. We wandered around where he had seen her and ended up finding a nest with green chicken eggs. She was traveling about a quarter mile each day to lay her egg!! I still have hens lay eggs around, but none are traveling that far anymore.

I do agree with reTIRED though, they may be wandering just because they aren't fed constantly, I have had days when the feeder was low and my chickens would maybe dig more, but they never wandered more. It could just be the flock, some wander and some don't.


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## Clearcut23 (Apr 25, 2013)

Today was the last straw. After replacing the flowers in our front yard garden 3 times we came home from the zoo today to find our flowers were once again torn out and chicken poop all over the driveway. I talked to my neighbor and they don't seem to care. Chicken season just opened today and their is no bag limit. They don't seem to care if I shoot them if I catch them in my yard again so I will. I have no problem filling my freezer with some free range hens


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## mjs500doo (May 6, 2013)

I'm sorry but that just seems very rash. You need to approach more demanding. Fence along your property or replacement for all the damage and cleanup, or they'll have to go. Police can and will be involved. Tall in a directing stern voice. Explain all the damage that is being done and that it needs to stop. Or you can always capture them and rehome them as strays.


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## keramoon (Apr 12, 2013)

I agree with msj. Those chickens don't know what they are doing wrong because they have a terrible owner. Get a fence or even better claim them as your own lol


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## Clearcut23 (Apr 25, 2013)

I'm not going to lie. I was a little fired up and a few homebrews deep when I wrote that. It was mainly venting. I'm not going to shoot them. I'm not going to pay for a fence to keep them out either. I wouldn't expect my neighbors to put a fence up to keep my chickens out of their yards I would expect them to come talk to me like I did in this situation. Next time I catch them in my yard they will be mine


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## twentynine (Jul 11, 2012)

If you feed your nieghbor's chickens they won't go home.

Health? Well, I would not be to concerned, both flocks are "open". Wild birds (sparrows, wrens, whatever) have contact with both flocks. If your nieghbor's birds are that close your birds already have whatever they are going to get from them.


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## dcfrenkel (Nov 1, 2012)

I would call that a bad neighbor. It is rude and requires a sense of entitlement. His chickens are his property and therefore an extension of himself which means it is no different than him going to your yard himself, digging things up and pooping all over the place. 

I had a tree fall on my fence and was a bit slow getting it fixed. My chickens began to wander (despite lots of food and treats in their yard) and I ended up losing a couple to a neighborhood dog. Shame on me for not acting more quickly. My birds should not have been allowed to wander into other people's yards. It is that simple. Not only was I responsible for the death of two of my girls, but it was also rude to let them wander into other people's yards/gardens. And that was just one week between the storm and rebuilding the fence (I didn't have time until the weekend). 

Anyway, your neighbor is rude and is responsible for cleaning the poop from the driveway, replacing your flowers and anything else that the birds ruin. I have, with bad dog owners, returned the poop that they left in my yard to them, "here you go; you forgot this in my yard."

PS I am a chicken lover. I love my girls. I am worse than the craziest of cat people, but I do believe in being responsible.


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## ReTIRED (Mar 28, 2013)

*dcfrenkel.....*
Quote: PS I am a chicken lover. I love my girls. I am worse than the craziest of cat people, but I do believe in being responsible.Unquote.

Being a "cat people"...can you tell me HOW you are able to keep your _*CATS*_ at home ?
( MY neighbor's cats _consistently_ invade my property *! *It irritates me AND my Boxer-Dog. Not to mention the scratching of the paint on my vehicle.) My Boxer has actually followed them back over my 6 foot wooden fence....and then *HE *is the culprit who gets a ticket from the County Animal-Control people *! What a CROCK of ....... !~!*
-ReTIRED-


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## WeeLittleChicken (Aug 31, 2012)

Not to interject but in the US cats who are allowed outside usually only live to be 2-5 years old usually getting run over by cars or eaten by predatory wildlife, compared to strict house cats who live on average 15 years. Besides this unless you have a cat as a mouser letting it loose on wildlife is usually disastrous. Little killers like to slaughter birds, chipmunks, anything small enough to get their teeth around - this has even caused a few cases of extinction. 

My cats enjoy fresh air in sun in an outdoor enclosure I made much like a chicken run (which they can go inside or outside at their own will.) Sadly a lot of people do not share my opinion on the matter....


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## ChickenAdmin (Jun 4, 2012)

Well i talked to my neighbor about his practices and they seem to be on par with mine, just on a larger scale. 

He has 50 on an acre. I had only seen the tip of the iceberg so to speak.


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## dcfrenkel (Nov 1, 2012)

ReTIRED said:


> *dcfrenkel.....*
> Quote: Being a "cat people"...can you tell me HOW you are able to keep your _*CATS*_ at home ?"
> 
> Don't know what to say except that the same goes for cats. If your neighbor is aware of the problem and does nothing; rude, bad neighbor who is responsible for any damage that the cat causes.
> ...


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## dcfrenkel (Nov 1, 2012)

WeeLittleChicken said:


> Not to interject but in the US cats who are allowed outside usually only live to be 2-5 years old usually getting run over by cars or eaten by predatory wildlife, ....


I grew up with outdoor cats. They lived to be 19 and 21 years old and died of old age. My sister has a 17 year old outdoor cat... I could go on and on...
I can't imagine my guy being confined to indoors all the time. He would be miserable. He gets really upset when he can't get out. 
And cats have never caused an extinction. Yes, they hunt, but they kill far fewer animals than the hawks and owls and coyotes, etc around; certainly not enough to cause any extinction.


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## ypease (May 28, 2013)

I have had chickens wander quite a ways when picking and hunting bugs. Following their prey I suppose. Chickens can be travelers. But, the health implications and a big concern. What are they getting into as well as what is getting into them! Also, how dangerous is traveling for predator purposes!


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## kessy09 (Jun 16, 2013)

dcfrenkel said:


> I grew up with outdoor cats. They lived to be 19 and 21 years old and died of old age. My sister has a 17 year old outdoor cat... I could go on and on...
> I can't imagine my guy being confined to indoors all the time. He would be miserable. He gets really upset when he can't get out.
> And cats have never caused an extinction. Yes, they hunt, but they kill far fewer animals than the hawks and owls and coyotes, etc around; certainly not enough to cause any extinction.


http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/sci...ts-kill-billions-of-small-critters-each-year/

Cats have caused multiple extinctions and the feral and loose domestic cat population is BY FAR the most disastrous to other species' existences.


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## Bee (Jun 20, 2013)

Well, I guess it's a good thing they only live such a short life then, if they do all that damage to the wildlife.  

I'd rather have a cat that lived a shorter, but more fulfilled life, than one that lived to be using a walker and never got to spend a night stalking through the woods, the taste of a fresh kill or a day lying in the sun filled yard on fresh spring grass. 

Feral cat populations do not exist out here in our neck of the woods as coyotes, owls, foxes or the hunters take care of any cats they find wandering too far from home. It's only in the burbs and cities where the cat populations seem to cause problems and then you get these neighbor feuds. 

I guess it's all relative to where you live...personally, I find it horribly cruel to keep any animal inside a house and to deny it a natural life outdoors. But then, I'm in the minority with that opinion as well. 

Return to the subject at hand....good fences make good neighbors. I'd disappear the free range chickens also...there are places to free range chickens and there are places where it isn't feasible. In the burbs and cities are not the places to free range.


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## kessy09 (Jun 16, 2013)

Not necessary to roll eyes. Was simply stating a fact over speculation. One poster said that they have never caused an extinction when yes, they actually have. 

It's my opinion too, that cats should be out in their natural environment however, the city is not anything close to a natural environment for a cat. Nor is it fair to expose your neighbors, through their flower beds to the parasites and diseases likely to be carried by them (toxoplasmosis and roundworm are the riskiest ones here). In my area, we have a garbage dump less than ten miles down the road and those cats that "live" there are all over the place. People have had to use various means to eliminate them as they are producing 20 or more kittens each a year and are no better than any other over populated pest. 

Your opinion is always smart and valuable because of the experience you have, and I enjoy hearing your thoughts on a lot of issues, but seems to not really tolerate (through the negative connotations in it such as sarcasm and eye rolling and being dismissive/condescending) a different one than your own.


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## Bee (Jun 20, 2013)

I guess that's because it always amazes me that people will gag on a gnat and swallow a mule....the cat that has diseases and deposits them in the flower bed is the same cat that sits their butts on furniture, carpet, tables and countertops in people's homes and no one walks around with a bleach wipe to disinfect these areas...will even let their children play on these surfaces like they are safe...but a diseased flower bed?? Heaven forbid!

It always gives me a little chuckle when folks go on about such things but will let their dogs lick them in the face...after he licked his own butt, rubbed his butt on the couch, carpet and all over their kids. News flash, folks...never saw an animal yet that wiped their butts right after going potty and that fecal residue goes _somewhere_.

In some extreme cases in some areas the feral cat population may be driving some animals to extinction~Australia comes to mind~but to class all cats being outside as having the potential of driving species to extinction is over-dramatizing the situation to make your point. If you want to make a point, at least let it be valid, concise and have reasonable proof as relative to the area and situation~or you own personal experience(if you'll notice, I usually post things I can relate from personal experience, as I can own that information)~ if you want it to be taken seriously. I'm sorry if my attempt at humor came off as sarcasm to you, that was not my intent...but I can't really take these kinds of posts seriously.

If you have proof that all cats outside in all areas of the world are causing extinction to a certain species , then it would apply to this instance and support your argument that cats should remain indoors...but it just doesn't.


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## kessy09 (Jun 16, 2013)

I don't have an argument that cats should remain indoors. I've never ever once claimed that they should be indoors. In fact, I stated I agree cats do best in their natural environment. I just chimed in on a debate already going on. If someone makes a blanket statement ("cats have never caused an extinction") what is wrong with simply stating that they have? Why is one blanket statement (one that supports what you are saying) ok but not another? Especially when the latter is fact and the former is not? People that have cats indoors and let them sit with them etc are not going to be exposed to the parasites cats carry. A strictly indoor cat is not going to have any of the risks an outdoor or even occasionally outdoor cat will. Toxoplasmosis is sooo common regardless of your area and if a pregnant lady is doing her flower beds and all of a sudden has to worry about her child being born with physical and mental disabilities (or born at all) because her neighbor isn't respectful enough to keep their cat inside, then I find that abhorrent. Cities are not places to let cats be free and natural. It's not over dramatic when you have seen children coming in with roundworm infections to the point of having partial or full blindness. I guess it's easy to criticize and be ignorant to actual risks when you live in a tiny little neck of the woods where it doesn't matter what your cats do. In the majority of populated areas, feral cats are a big problem.


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## ypease (May 28, 2013)

I have 3 cats at this time. At one point we had 6! Everyone is now an indoor ***** cat. I do agree, when I lived on a farm, the yard was a happy place. But somehow my cats always came home at night due to other animals they might fall prey to I guess. Rit now the kids live solely indoors and appear happy. They do have a deck to lie on and sun, and occasionally they like to taunt the Humming Birds. My cats are older now and maybe that is why they are not so unhappy. You have to remember, we humans have just about bred out all the wild instinct in our domestic kitties. We tend to do that with all the pets we decide to humanize for our comfort, pleasure and control. Just like chickens!


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## Bee (Jun 20, 2013)

> You have to remember, we humans have just about bred out all the wild instinct in our domestic kitties. We tend to do that with all the pets we decide to humanize for our comfort, pleasure and control. Just like chickens!


Some of that is true, for sure! 

My son "gifted" me with a young tom that had only lived in a apartment all his life. He has turned out to be a hunter par excellence for us and I couldn't be happier with his prowess.

I think we get out of our animals what we allow them to be or encourage them to be.


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## mjs500doo (May 6, 2013)

My only input is on my four permanent in-home feline roommates. I wouldn't have it any other way. No fleas, no ticks, no mites, no lice, no worms (and yes of course there are always parasites but so much easier and less chances being inside all the time!), no diseases, no colds or respiratory illness, coats are beautiful, nails kept neat and trimmed down (never flake or break off), fed a balanced diet of veggies, fish, raw meat, minimal grain, perfect weight, have grass trays in the house for them to snack on as well. These cats are royalty. They mean everything to me. 

Every story has many sides. I don't care where your cats are as long as they are cared for and healthy. Feral cats are a huge issue in my area. Cats MUST wear collars and have two tags on it (one with name and contact info, the other with recent vaccine record). It's much safer for all of us-my cats and I-to keep them inside.


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## ChickenAdmin (Jun 4, 2012)

It's official. As of this morning my neighbors chickens have made it to my house. I've never seen chickens with this sort of range before.


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## Apyl (Jun 20, 2012)

lol Free chickens! Really though I don't know what I would do. Since they consumer stuff from their nasty yard I wouldn't eat them and sure wouldn't want them to pass anything on to my flock. if the neighbor doesn't care they wander that far , hhmm I don't know. 

As for the cat discussion. We have a mouser tom cat. I picked him up free from a cat hoarder that only kept her cats indoors. Luckily he was only a few months old. He turned into an awesome hunter. He kills mice, moles, and squirrels and leaves them for the chickens to eat. He has faced off with a deer and chased a raccoon away from the chicken coop . He comes in during the day to sleep and eat and goes out to use the bathroom and hunt at night. So far I have only seen one stray near our property and it was being killed by a fisher. Sure we have predators but the cat always comes home. If the day comes that he doesn't make it back, well yeah it's sad but he was purposely brought to our house to be a mouser/farm cat. I couldn't even imagine what he would be like stuck indoors all the time. He'd probably go nuts.


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## ChickenAdmin (Jun 4, 2012)

I'm thinking about setting up an away point for his chickens. I spoke with some of my neighbors and they all like them wondering around eating bugs, so I'm sure we can come to an understanding.


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## powderhogg01 (Jun 4, 2013)

In have tracked Miriam's turkeys here in Colorado over 10 miles in one day. And this is steep rugged terrain. Being of the same general class of bird the range does not surprise me. 
Ground birds make good time when they are just foraging about.


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## ChickenAdmin (Jun 4, 2012)

I had to take my girls to a friends house while I get this all sorted out. My neighbors chickens are malnourished compared to mine and I don't know if that indicates a larger issue.


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## ypease (May 28, 2013)

I think chickens are like dogs. Tey can have good habits or can be destructive. And much like dogs they take on the behaviors of their owners. A chicken, if not cared for, will go hunting and when they find a rich source of food, they can be destructive. I have used some clever technics to train my hens. I hide little caches of food and treats where I want them to concentrate their efforts and it keeps their interest from places I don't want them to head for. My husband and I get quite a laugh watching the game of chicken "find and eat". They never leave home, and it stops the destruction!


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## ChickenAdmin (Jun 4, 2012)

Think maybe I should put some food on the property line and see if they venture further in still?


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## hennypenny68 (Apr 30, 2013)

Austin said:


> It's official. As of this morning my neighbors chickens have made it to my house. I've never seen chickens with this sort of range before.


Your to funny Austin you know how to get back on line its funny but you know when I let my girls out they seem to know where the property line is cause I have never had them wander into any of my neighbours yards I guess I better consider my self lucky lol.


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## Buddy (Aug 10, 2013)

I just read this entire discussion thread. Most of it seems to be related to an age-old question: Why did the chicken cross the road?


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## kjohnstone (Mar 30, 2013)

My cats (all neutered or spayed) are indoor/outdoor, and are great hunters of mice, rats, lizards, snakes and more. They catch the occassional sparrow, ring-neck dove, robin or starling. I don't see any of them nearing extinction. The starlings and english sparrows are invasive species who have driven out many of the native birds. I didn't let my ladies range the yard until they got big, which they are and getting bigger. My cats have been watching them since they were much smaller and I put them in the pen. The cats all seem to have great respect for the girls (I had some early encounters between cat and hen, great loud squawks from the uninjured hen and saw the cat fleeing in leaps and bounds) The cats will watch them, and the girls keep their eyes on the cats, they ALL follow me around the yard, but when a cat who is standing just and inch or 2 from a hen and looks at the hen, and it looks back and holds its head prepared to strike, the cat quickly looks away, then tries to maintain cat cool as it slowly puts distance between itself and the hen.

BTW - why did the chicken cross the road??? Maybe to get to the "Chuck'nCluck" ?


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## imnonnie (Mar 14, 2013)

How inconsiderate. If my chickens did that I would be mortified and replace the flowers myself.


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## Thehive (Nov 16, 2013)

A neighbor had a few hens who would come over and leave later. One hen stayed
and made a nest in the hay and laid about 20 eggs. About thirteen chicks hatched.
I decided to take care of the chicks since they were born on my property. The
neighbor came over early in the A.M. before sunrise and took all the chicks and
made a mess in the shed trying to capture the chicks. Is this legal as I considered
the chicks mine since they were born on my property?


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## nj2wv (Aug 27, 2013)

I would think they are his chicks since they are his hens. I think he should have been a little more considerate and not made a mess.


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## Thehive (Nov 16, 2013)

The chick thievery happened several yrs. ago but I have not gotten 
over it. Trespassing for one thing, like a sneak. The hen was perhaps
his but do not think the chicks were. He was never interested in the
hen until he saw the chicks. Thanks much for your input.


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## ypease (May 28, 2013)

I probably would have documented the chicken on her eggs, and in writing asked the neighbor to come and retrieve his hen. I also would have scheduled hrs in which he could come to do the deed, requesting his response in writing and giving him like 10 days to do this. I also would have set out my care and feed fees if the hen and eggs were not removed. Then when he blew you off, and waited until he saw the chickies to retrieve them, you would have legal standing ( I believe ) and per your request the hen and her eggs would have been either deemed 1. Abandonded by the owner or 2. PAY UP the fee for your excellent care! But that's just devious little old me. Sorry for your loss.


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## Thehive (Nov 16, 2013)

*ypease*

ypease: Thank you for your kindness regarding the theft of the chicks.
I had no idea the old man was going to come and take the chicks as
he never presented any interest nor knowledge of the chicks. It just
happened. I guess he was spying. My only regret is I did not have
a Caucasian Sheep dog on site.
I live waaaay out in the country and causing trouble could have been
trouble for me if you know what I mean as I live alone.
Thank you again.


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## ypease (May 28, 2013)

Maybe hire George Zimmerman for security. I know, I know, really bad joke. But, I really do understand your plight and am really sorry about the chickies.


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## Thehive (Nov 16, 2013)

*ypease*

LOL. I would be afraid Georgie would just screw the security up 
and the sky would fall or give the chicks to Napoleon i.e. "Animal
Farm."


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## Itsacutefuzzball (Mar 16, 2013)

Thehive said:


> LOL. I would be afraid Georgie would just screw the security up and the sky would fall or give the chicks to Napoleon i.e. "Animal Farm."


 That was a sad, sad book, but well written.


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