Animal Control
I’ve been living in my current home for a little over five years. About two years ago, we bought some chickens and I made a run for them beneath our scuppernong vines. It’s a good sized area. This is in the back corner of my property, probably about 200 feet from the road.
Shortly after, an old couple moved into a house across the street and one house down. My neighborhood is an old mill house neighborhood, and my house is on two lots so my yard is twice the size of everyone else’s.
I believe there used to be a house next to mine that burned down or something and that lot was purchased by whomever owned my home at the time. Anyway, one day it all started to curdle right before my eyes. I started getting visits from animal control.
I was told by my neighbors directly next to me that animal control would come by when I wasn’t home and walk around my property. I have one chicken who escapes daily and visits my neighbors, who feed her and let their kids play with her.
The old couple across the street and one house down once saw my chicken in my neighbors’ yard, took a photo, and called the authorities. I was given a ticket which cost me $295.25 even though the neighbors whose yard it was in didn’t mind.
Animal control eventually stopped coming by after she and I had a conversation. She said the old couple across the street are the ones calling, specifically the wife. Her claims were beyond stupid. She says that the chickens are making her ill and she is deathly afraid of being ambushed by the chickens.
She claimed that it isn’t legal to own chickens within city limits (animal control assured her that it is). Animal control also told her that there is no smell from my chickens and said that I have the cleanest run they’ve ever seen.
The neighbors also claimed that a specific animal control officer took their friend’s chickens last year because chickens aren’t legal but the guy who they say took them hadn’t worked in animal control in almost two decades.
The animal control officer also told me that the woman across the street calls animal control and/or the authorities least five times a week to complain about my chickens.
My wife recently got a promotion and our landscaper is purchasing our home as we’re having to relocate about four hours north of here. He usually brings his son when he cuts our lawn and the little guy loves the chickens.
He asked if they can keep them so we’ve decided to include them on the sale so our awful neighbor will get to deal with the chickens for years to come.
Story credit: Reddit / ChampChains