To make a long, full of bad language (mostly on my part), story short, a neighbor whose home is quite a distance through the woods but parrell*sp to mine came over last night AFTER the poultry was in the `coop to complain about their noise (about 8:30pm). Words were exchanged and I threw her off my property, not physically but verbally. So I called this morning to the head selectman, he said our precinct of Woodsville has NO zoning what so ever and that I could have any farm or legal animal I wanted. So then my other neighbor, who was supposed to be my friend and has known my husband since the 70's, told me "you don't want 'that' family as an emeny" so I called the head selectman back and he yes I do, they cannot change an ordiance and to ignore them. They think they are better than all of us because they have money. He's the bank president of our rinky dink bank here in town. I am ruining the peace and quiet of her new sunroom and inground pool with all the guinea and rooster crows according to her and my "friend".
So I want to fence in my whole property lock,stock and barrel, every foot of it. What do you all have for fencing? Also, since chickens, guineas and soon PEACOCKS!! (I found someone that will trade me guinea keets for peacock chicks as long as the are some other color but pearl or pied or $15 each) Does anyone clip their birds wings? Since they will be completely fenced in, Coyotes or fox hopefully won't be able to get in. My DH, sister and friends said I did the right thing and not to let the snob bully me into giving away or off'ing my poultry.
And I cannot wait for them to start smelling my piggies (the selectman chuckled when I ask if they were legal and said "of course!". There are horses, cows and goats on this road so I am not alone in farm animals. Even my "friend" has 2 horses.
Ok thanks for letting me vent this. I know there must be someone on here that has run into the same problem.
Problems with neighbors
don't let those poeple bully you! they can't have their cake [isolation in the ocuntry] and eat it too! [no country life for others!]...
we have bene fencing with other people's old fence. DH salvages them and has to rebuild them. it has been alot of work, but the first and most costly work was figthing our neighbors outside and inside court in order to keep our property and our animals.
also, i have found many good hedge and tre type plants here on Dave's Marketplace.
i wouldn't clip wings. just always train them to come in to a full feeder at certains times of the day. even if yours wander off your property, chances are they are not allowed to poison or hurt them in any way, check with the guy you arleady talked to regarding state and local and county and agricultural laws.
if you know in advance that the law is on your side, just keep standing firm, and prepare yourself for what coudl be the most stressful time in your life. make sure before you start this battle that you are gonna be sable to see it through...
best wishes, been there, not over it yet,
tf
I feel for ya too. We have neighbors who are complete jerks. No one around here likes them, and they treaten to sue every chance they get. I have wanted to complain about their aniamls though. We have all the noises during the day as well, but our birds sleep at night. They cram ducks, geese, chickens, pheasant, and guinea ALL INTO ONE ROOM at night with a bright light. We can hear them fighting all night, and now that it is summer we cant even sleep with the windows open because the noise is so crazy. I know you take better care of your animals then this family, but we should switch out and have your neighbors out there come listen to what noise REALLY is! hahaha...stand firm. They sound like they should move back to town. ;)
Oh Lora, I am so sorry you are having to deal with that woman!
This is a huge problem--everyone wants to move to the country, but keep their suburban lifestyle. And you can bet she wouldn't worry about her pool parties bothering you! I would contact some news agency and see if they will cover the conflict....though not unless it gets worse.
There was a similar case near Tahoe where a family had to move because a neighbor complained that their one donkey brayed too loudly--and the judge agreed! Said that people had the right to enjoy their property in peace--even though the jerk had moved into a neighborhood full of small livestock holders and it was zoned for them.
Another case near us neighbors complained that the people were stirring up too much dust riding their horses on their own property. And somewhere a farmer got cited because one of his cows "mooed" and a neighbor didn't like it. Even the investigating officers said the cow was just a normal cow on a regular farm and not very noisy.
I moved to blue collar "immigrant" neighborhood because I knew I couldn't have animals in the "better" neighborhoods without worrying constantly that someone would complain. There was even a complaint in the middle of a vineyard that I took my dog to twice a week in the afternoon--the police came and said I wasn't doing anything wrong, but someone in the new housing development 1/4 mile away was complaining because my big dog barked. I was there maybe twice a week for 1/2 hour around 5pm! The policeman warned me "to be carefull"! I had to worry about their putting out poison--so I don't go there anymore.
Very nice people used to live in towns where everyone had chickens. One of the First Ladies use to take her cows out to graze on the White House lawn. Something is very wrong with a country that is so out of touch with where their food comes from.
In the Tahoe case the neighbors are getting together to make sure that they retain the right to keep the animals they are zoned for--so that no one who moves in later can start trouble.
Do you have nieghbors who will work with you to retain the right to keep the animals you are zoned for?
This message was edited May 21, 2008 5:05 PM
Thanks TF & Mcamden! And LOL, after she said she moved from Mass. for the quiet up here, I told to move back! She told me I should move and then informed I was born and raised in NEW HAMPSHIRE! She thought since my hubby was from Mass so was I WRONG! And I am definitely in it for the long run. When I moved here to MY OWN PROPERTY no landlords no neighbors telling me to keep my parrots quiet or move I thought dealing with jerks was over, I guess it just life to deal with neighbors. I own this and I am doing what I want. And little do they know what my husband earns, we can afford to do whatever we want. Though I must say my hubby is getting a lil worried about the price of fencing especially after I mentioned an electric gate. I have scaled back my original plan to just enclose the around where we basically live (house, front yard and backyard) with a nice remote control gate. About a 1/2 acre or less.
Mcamden I am going to go your route too with free fencing, I am very able bodied to do manual labor so I am going to start looking for fencing and slowly but surely enclose the whole place.
Catscan- My "friend" and her husband has two horses and the woman who started all this lives right across the road from a field full of cows most of the year. If I lose my poultry everyone loses their animals too. The head selectman said not to worry there is no way they can make me get rid of my animals. We have no zoning or ordinaces against owning anything. Though the state of NH has regs on wild animals and exotics (bear, cats etc) I can even have a business here if I wanted one. Plus the woman that started this built a RACE TRACK right next to my HOME for her GROWN sons to practice their motocross and snowmobiling on. The older son is a semi pro racer, plus they built there burn pile parell*sp to my chicken coop and house! Not even 70 ft they burn huge piles of wood and brush, thats neighborly? It goes huge burn pile, huge pine tree, chicken coop and then my home! With all their land they picked the closest point to my home to burn! They didn't want us to build in the first place so I should have expected this.
I am not worried about them trying to force me to get rid of my poultry. I know they figured they could bully me into it and they cannot. She even admitted to my "friend" she should have gone about this in a different way instead of when she was angry.
NH is the LIVE FREE OR DIE state! So they will have a fight on their hands if they decide to try anything.
yes, live free or die! bur also find out who the state enviromental grou p is. ours is called Texas Commission on Enviromental Quality, or TCEQ. you may call the EPA to get a referral.
why, you ask? because THEY are breaking the law with those burns. YEP, i know for a fact that it is a violation of air quality! so go get em girl!!!
you can thank my morning visitor for the rmeinder. we are next door to a gas plant, and they now come knocking to let me know anythime they do mainteneance. they have been turned in TWICE by yours turly once for noise violation, and once for air violation. they ahd to come out and measure the distance from our front door to their nearest pipe. they had to make new rules [nationwide] regarding changing out gaskets... and now, just as a "courtesy" [they are nice guys!] they tell me whjat they are doing and how long it will take, so i can stay inside just in case.
get after it, don't rest on your laurels, or they will live free and you will die...
Also, document every thing you mentioned, Lora. Date, time, act. If it got really nasty (hope not) just having documentation of their offenses can keep it from litigation. I hate keeping track of things like that, but it can save you a lot of grief in the long run. I had a case when I didn't, even though everyone around me was, and even though they never had to use it against our mutual antagonist, they were in much better shape than I was. I just wanted everyone to be nice--and they weren't.
I would also ask that head selectman to send you a letter documenting everything he told you. In court it only counts if you've got it in writing.
Fencing. Cheapest I know of is field fencing. Retails for about $119. for 300 ft. Use metal T-post to put it up. Good for keeping unwanted neighbors OUT. Run an electric wire through the top of it (make sure you post that it's a hot fence!). Also run a second wire about 18" from the ground. It'll help keep some of your larger animals from roaming out. They may try to harm them if they're off your land.
Good luck.
MollyD
careful, documents are not admissaBLE IN COURT UNLESS THE PERSON WHO WQROTE/SIGNED IT IS PRESENT. sorry, caos off...
anyhoio... just thank the selectman & go ah4ead with the state enviroment people, as he may get head shy if you start asking for things in writing. if anything goes tocourt, you have your atty subpeona him & keep notes for your atty on what he said when in regards to who/what...
once you show them you won't be bulied, other people won't take their crap either, so they will either straighten up or move out...
Hi TF--when I said document, I meant keep a record. I don't know why, but it does help if you have a record of what is happening while it is happening. Gives you credibility somehow. They always tell you to do it in work disputes (my situation) and divorce and child custody battles. In my office we had one person causing real trouble--everyone around me with a lot more experience was writing it all down in a daily log. Stupid me couldn't be bothered. It is hard to be organized and remember all you've been through when you are suddenly put on the spot.
It sounds like Lora has things under control though:0)
Thanks again everyone. I am going to go down to visit him tomorrow and ask him if he can get me copies of what he told me. Its all town ordinances or lack there of so it has to be writing. I am a lot calmer now, it really bothered me that people didn't like me or my animals, then I realized, what difference does it make? Who cares what they think, I am not going to lose any sleep over what those people think of me or my birds. And it will change nothing, except I will no longer consider Dougs friends my friends. I will treat them as they or she, has chosen to be treated, as a neighbor only. Good fences make good neighbors. I know I will have an extra turkey this year for real friend.
Thanks for the tip on cheap fencing! I am going to look into tomorrow,
yeah., now that is the right attitude!
check Tractor Supply for it
MollyD
LoraK
LOL LOL LOL If they think what you have at this point is noisy...girl wait till you get the peacocks..LOL LOL LOL thats a new battle..LOL LOL sorry I can't stop laughing...
So girl get your armord vest on because its come'in...
Jody In Alabama
Oh thats the point Froghollow! I am a stay at home wife with no kids and a lot of time of my hands. I am going out today and start putting up the electric fence for the 3 pigs.
OOOOHHHH, Pigs. I really like that idea. We have a rich neighbor too. What creeps. They think eveyone should contain and control their animals, but them. They have 6 dogs a dozen or so cats and between the boaded horses and theirs 11 horses, all on about 5 acres. And then they complain about my chicken and ducks.
I have thought about tucking a pig or two in the corner even though we are not zoned for them. No one would ever know they are there. You couldn't smell them over the horse poop.
tick your guns!
That was supposed to say STICK TO YOUR GUNS! My computer is really screwing up.
Jyl, I don't think it is your computer...might it be your fingers having minds of their own and doing their own thing?
GG
Mine do that sometimes, so I know how it goes with it.
So that's where my mind went!
BATTLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love this stuff! Let them see annoying!
Ahh yes, they have no idea what one woman can do with a chainsaw and mercury lights! I own the land (with the trees) that breaks up the light between the houses and I will take them in a matter of minutes if I get one more word from any of them. I will of course check to make sure I am not cutting to close to the road etc. The mercury (ballpark) lights were mine idea and a darn good one. I want to be able to see all of my land! All my acres! You never what is lurking about. And as I was leaving the PO this morning who was on the other side of the door opening it for me? HER husband (looked him online so I knew what he looked like) he opened the door for me I said "thank you" with a big smerk on my face and he said "hi how are you?" I said "just fine, yourself?" he said good. I gave him one last smile and trotted down the stairs. I am not sure if he was nice being we were in a public place and his postion with the bank or if this is really between the woman in the neighborhood. I am guessing its the women!
Try to have a civil talk with them, you may be spending a lifetime with em. We have had some real battles here .
We did without everything but basics to put up a fence .
This is a selfish generation and some don't care about others feelings.
It got so bad with us that at 2am one night some unloaded maybe HUNDRED ROUNDS in front of our gate , 'automatic and semi automatic'.We called 911 .
We realized that being alive was better than being right .
Lora, don't forget, you were going to start a new breedin pen under those light swith the Denxeli long corwing roosters!!!
Oh I am not worried about guns, theres no way they would ever do anything like that. Plus I do believe you cannot discharge a weapon with the precinct. We are only one mile up from the hospital. I seriously think this will all die down for awhile and when they think I have calmed down come and talk to me. They are probably waiting for my husband come home (he is only home two days a week) and talk to him to talk to me. My husband is on my side so that won't make a difference. He might be spineless when it comes to saying no to someone, I am not and I will be standing right there beside him.
I certainly will not do anything like take down trees and install blinding lights unless they do something first. I just like to have plans!!!!!! And the piggies were already coming and they (my "friends") already knew that.
Sounds like that woman thought she was moving to the suburbs instead of the country!
MollyD
Ya know, Molly, you have a point there. So many people think country is what they see in the old movies (all sanitized and such), that they don't know any better.
GG
Yeah, those people move out to the country, drive up the prices, parcel off all the land into little three acre dealys, and then decide all their neighbors are annoying with the farm animals and such. I don't want to sound like an angry bumkin, but errrrrrr!!!!!
I use to live in a lovely little village in the Catskill Mountains. Every so often we'd get new people from NYC who would walk around saying how lovely everything was and then turn around and start trying to change how we did things! Eventually they'd move away cause what they really wanted was what they had left behind.
MollyD
Grass is always greener.
Lorak its always best to try to get alone.
I didnt think the banker and his wife were Bonnie and Clyde,lol.
I was saying these things can escalate as more get involved.
Anyway glad you will talk to them and hope yall can work something out .
Whatsupdoc....I know! I didn't think anything of the sort! it is always better to get along. I am a land owner and newbie to the neighborhood. No one ever thought Doug would build on this lot, he has owned it since the early 80's and never did anything with it. "The neighbors" kids used it as a race track and to strip cars on, the path carved in our property by them became our driveway (that and many thousands of dollars worth of work!) The neighbors on the other side actually cleared some our land and put in a lawn. And don't worry I know they can call it theirs if they use it for so many years so we are taking over mowing it. My DH and going over to them and telling them we no longer want them mowing our property. No one has said HI! or anything. Except my husbands friends. And they also are not losing out on anything knowing us. I let them cut as many white cedars as he and his friends need for fencing for FREE. So since we built here almost 2 yrs ago I could give a rats behind what that woman or anyone else in this neighborhood thinks of me and my "family". I am holding my head high and doing what I usually do, just with a little more flare!.
You go girl! Don't give in just to make peace! Those kind of people are used to others backing down to get their way, and you will not be bullied! It's not like you are polluting the environment like burning tires or stacking old cars in front of your property, so go for it!
Thanks so much Patchouli, I am standing my ground, even my Mother! my own Mother! agreed with me!!! I didn't call her yesterday since everything I do is wrong but she agreed!!! Amazing! I had to call my older sister and tell and she was shocked too!
And I informed my husband if he even utters the words "ok" to the neighbors my parents will living with him, thats 5 days in Mass and 2 days in NH, no break, when he eats they eat, when he moves she asks why!! LOL!!!!
I am so glad that I started this thread I was afraid at first but I wanted to share my feelings and see what everyone else had to say.
As it stands right now, I am no longer installing fence, I am not going to give them ANYTHING! Why should I spend that kind of cash when I can invest more money in clearing land and put in more chicken palaces!!!!! They can deal with it or move! I am putting in the underground fence for the mutt-mutts. One is 15lb, one is 9 lbs and the lil one who is not getting a collar is 2 1/2 lbs.
Two nights no complaints!
One thing I thought of was to make sure you know what all the property line clearances are for buildings---you don't want them to get even the slightest advantage.
LMAO! Sounds like your mother and my mother would really have alot in common, : ) What do your neighbors expect you to do, give up all your birds? Your hobby? Maybe they should give up their dirt bikes or four wheelers or whatever it was you said they had. I mean please!
oh no we hired a someone to build our home and the only thing in convent??? is that you cannot build less than 800 sq ft, a trailer or build a home (not garage or chicken coop, something PEOPLE live in) within 25 ft of the property line so if my contractor did, he's screwed, not me, I gave him every piece of paper on this propery. (plus a couple of other things like no one can build more than one home no matter how many lots they own (stops renting) and that you need to finish landscaping with one year of breaking ground for the home DONE! So I have done everything right by the books
Well I think its over. She called this morning (I let voice mail pick it up) she apologized and apologized, she never wanted it to go that way, she did not know what birds I had or their housing. She knows nothing about birds and wants me to educate her. She wants me over so we can talk. She certainly never wanted me to get rid of my birds etc etc.
So I figure she talked to my "friend" again because she was the only one I told I wasn't getting rid of my birds. I am not going to do anything, I am not meeting, I am not doing any rash, I am just going to go about my usual business!
I would try to mend bridges since you have to live alongside these people. Just that they'll never be friends but at least not active enemies. Easier on you and your animals.
MollyD
yes, but take your tiem getting over there. after all, you are busy with your birds. perhaps SHE needs to come over there, and make her clean her shoes! no telling what she might bring in.... that would be a good start to educating her on how important your birds are...