Roaming farm animals can be a challenge - they simply don't understand boundaries like humans do. We've had stray cows, pigs, llamas, ducks, and rabbits wander through our place at various times, sometimes causing damage, other times merely amusing us. For a short time, one neighbor had a flock of ducks that made a daily trek between 4 different places, one behind the other, rather becoming the neighborhood ducks. On any given day, I may be feeding my one cat, or up to three other 'walk-on' cats.

I think your best bet on the wandering chickens is to continue to talk with your neighbor and try to come up with a solution together -- I have found collaborative answers are much more likely to be successful because all parties have a voice in it. Perhaps pass on some of the suggestions from this thread. Show the neighbor the damage. Put the ball in the neighbor's court by asking what he thinks would be a good solution. My husband has a hard-and-fast rule to get along with our neighbors no matter what, which has served us well for the 30+ years we've been in the same spot.

We have tried over the past year to get the neighbor to build what he said he was going to build to keep the chickens safe at night as well as contained in their own yard. He just refuses to get it done and now they are really too old to teach new things. He needs to build a place where they are free to come and go but are safe from predators. Just last night five of them got killed. There is no sign of them, just feathers. I have no idea what it was but they perch in the trees beside my house at night and the rooster and for hens are gone. Have no clue but he thinks it is funny as he did when the baby chicks got killed. I think he wants to get rid of them. They are so hungry they sit on my back porch and wait for me to feed the cat so they can eat what the cat leaves in her dish. That is truly disgusting.

That is pretty irresponsible... How many does he have left? Perhaps you could approach him about adopting them, then you could contain them yourself.

We had chickens and we do not want to have them again. That is why it is so upsetting. We took very good care of ours and they were in a barn with an outside run covered. Not going to adopt more. Do not like cleaning chicken houses.

Well then, you may just have to wait for the predators to cull them all. Sadly.

Meanwhile, enjoy the eggs.

Down to three. Can you believe he is leaving this happen? He could save the whole flock , but no he is just a city boy who wants to be a farmer. And he wants to get farm land assessment and thinks a few chickens will do it. I think he is a stupid city boy who wants to be a farmer.

I would think he at least with have to have a chicken coup for them, not just say here they are loose with no home!

Deb, did your hen ever hatch any chicks?

No, she kept rotating the eggs in and out so I finally just tossed them all. I now have two who are broody and may give it another whirl.

It's so fun to have a hen and chicks running around. I have 4 broodies right now, but I hatched 22 little ones, who are now not so little, so I'm not going to hatch any more.

We have hawks and they just destroy all the chicks if we do not keep them in an enclosure. I love watching the ducks and chickens with their babies our running, but it is just not safe. You are so lucky to be able to have them do that.

There are many hawks here as well, both white tailed and red tailed, also an occational Bald Eagle. My Tom Turkey is really good at allerting every one when there is a hawk near by. The roosters will too, and when they give their warning, everyone scatters to shelter. Once a few years back, I noticed all of the turkeys gathered at one spot, and they were warding off a white tailed hawk. They had him backing off. I just stood back and watched, as they closed in on him, he jumped up onto my flat bed, and then took off. I didn't know that turkeys would gang up on them like that, but it's good to know. I don't think chickens would be able to do that.
One day I came home and found this in my barn. Not sure how he got in, but he was trapped, so I took some pics before I opened the door to let him out.

It just makes my heart break when I see them swoop down and take a live baby rabbit or bird or other critter off and you can hear it crying. I hate that. Makes me so sad.

I understand what you are saying. When my oldest son was a little boy, we had a hawk steal his cat when it was but a few feet from me. Also, Edwin (our cat) is never allowed to be outside as it is much too dangerous. But.... I have to admire their beauty and strength, too. Where I live now, there are a pair of Red-tailed hawks who have made their main home in a tree in the back. I have spent countless hours admiring them and watching them raise offspring. What I cannot stand are the crows who harass them every time they have a new chick. Crows I could do without.

One of the most amazing things things I have ever witnessed was a hawk that caught an extremely large snake (at least 6 feet long but I suspect it was much longer than that as it came close to dwarfing the bird). The snake was so heavy that the hawk could not get any lift. It took 10 minutes or so of circling low on the ground, gaining but inches of altitude each pass before it finally gained enough height to catch an air current. The entire time, the snake was twisting and trying to get itself up over the hawk. It really was fascinating to watch the hawk shift the snake from one predominate foot to the other and to dodge its mouth. Quite the sight!

We do suffer from an over-abundance of cottontails that have done significant damage over the years. So, as sad as it may be to hear the screams, I actually appreciate the hawks for doing their part in keeping the population down to more manageable numbers. Heartbreaking? yes, at times... but they are also an important member of the great circle. Even as I am typing this, I can hear the two hawks calling to one another from across the hill.

I should mention that both our chickens and goose are kept in covered runs.

Well put Old Gardener. Each species has a role to play in the balance of life. When things get out of balance because of man or nature, things shift until they are back in balance. Either that or the animals need to adapt to the new changes. (Like coyotes and raccoons moving into urban settings. Well, that's the plan anyway, unless man messes it up so bad it can't get back into balance, we may have already reached that tipping point. When I was a kid in Northern Wis. I could ride my horse 40 miles North and not cross a fence, a road, or see any powerlines. You could dip a cup of water out of any stream, and not worry about it being contaminated. Now if I go visit, it's like one mass of houses, roads, and powerlines. You have to limit the number of fish you eat as they are contaminated with mercury.

Oh I know what you are saying about the balance of nature. I am a few weeks short of 86 years old. When I was a very young girl my grandfather who was an avid hunter and quite a marksman taught me how to shoot a rifle, cutting of a 22 stock to fit my little arms. I had the gun for years until one day someone broke into our home and stole it along with many of our other guns. Anyhow, I was taught to hunt for food. Same with fishing, if you did not eat it you threw it back. I learned how to not only shoot it but to clean it and cook it.....would you believe my grandfather was a wealthy man and we had lots of help around the estate, but he was very old fashioned and firm about killing for the sport, and he taught me to love all animals and respect their way of life on this earth. Having said that, as I got older I could not kill anything except snakes..the one thing I am afraid of...snakes just freak me out. I also can no longer watch the stories about Africa and how the lions and other animals kill the beautiful animals they need for food. Maybe I am going crazy or just becoming a softy , which would make my grandfather very upset, but my old heart breaks to see a predator making a kill. Yes, today I still have a weapon, but not for animals. I also am pretty good at target shooting and have always had guns....but also went to school to learn how to use them and be a responsible gun person. See what happens when you get an old lady off on a subject dear to her heart. I am rambling. Please forgive me.

We have crows and they are very aggressive and seem to keep the hawks away from the bird feeders, but they raid all the nests, which makes me crazy. I agree I could do without them. As for the snake and the hawk....I killed a snake on day and threw it on a bush for no other reason but I was so afraid of it I wanted it out of my sight and it was hanging on this bush when out of nowhere came a hawk and took it.
At least I did something good for the hawk. God I hate snakes. Have a good day people. Sorry to be so chatty.

Please do not apologize - I love it when you get talking

My first memory of shooting a gun was standing on my daddy's boots with his legs against my back

My largest gripe is irresponsible snake owners who turn their snakes out when they get too large to feed! Rosy boas should never, never, never plop out of tress when old ladies are gardening below when they are NOT INDIGENOUS TO THE AREA 'Just the memory alone makes me still lose my .... stuff.

Oh My God......I just saw the black game hen the neighbor still has and she has 9 chicks. The rooster has been dead for weeks and he must have been doing his deed up til the end. I ask the neighbor if he knew he had chicks and he said yes unfortunately. I could not help but ask, "why did you keep the eggs if you did not want chicks to care for?" He replied, "I had no idea the eggs were fertile". To which I almost screamed outloud. So you do not think the eggs are fertile you just let them lay there in the heat in the old wheelbarrow , in his barn and do nothing with them but wait. She was sitting on them and he saw her there, but he knows it all...they were not fertile, cock is dead......I think he is brain dead.

I am so annoyed that I gave him a small bird net to catch them and told him I wanted him to put them in the coop with the hen and keep them there so the predators do not get them, and then I gave him an extra water container so they do not drown in the flat pan he had for them. What a jerk. I also gave him some old corn bread for him to give them. He does not feed them mash, He said he helped one out of the shell and put it in the house under a heat lamp. He did not say he was feeding it any liquids. I am afraid to ask. Why can't I mind my own business?