Vent: That week my flock got into the neighbor's compost pile and I was the bad guy

Last Tuesday all 8 of my hens escaped through a gap I didn't see under the fence, and they spent the afternoon digging through old veggie scraps in my neighbor's open compost bin. I spent a solid three hours chasing them down, covered in mud and rotten kale, while the neighbor stood there with his arms crossed. He said I needed to keep my birds contained, but his compost pile has no lid and it's basically a free buffet for any critter in a five block radius here in Boise. I get that I'm responsible for my chickens, but I think it's unfair to put all the blame on the keeper when someone leaves a mess like that out in the open. Has anyone else dealt with a neighbor who won't secure their yard or compost?

2 comments

2 Comments

irisg573d ago

Your flock got into the neighbor's compost pile" is a great way to put it, like your chickens broke into a bank vault. But here's something nobody's said yet: an open compost pile like that is basically a wildlife feeding station, and Boise's got raccoons, skunks, and probably a few coyotes that will come for that free buffet way harder than your hens. Your neighbor might be mad about the chickens, but he's really lucky it wasn't a pack of raccoons tearing up his yard instead. He should be thanking your birds for being the gentle visitors compared to what else could show up. You might mention that next time he wants to blame you.

burns.fiona4d ago

Hang on, he had an open compost pile with no lid and he blamed you for his own free-range chicken buffet? That's wild.