Homesteaders Deal with Pests & Neighbors
12 posts across 7 communities in the last 60 days; 33% from r/gardening.
“We introduced new hens to our chicken run around 7 months ago now. Recently, one of the hens is having its feathers pecked off. It has gotten really bad the past week - you can start seeing the flesh on top of wings and there is a bald patch on the top of neck. The older hens…”
“There was a dove in my backyard that was laying in the grass, wouldnt fly away. My neighbour put out a stick and it hopped on so we put it in the bush because we didn't know what to do. One of the doves eyes had dried up blood coming down from its eye (eye kind of looks like a…”
“Had a neighbor who was guilty of something similar only all our grapes. A few years pass and i stupidly offered her a cucumber as we were going to have a big harvest for pickling. A few weeks later the cucumbers are all gone and a few choc chips cookies were left on our porch…”
Homesteaders are experiencing issues ranging from animal attacks (turkeys) and farmyard bullying to neighborly disputes involving trespassing, theft of tools, and property line conflicts. There's also a focus on choosing appropriate livestock breeds.
SOURCES (26)
“A few days ago a neighbor ( older man, he didn't mean any harm but he doesn't listen when it comes to my dog) came through our gate into our yard trying to get one of our chickens back into the coop, he was shouting…”
“Absolutely, my neighbor had them real bad. The local wild turkeys found them & rotor tilled the yard eating them. Very quickly”
“Good evening not sure if this is rhe right group to post this but we live out in the country and have chickens, turkeys, and pigs. We have been having issues with a neighbors kids dog getting in and killing chickens but it's been our free range ones. They have told us mutable times to take care or it. But we felt sick the chickens were free rang and on our property we were to blame as well. Well this morning when doing animal check the dog broke into our fenced area it jumped a 5ft fence and”
“Hi all, we live in a neighborhood within city limits. Currently, we do jumbo Coturnix quail (27 in the aviary, 13 so far hatched in our incubator currently), a couple pigeons, and some gardening (looking to do more with this next growing season). We live in WV. We supplement our lack of ability to have a dairy producing animal right now with a herdshare to get raw milk every week. So we have eggs, milk, and some veggies down. What more can we do on limited space in city limits to be self suffici”
“The homeowner meets me at the front door, hands me a broom, and says "Be careful.. the rooster is going to attack you." When asked where the rooster is, she tells me "Standing right behind you!" He puffed up and kicked at me most of the way back to my car. Luckily, roosters don't have large talons. 10/10 Would deliver again! submitted by /u/EnderAlexander [link] [comments]”
“We introduced new hens to our chicken run around 7 months ago now. Recently, one of the hens is having its feathers pecked off. It has gotten really bad the past week - you can start seeing the flesh on top of wings and there is a bald patch on the top of neck. The older hens are around 2-3 years old. Not our coop originally and we are helping out our grandad who is getting too old to look after them daily. How do I approach this? I’ve heard there is natural pecking order and the old ones should”
“Does anyone know what animal left this bite mark on my mango and how to keep this animal out of my garden? Some animal or animals have been eating my fruits. Thank you in advance! submitted by /u/Strange_Campaign8995 [link] [comments]”
“My neighbor has a chicken coop literally right beside my bbq but on the other side of the fence. We are having a lot of flies on our side. It’s disgusting it’s hard to enjoy our backyard now. What can I do I spray to get these flies away. submitted by /u/Cute-Big-9663 [link] [comments]”
“There was a dove in my backyard that was laying in the grass, wouldnt fly away. My neighbour put out a stick and it hopped on so we put it in the bush because we didn't know what to do. One of the doves eyes had dried up blood coming down from its eye (eye kind of looks like a hole). On the other eye, there are bumps and I can't see the actual eye. my neighbour said they would call SPCA to find out what to do because i was going out for a bit. i come back later and find that the bird is”
“I have a small yard, and I don’t really have a way to set up a bird net, or crop cage. How can I prevent my red Tabascos from getting plucked by the birds? submitted by /u/TheAdhdTradesman [link] [comments]”
“https://preview.redd.it/30lu76q5mnlh1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9a853282a7451e98e1c46b9d35a999cb843a292b Why I had to stop feeding the birds….”
“Who are they?! On my pumpkins in NE Kentucky. submitted by /u/thundergreenyellow [link] [comments]”
“I got alot of burr plants on property and was curious would chickens eat the seeds or should i avoid them being near them to long? submitted by /u/UlfurGaming [link] [comments]”
“Hey Reddit, My neighbor trespassed and "killed" two Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus altissima) saplings on my property. Only they're not dead, and now they're going to send up new shoots all over. I warned him about it in the past, but he's not too good at plant IDing. I had also just painted herbicide all over them two days ago. It's on the far side of my driveway from my stuff, so right up against his house and lawn. But either way I figure it's probably suckering on bo”
“My son had small birds, they flung their seeds everywhere. When they got out/got let out they pooped on things. I’m not a fan of inside birds and much preferred his outside birds ( pigeons, doves, chickens, ducks) but I’m a big fan of my kid so I dealt with it. I owned that house though so all I can say was what living with them was like. These guys were quiet, not all inside birds are quiet.”
“So two weeks ago, my neighbor comes to me and tells me that I need to stop throwing eggshells in my raised planters because they attract rats to his yard. We have established that he is a bit of a nut. Side note, I still haven't seen a single rat. Yesterday he came out and asked about my compost pile (I don't really have one) and suggested I call an exterminator adding that a friend of his had told him that because my vegetable garden is more than 120 sf, it constitutes a business and he”
“I can see a your side and I get its frustration rather than being a karen. But the birds have a right to be there as well imo. Branches being all over the place sure maybe deal with that but its a tree its gonna do tree things.”
“you can roast the eggshells and grind to a powder if you like. this will remove food and abrasion value and keep mineral value. or bury they shells. other than that. it's your yard. not your neighbours. proof or gtfo”
“Had a neighbor who was guilty of something similar only all our grapes. A few years pass and i stupidly offered her a cucumber as we were going to have a big harvest for pickling. A few weeks later the cucumbers are all gone and a few choc chips cookies were left on our porch where the sq got into them, Can’t prove anything but it’s all points in the same direction. Gracie’s were taken by a cousin who asked if they cld have some grapes to take home w her. Sure no problem after she leaves we find”
“After running it over while mowing the grass (and getting swarmed and stung over 12 times) my husband and the neighbor returned at night to take them out. I’m honestly shocked how large the nest was, and so thankful my horses somehow avoided it… also thankful my husband is ok of course 😆 submitted by /u/Agile-Ad1933 [link] [comments]”
“I was swapping gardening stories with a friend, and figured I’d put this up for discussion here. What are your weirdest/funniest/most egregious examples of someone (or something) snatching food from your garden? My friend lost a whole tomato plant. One of her neighbours was out for a smoke and watched an intoxicated person stumble past the yard, backtrack, then dig the plant out with her hands and walk away with it. For me, it was several years ago. I had a strawberry plant that was slowly growi”
“About two weeks ago at around 9pm I looked outside my window and a young black bear was right by my slider doors eating chicken feed that we had sprinkled out earlier in the day for our chickens (who were all in their coop only about 10 yards from the bear). We scared it off to lock up their coop and I haven’t seen it until today when I heard something outside my bedroom window and that same bear was walking right up along the side of the house (broad daylight this time) — it went around the hou”
“We are building a house on 5acres in an offgrid area. One of the property owners neighboring mine drove across another neighbors property and onto mine while we were gone. They left tire tracks in the deep grass. At this same time a pick that was leaning next to my kids' trampoline went missing. My boy was walking our property line yesterday and found the pick on their property. Someone had used it to clear vegetation at the corner where our lots meet. I think they were looking for the prope”
“Somewhat new bird keeper here. The other day I fed my flock of 6 birds (4 chicken 2 turkey, all 3-4 months old). I noticed when they were done eating this turkey had 2 cuts, one above each eye. I thought it was pecking but the way they’re perfectly above each eye has me questioning if it’s something else… possibly internal. I hope not. They seem to be healthily scabbing over, she’s eating and drinking and follows me everywhere per usual, but I know they are known to hide some illnesses. Has anyo”