WIBU to let my chickens in next doors garden?

[ChickenlessHead]

Seeing as their 3 fucking cats spend their days shitting in my dc’s sandpit and digging up my plants?

I’ve tried everything - squirting with water pistol, sonic cat repellant, covering up sandpit (they just shit on the cover then). I had a little nest of robins in my tree earlier this year and one of the cats knocked the nest over then put a baby bird on dc’s slide.

We have a low wall at the end of our garden that extends along the bottom of next doors garden too. My chickens are free range during the day and have recently been hopping up on this wall. Dh mentioned we should probably put up some kind of fencing to stop them walking along it and going into next doors garden. But next door have no problem with their pets shitting all over my garden and I’m inclined to feel the same about them tbh.

Cats are no threat to the chickens btw, the chickens have seen off the cats many a time (one of the reasons I’m quite fond of them). Next door don’t have a dog either so chickens would be quite safe there.

[QueenNovo]

Problem is, you can't guarantee that the neighbours will have secured their garden enough to stop your chickens escaping and getting lost, and you won't really have any come back if you also failed to secure your own garden.

[Nanny0gg]

Why don't you have a cover for the sandpit? It won't only be next door's cats using it as a litter tray

And sadly you have no control over cats so I don't know what you expect your neighbours to do?

[VivaLeBeaver]

Chickens are sensible enough to come back to the hen house at dusk.... Well apart from once when they roosted 20ft up a neighbours tree! Came back the next day. so i would say yanbu.

[keeponworking]

She does have a cover nanny.

[ChickenlessHead]

nanny I did say I’d tried putting a cover on it. Also we live very rurally, one house either side then a village about a mile away. It is definitely next doors cats.

From what I’ve seen of next doors garden it looks pretty much same layout as ours - fences on two sides, house at the top, wall at the bottom. They have a side gate which I’ve only ever seen closed (although they could of course decide to leave it open if they wanted my chickens gone).

We have a pretty good relationship with next door. I’ve complained about the cats a couple of times but they just laugh and say ‘ah, what can you do?’ I am tempted to do the same when my chickens start digging up their veg.

[TheChippendenSpook]

If the chickens managed to get in to the neighbours garden I would let them go in.

I know that you can't stop cats from wandering but it is more than highly annoying when they poo in your garden. I hate cat poo (and dog poo). I don't have a cat so why should I clean up their poo from my own garden.

[Spam88]

Well you can stop cats wandering by keeping them in or cat-proofing the garden. I bloody hate cats and their owners’ sense of entitlement.

Do it OP! Give them a helping hand over the wall if they need it

[LurkingHusband]

I would have thought chickens and cats are not a great combination ?

[ChickenlessHead]

My thoughts exactly spam. I’m so glad that countries like Australia and Canada are taking active steps to try and encourage people to keep cats indoors and culling feral cats. They just desecrate wildlife and they are such an antisocial pet to have. Please don’t think I’m a cat hater though - I can certainly see their appeal.

Chickens are currently sitting on back wall, they don’t seem interested in going next door as yet.

[ChickenlessHead]

I’m not sure if the cats might be different on ‘their’ territory (although they do seem to think my garden is their territory) lurking. In my garden though they all stick together. If a cat comes near the all just charge and cat runs away.

[JonSnowsWife]

We had a twatcat. Took fucking months weeks of dedication and being there to shoo twatcat to stop spraying all over my DCs garden toys and out of the garden!

[WhatALoadOfOldBollocks]

I’ve complained about the cats a couple of times but they just laugh and say ‘ah, what can you do?’
Arrgh, I hate that response! What they could do is not chose a pet that, by nature, will roam around shitting in neighbours' gardens, etc.
OP, if you think your chickens will be safe, let them wander into their garden. See how they like your pets shitting everywhere, scratching their plants up and leaving chicken craters all over the place from their dust baths. If they complain, just laugh and say "what can you do?".

Chickens are currently sitting on back wall, they don’t seem interested in going next door as yet
Nothing that a bit of grain wouldnt solve

[Iamagreyhoundhearmeroar]

It's perfectly possible to cat proof a garden. Any selfish idiot who thinks this is cruel and their cats should fulfil their destiny of roaming the earth free should be banned from owning one in the first place.

[FritzDonovan]

They just desecrate wildlife and they are such an antisocial pet to have
Not a cat hater? Sounds like it. Do you rant at the local foxes, birds and hedgehogs when they poo in your garden too?

I've got a cat, he's got a litter tray which he poops in. Still had one neighbour moaning at me, despite there being at least three other cats regularly in the street. How she knows it belongs to him (she didn't see it being done) I don't know.

Sending your chickens in next door isnt the same thing, your neighbour doesn't deliberately send her cats into your garden. I can understand the cat poo rage though, i dont like it either. (Which is why we made sure ours regularly pooped in a tray before going out.)

[Splinterz]

What's the law covering stray fowl? Can I, eg, catch them and cook them?

#askingforafriend

[bottlesandcans]

Antisocial creatures, can't abide them. They have no place is suburban areas. Shitting on your property where your children play.

Get one of those sonar repellents and if the cat lovers don't like it they can keep the beasts in.

[hotbutteredcrumpetsandtea]

Arrgh, I hate that response! What they could do is not chose a pet that, by nature, will roam around shitting in neighbours' gardens, etc

They should go back in time and not get the cats that they already have?
good advice, very useful.

I rescued my cat after he'd been mistreated and abandoned. Should I not have got him because there is a chance he might shit in your garden?

[JonSnowsWife]

Yeah because a wild fox shitting in your garden is totally comparable to a domesticated pet shitting in it and owner just being glad the cat ain't shitting in their own

[JonSnowsWife]

Get one of those sonar repellents and if the cat lovers don't like it they can keep the beasts in.

bottlesandcans OP has already said they've already tried everything.

[Jammydodger81]

Is rescue cat shit not as annoying as regular cat shot hot?

[Jammydodger81]

*shit

[HunterHearstHelmsley]

Great idea but only if you don't complain if the cats harm the chickens

[hotbutteredcrumpetsandtea]

Is rescue cat shit not as annoying as regular cat shot hot

The point being that rescuing a cat is more important than a small chance of shit in your garden.

Most domestic cats shit at home. It's probably feral cats that are doing it.

[JonSnowsWife]

The cats wont harm the chickens. They'll be too busy shitting in the OPs garden.

[Jammydodger81]

No hot it’s more important to you. Because you get all the nice sides of owning a cat, the cuddles and love. It was also your choice. The OP doesn’t want cat shit or dead animals in her garden or plants being dug up so she doesn’t have a cat. Quite simple really?!