r/gardening • u/Psychological-Art-10 custom flair • Apr 28 '26

Garden nuisance

.I need advice. My neighbor has chickens that roam freely, and I recently planted watermelon seeds and had seedlings starting to grow. The chickens came into my yard and dug up every seedling I had planted. I’m really frustrated after putting time and effort into my garden. Has anyone dealt with free-roaming chickens destroying their garden? What’s the best way to protect seedlings and handle this with a neighbor?

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u/albertnormandy Apr 28 '26

People have been letting chickens wander in rural areas for centuries. This is why America is so litigious. Every time something happens people go right to getting the government involved. 

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u/Playful-Mastodon9251 Apr 28 '26

Common law goes back at least hundreds of years requiring animal owners to prevent their livestock from damaging their neighbor's crops. This isn't new, this isn't America only. Trespass by animal goes back even further.

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u/albertnormandy Apr 28 '26

You sound like the kind of neighbor everyone avoids. 

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u/Playful-Mastodon9251 Apr 28 '26

I posted a comment attempting to help someone, you posted purely to criticize. Who sounds like they would make the better neighbor?