Neighbor to freerange peafowl

[wontyoupeamyneighbor]

I am in the process of buying a house, and the inspection turned up several torn-off tiles... which, when I asked the current owners about it, turn out to be caused by the neighbor's peafowl. Indeed, I've already seen the peahens on the roof in the visits to the new house, and abundant evidence of their presence on the porch in the form of poop (which is also not a great situation due to my having very young children).

I am wanting to know about how to best proceed. I want to repair the roof ASAP, but I also want to make sure that the repairs are not immediately undone by more damage. I also want to be a good new neighbor.

I respect that the neighbor would like to freerange her fowl, but are there ways to discourage them from ranging onto our property? The property I am moving to is fenced, and we will make sure that the fences are in good repair... but obviously, the peafowl can fly which is how they get on the rather tall roof roof.

Does anyone have other any ideas for how to manage the peafowl in a humane, friendly-neighbor sort of way, or suggestions on how to take this up most diplomatically with their owner?

 

[aart]

Funny screen name!

OhBoy. Peafowl are very cool....and very loud.
Any poultry/fowl can be destructive.... and 'foul'.

I'd ask the owner if they'd ever approached the neighbor about keeping their birds on their property. IMO a good neighbor keeps their animals on their property.

You may have to resort to 'humane' harassment to make your roof inhospitable.
Motion sensing sprinklers come to mind,
not sure how'd you mount them on the roof but I'll bet there's a way.

 

[wontyoupeamyneighbor]

I agree that the best case scenario would be the neighbor making efforts to keep their birds on their property, and us just providing some deterrents for reinforcement in case the birds slip through their home defenses (which I understand is a thing that can happen in spite of best efforts).

I guess what I want to know is, do motion sensing sprinkler system actually effectively deter peahens? Or is it easier to just aim kids with water guns?

 

[Turtle Rock Farm]

I can't offer any other advice on the pea situation, but I wanted to say I do love your username. Hilarious.

 

[MikeLM]

My free ranging peafowl went onto my neighbors house so I sold them. That's my only experience with this situation.

 

[genuck]

Uggh, I will say the only reason I don't have peafowl is because I know they would bother my neighbors. Try talking to the neighbors, ask the current owners if they've talked to the neighbors about the birds. The birds are used to going there so it will be hard to break the habit. It will take some work and cooperation on the neighbors part to break the habit. Otherwise it will lead to you being unhappy and taking legal action.

 

[aart]

I agree that the best case scenario would be the neighbor making efforts to keep their birds on their property, and us just providing some deterrents for reinforcement in case the birds slip through their home defenses (which I understand is a thing that can happen in spite of best efforts).

I guess what I want to know is, do motion sensing sprinkler system actually effectively deter peahens? Or is it easier to just aim kids with water guns?

I've read they've worked with chickens....so do garden hoses/squirt guns.
There are some downsides, like cost and being in places where humans frequently trod.
Squirt guns, or garden hoses, would be easier...and definitely more fun for the kids or whoever. Probably need frequent application at first but don't think it would take long to convince them this is not the place they want to be.
How the neighbor would feel about this is an unknown variable.
They might be fine with it as opposed to them having to keep the birds contained.....
....or they might call 'animal cruelty'.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

I've read they've worked with chickens....so do garden hoses/squirt guns.
There are some downsides, like cost and being in places where humans frequently trod.
Squirt guns, or garden hoses, would be easier...and definitely more fun for the kids or whoever. Probably need frequent application at first but don't think it would take long to convince them this is not the place they want to be.
How the neighbor would feel about this is an unknown variable.
They might be fine with it as opposed to them having to keep the birds contained.....
....or they might call 'animal cruelty'.

I suppose if the owner objected they could always keep the birds contained and safe from the "cruelty"

 

[aart]

I suppose if the owner objected they could always keep the birds contained and safe from the "cruelty"

True Dat....key is neighbors attitude......tough situation for prospective home buyer.

 

[wontyoupeamyneighbor]

My kids are loud, too, so I'm totally on-board with loud peafowl noises, I just don't want them shredding up a roof... or frequently defecating on surfaces that I hope to let my freerange baby crawl around on. (In spite of a general freerange policy, my kids are usually confined to my property and certainly aren't allowed to go climbing on other people's houses without express permission.)

Squirt guns would indeed be the easiest/cheapest course of action. I'm envisioning a gentle spray, not waterboarding or turning a hydrant on them... just enough to convince the peahens that other roofs and porches are more enticing. But I'm hoping this is only a secondary backup for a primary defense of neighborly cooperation.