bad neighbor thats not even a neighbor.

[manfred]

I have a guy that lives 100 miles away from a place he owns that borders me.He comes here 2 or 3 times per year.
I own 100 acres and 7 goats that I keep around to keep the weeds down.
He came fast down my driveway and jumped out of his pickup screaming about my goats were on his property. Claims they ate all his hay he was planning to cut and sell.
It's a barb wire fence between us and the goats go eat the briars growing there when it's available. never seen them eat grass. They don't go there often but i admit that they have been there.
he is demanding that I get rid of them or fence them in with goat proof fence. That would cost thousands of dollars.
Can someone recommend a solution?

[simi-steading]

The solution is, keep them on your property. Most places, legally, you would be made to pay for his hay loss... It's your word against his, and the fact you admit your goats get onto his property would give a court enough reason to accept the amount of damage he says was done..

[fordy]

Originally Posted by manfred

I have a guy that lives 100 miles away from a place he owns that borders me.He comes here 2 or 3 times per year.
I own 100 acres and 7 goats that I keep around to keep the weeds down.
He came fast down my driveway and jumped out of his pickup screaming about my goats were on his property. Claims they ate all his hay he was planning to cut and sell.
It's a barb wire fence between us and the goats go eat the briars growing there when it's available. never seen them eat grass. They don't go there often but i admit that they have been there.
he is demanding that I get rid of them or fence them in with goat proof fence. That would cost thousands of dollars.
Can someone recommend a solution?

....................I'd probably run "hot wires" between the open spaces of the Bwire fence ! And , especially down low and up high . If possible I'd move the lengths of hot wire(s) out , away from the fence by a foot or so , such that any animal that belongs to you encounters a hot wire before it ever gets to the Bwire fence . While the materials are not cheap , it is a lot cheaper than refencing the whole fence line twixt you and him . He could file a legal action against you in small claims court to recover the cost of his lost hay . , fordy

[Raymond James]

Hard to understand how that number of goats could completely ruin a hay field. Run the hot wires and take pictures of the stray cattle, horses or deer that are getting onto his property.

[||Downhome||]

I would of asked "How do you know it was my goats that ate your hay?"
Goats are browsers not grazers.
I would also ask to see the damage.
He could just be exaggerating and making a issue when none really exists.

If the fence line is shared most places both neighbors pay for the fence.
Both construction and maintenance.
that may persuade him to take a different view.

By and by though I think his problem is something else and not your goats.

[Molly Mckee]

Check the law in your state as to how the boundary fence is paid for, usually in agricultural areas it's 50/50. check to see if you are in an open range, fence out area. If you are, he will have to fence out anything he doesn't want on his property.

You should keep the goats at home, for their safety, as well as to be a good neighbor.

[sisterpine]

I think I would tell him you will see him in court!

[d'vash]

Seriously, if he is only there 3 times a year he's just looking for the most convenient person (or goats) to blame. If he's so eager to keep your goats out, tell him to pay half of the fencing costs along the property line. Perhaps setting up a trail cam or surveillance camera (there are solar-powered cameras available) would help find the culprit or who is really (if anyone/anything at all) destroying his hay.

[AuntKitty]

Besides, the goats are actually IMPROVING his hay by eating all the weeds out of it. No one wants weedy hay...

[painterswife]

His property, your goats. You need to solve the problem. You may be able to bill him for half the fence because of fence laws but you still need to keep your goats out of his property.

Really does not matter if he never visits his property, you do not own it you can not allow your animals on his property. I do not understand why people do not understand this. You would be mighty mad if he started using your property to store all his garbage.

[Darren]

Is Oklahoma an open range state?

[manfred]

I don't think there is open range here. The goats would nearly starve before they will eat grass. This area is mostly forest and they browse on young trees and berry vines .It doesn't mater I guess that I am improving his area too. I've had them penned up in a grassy field for awhile but am going to have to make other arrangements soon as they sure are not happy there.

[MDKatie]

Electric fence is cheap. If you have 100 acres your goats have plenty to eat on your own property. Keep them off his. Simple solution. That way next time he comes to tell you your goats were on his property, you can show him the fence and tell him they were not.

[Ernie]

Whether goats are browsers or grazers or whether they ate all his hay or improved it is immaterial.

2.11 Open Range Information

Oklahoma is not an open range state. 4 O.S. § 98 2000 Supp. states that all
domestic animals shall be restrained from running at large in the State of
Oklahoma. The definition of “domestic animals” includes “cattle, horses, swine,
sheep, goats, exotic livestock and all other animals not considered wild,” but doesnot include domestic house pets or feral hogs. This law went into effect onJanuary 1, 1966. The entire text of Oklahoma’s Herd Law is contained in ChapterV of this policy.

http://www.isitlegalto.com/oklahoma-...range-law.html

Hate to say it, friend, but the bad neighbor is YOU, in this case. You're using your neighbor's land and thinking you have a right to because he's a distant landowner.

My suggestion is to try to work out a deal with him where you can legally do what you're wanting to do. I am "gillie" for my neighbor (a distant landowner) and make sure his cows stay alive, he doesn't run out of water, watch for poachers, and make sure his fences stay intact. In return, I can hunt and roam on his 300 acres as if it were my own.

If no deal can be reached, then it's your responsibility to fence in your livestock. He could shoot them all and eat them if he wanted and you wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

[rambler]

It is your duty to keep your critters off his property.

He might have over reacted, but all the same, his property, your goats, you need to do something. In the end, he is right about that.

Some electric fence as others mentioned is probably the cheapest option.

Or go the full fence route, or get rid of the goats.

I recall all the many many threads on here, over a fence that is an inch or 3 off the line, and how ya can't let others use your property or they can claim it by eminent domain.....

Well....... You can't use his property without asking, its the same deal.

I suspect the goats probably didnt hurt much hay, but a little poop and trampling down can sure mess up good hay. I would think local wildlife did more of that then your few goats, but none the less, your goats were there and did something, and they shouldn't be.

Paul

[suitcase_sally]

I don't know you, but I sure don't understand why you are saying HE is the "bad neighbor".

[MichaelZ]

If you are going to have goats, then you need to keep your goats off his property. What more needs to be said?

[manfred]

I simply think he over reacted. The goats were there a few times , like once a month looking for something not on their usual diet. I don't understand the outrage here. I wish I had a neighbor that had goats and they came onto my place.
He does more damage to my place than I ever do to his, comes down and sets fires that get onto my land. I don't jump on him like I want to fight because of it.

[Becka]

I'd apologize, offer to pay for any damages, then run electric wire so they don't get in again. Accidents happen when you own critters.

[Ernie]

Originally Posted by manfred

I simply think he over reacted. The goats were there a few times , like once a month looking for something not on their usual diet. I don't understand the outrage here. I wish I had a neighbor that had goats and they came onto my place.
He does more damage to my place than I ever do to his, comes down and sets fires that get onto my land. I don't jump on him like I want to fight because of it.

The outrage is because you called him a bad neighbor and only give the part of the story that's all your fault.

I think most of us who keep livestock have had the miserable experience of having our livestock get out and go get in the neighbor's garden, or their prized flower beds, or the cow fall in their hot tub ... but that's an accident with some downed fence or someone leaving the gate open. That's not a strategy.

Many neighbors might like goats on their property, sure, but this one don't, and he has the right to not have them there.

If I had a neighbor who set a fire and it got onto my place and caused damage, I'd own his property before it was all said and done. Fires are a big deal out here where I live. If I had a neighbor who was deliberately setting fires with the intention of burning me out, I'd deal with it a lot less peacefully.

My chickens go graze on one of my neighbor's property, and I asked him if he minded. He said no, he did not, and I make sure he gets a carton of eggs every week. No harm done.

The problem is that you seem to think you have some sort of right to utilize your neighbor's property in any way you see fit, and you absolutely do not. If I owned the property next door to you and your goats wanted to graze in some out-of-the-way area of it then I'd say sure, but you'd have to do something for me in return. Perhaps provide me with a young doe come next kidding season, or at the very least let me fish in your pond. I might not come out and ask for that right out, but there would be an expectation of some sort of neighborly return.

I like my neighbors here, for the most part, but they were here before I was and I've gone to great lengths to meet them and make sure they saw me as an asset and not a problem.