When you own a home, you hope to have the freedom to make your own choices in your yard. However, people often have to contend with difficult neighbors and overbearing HOAs that can provide serious constraints. 

One homeowner took to Reddit seeking help with a disrespectful neighbor's treatment of their chickens. 

While you should still talk to a licensed professional, the folks on r/legaladvice had plenty of thoughts on how to handle potential disputes. 

In a long post about how to deal with a neighbor's wild behavior, one Redditor asked for advice on how to handle the situation. "It has come to our attention that one of our neighbors has complained to the HOA about our chickens." 

They explained that another chicken-owning neighbor has had similar complaints levied and also found rocks thrown into their yard, which they believe to have come from the upset neighbor. 

"We are looking into getting a camera for our backyard, but we want to know if there's anything else we can do," they said. 

While they clarified that the chickens are within the rules of their HOA, they also explained that their complaining neighbor didn't have much of a leg to stand on, with cigarette butts and other detritus around their home. 

Dealing with problematic neighbors is an all-too-common occurrence, with folks cutting down trees, damaging gardens, and spraying chemicals without consent. 

However, it's still worth the effort to try to have the home and backyard of your dreams. Keeping chickens, much like growing your own food in a garden, can be a great way to save money and reduce trips to the grocery store. 

Should homeowners associations be able to determine what you grow in your garden? Yes 💯 Only if it impacts your neighbors 🏘️ Depends on what you're growing 🌼 Heck no 🙅 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

Luckily for the OP, there were plenty of folks with advice on how to proceed.

"Definitely would recommend cameras, yes. Just seeing them will keep the neighbor on their toes," suggested one person. 

Someone else said, "The SPCA of Texas investigates animal cruelty. Hurting chickens with rocks falls under their definitions of cruelty. You can report [it]."

Another commenter explained there are laws protecting many animals in many places in the U.S.: "A lot of states, including Texas, have strong laws protecting livestock animals (including poultry)."

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