It was like that when I first moved in. My neighbor on one side was the only one who wanted to visit. Everyone let their dogs out the front door and it was just one huge mongrel pack running around the front at all times. The cops or animal control showed up pretty regularly.
I really think it is the chickens that changed everything. One of my neighbors (actually uninvolved in the fishing expedition, but probably would have been if he was home) got some chickens. He had too many eggs and saw us at the mailbox and gave us some. We loooooved the eggs and got our own chickens. We started talking/being friends because we both liked chickens. Well then we had too many eggs too, and he could no longer give us some, so we started giving them to different neighbors.
Pretty soon the kids are coming out to play with each other while the parents are chatting over cartons of eggs. I met the two little old ladies on my other side because they would drag chairs over to our fence, and grow cherry tomatoes for the single purpose of tossing ONE tomato into our flock when they are grazing and watching them chase each other. You can hear their laughter all over the neighborhood. We give them eggs too.
Now they are getting a coop this year, and asked to buy three hens from us.
People started keeping their dogs indoors because the kids all play in the street with one mom or another watching, and no one wants the kids getting jumped on.
Suddenly its a great neighborhood and we're all friends! Thanks, chickens.
