[10M] Nephew abused my [30F] chickens and fabricated stories. I have cctv footage. How do I move forward?

A Reddit user (30F) shares a troubling story involving her 10-year-old nephew, who entered her yard without permission and threw bricks at her chickens, injuring her rooster and favorite hen. The nephew fabricated a story claiming he was defending himself from the rooster’s aggression.

Despite her anger and the injuries to her chickens, her sister, the boy’s mother, seems unaware of the severity of the situation. The user has CCTV footage to prove the incident and is unsure how to proceed. Read the original story below:

‘ [10M] Nephew abused my [30F] chickens and fabricated stories. I have cctv footage. How do I move forward?’

Long story short on Friday my 4th grader nephew was supposed to playing outside at my parents house next door but he opened my gate in my privacy fence, snuck into my yard, and checked all the doors. He actually chatted with me at my ring doorbell while I was at work and I told him “hey buddy how ya doing?

I’m at work but I can’t wait to see ya later! Have a good time!” He then went into my backyard and started picking up bricks from a project I was working on and hucking them at my chickens for 8 minutes. At some point he went and got his little brother and one of my (also younger) sons,

the brother threw a few good swings at my hens also and my son threw a tiny piece of cracked-off mortar. He injured my rooster and my literal very favorite hen who is at the top of the pecking order and is the very friendliest with the biggest personality.

The rooster I specially selected out of 6 that I raised, I kept him specifically after growing them all up and watching them interact with their flock and my family I selected him for his calm temperament and friendly behavior.

They are both wounded pretty bad- the rooster has a bad limp and my best hen took a brick to the *face* and I made a big deal out of being upset by his actions and concerned that he would have such a**sive behavior and then lie right to his parents face about it.

The story he told his parents before I could ever even talk to them is that “My aunt asked me to go collect eggs with my cousin and we went into the coop like she asked and the rooster started being aggressive so I started throwing rocks to defend myself”

His mother, my sister, says she has no idea where he got this behavior from or why he thought it was ok to entertain himself like this but “that wasn’t ok at all at all at all” and that they’re going to have him call me after work.

Here’s what people had to say to OP:

Least-Sample9425 −  You need to protect your animals and maybe even your child. That kid needs counselling and the lack of empathy is startling I would make your home a no go zone and a safe space. Spend time at his house instead.

ConfusedAt63 −  Banning them from your property when you are not home is perfectly reasonable. Put locks on your gates so this doesn’t happen again. You have the right to protect your chickens and property. A boy that lies all the time needs locks to keep him out!

gringaellie −  Boys who harm animals and lie are far more likely to grow up and become violent criminals if they don’t get help as a child. If your family love your nephew, they need to get him help pronto. I would cut that nephew off until they get him help and he apologises.

BossHeisenberg −  This is sooo fucked up. Sorry this happened to your animals. I don’t envy you. Also let your sister know how fucked up this is, this should affect your little nephew. Scare him even. You don’t hurt defenseless animals!

CinematicHeart −  As a mother and animal lover I would not leave that child unattended with anyone. I would suggest to your sister that he get an evaluation. That harming animals is a sign of a larger problem. He might move from chickens to other kids. Harming animals is a well documented early sign of psychological issues.

N0S0UP_4U −  I’m a big time family man but if it were me he wouldn’t be welcome in my home for at least a few months if not longer. He also does not get to see your son without adult supervision for at least that long.

I’d also tell his parents that if he does what he did again, you will call the police and you will have video evidence. Lastly, I’d suggest some type of behavioral intervention counseling to be a prerequisite for the restrictions above being removed. Not only did he directly harm your animals, he’s actually influenced your son to do the same.

He is not to be trusted around your animals or children for both reasons. You also need to address your parents’ cavalier attitude toward this when you have video evidence of what happened. They want you to capitulate so they can keep playing big happy family. It’s not a “stupid mistake” and that boy is a danger to himself and those around him.

sf3p0x1 −  Your addition of acknowledgment of autism tells me that your family uses your autism as an excuse for how they talk to you, talk about you, and act with you. They don’t respect you. They’re using your autism as an excuse to treat you lesser.

Your nephew will get a slap on the wrist and told not to do it again. This story will pop up later as a “cute anecdote” in your sister’s repertoire of child-rearing stories. Has she offered to pay for the damage? Sent her son to apologize? *Let you know what steps she’s taking to correct the behavior?*

Has she shown you that she’s taking responsibility for the actions of her son, or forcing *him* to? If any of the answers to these questions are “no,” you should probably think about restricting the amount of time you allow your family on your property.

[Reddit User] −  From my parent: “Cut the kid some slack, he’s a kid, he was wrong, he knows it now. You need to let this go. I love you & understand how mad you are but are you going to let this affect your relationship with him forever? None of us are perfect, let it go!” That’s dysfunctional, right?

My parents have been insanely gracious and helpful to me over the years especially throughout my time as a single parent, they’ve made sure I always had everything I needed. But what the fuckkk. Let it go so he can get himself in more trouble? And putting the blame on ME for being upset? He’s the one who injured my chickens! They’re my only pets! They were innocent!

Ok_Imagination_1107 −  1. You’re being autistic has nothing to do with the fact this child is displayed disturbing violent behaviour. 2. Recommendations: child never sets foot in your yard again at least for say 10 years and I’m not kidding. In order for you not to file a report with your local animal cruelty organisation, you insist the child get some therapy At least say 3 months worth.

Tell the parents quite correctly the such behaviour is usually found in serial killers when they were children. No therapy means you reported to authorities for everyone’s good really. Quite personally I would report it anyway. I’m so glad you have CCTV camera footage. Your poor animals. Poor you.

Next_Plum_8401 −  Being neurospicy doesn’t mean your feelings are invalid, I’d be livid if I was in your position. I’d never let him out of my eye sight while around my belongings.

How should the Redditor approach the situation with her sister and nephew? Should she press for an apology and compensation for the injuries caused to her chickens, or is there a way to handle this without escalating the conflict further? Share your thoughts below!