Mrs

[Guest]

record his dog barking then play it back to him at 7.30am on sunday morning, full volume!

[Charlottechicken]

record his dog barking then play it back to him at 7.30am on sunday morning, full volume!

 

[BeckyBoo]

OR (just to be devils advocate) you could ask him why it particularly bothers or bothered him right now after two years. Maybe he was having a bad day and took it out on you, unfairly, but people do do that sometimes. If he's normally not a bad neighbour then a box of eggs might ease things along for another two years.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(or if he's really nasty then borrow a Leghorn cockerel from someone for a weekend, then he'll know what noise really is! )

 

Mrs Bertie

[Sarah B]

Just a thought if the old mizzer won't see reason, but does he have any trees or anything in his garden obstructing your views or sun?

 

Maybe if so you could use this as a constructive discussion point?

[obeque]

Ive suffered from noisy neighbours in the past and had to prove over a month that they were noisy between 23:00 and 06:00 apparently you can be as noisy as you like for the rest if the day so I can't see him having a leg to stand on. Plus even when we had a genuine problem it took a very long time to get it sorted so I cant see anything happening

[Rich & Ange]

I'm just waiting for this to happen to us... the first thing the neighbours said to us after our chooks arrived wasn't 'wow, aren't they lovely', but rather 'didn't you need planning permission for the run?'. Oh dear... looks like someone isn't happy.

[Sarah B]

Grrrrrrrr, how awful.

 

I'm only overlooked by one house direct, and part of the side of another, but I am waiting for comments though my chooks at mo are very quiet - not laying yet.

 

Either way they can both s*d off if it does occur as mr direct one has a fir that is uprooting our patio and blocking our evening sun that we have not mentioned, and the side on neighbours have the noisiest kids in the universe.

 

I also called the coucil prior to getting the girls and they said no problem - didn't even ask my address.

[Egluntyne]

Chooks aloud...I've just googled your local authority's Noise Policy **here**

 

I really don't think you have too much to worry about.

 

How likely is it that they would be prepared to send out an investigating officer on three separate occasions at 7.30am on a Saturday or Sunday morning?

 

Very unlikely I would suggest.

 

Also have a read **here**.

[chook norris]

the council would only taken action against you following a complaint if the chickens are causing a statutory noise nuisance, not just because your neighbour thinks they are noisy. usually the complainant has to keep a diary of any incidents over a period of time in order for a noise pollution officer to assess the complaint. if the officer feels there is a need for further investigation they will either try and visit to witness the noise, or give your neighbour recording equipment like a dictophone.

 

you'll know when your neighbour has complained because noise pollution will send you a letter to let you know they have received a complaint. they have to investigate all complaints.

 

for a noise abatement order to be served on you, a noise pollution officer has to witness the statutory noise nuisance. if theres no evidence then theres nothing they can do. they may suggest moving the chickens, or even getting rid of them but this is usually just advise to try and come to some agreement to stop further complaints from your neighbour.

 

if a chicken is quieter than your average dog, and your average dog owner isn't getting procecuted for noise nuisance then i can't see that your neighbour would have much of a case against you if you only have hens.

[Ziggy]

I think people fuss about hens because they are more unusual... Dogs barking creates issues between neighbours, but it's quite common... yet when people see chooks in a city or town garden, they are surprised... some react by immediately putting on their policing cap on and questioning 'is this allowed'??

[Chooks Aloud]

Thank you all so much for all your advice. Hopefully I wont have a problem but I still can't help worrying. I am very considerate and my chooks are very quiet.

 

As soon as he saw us putting up the run he asked whether we had planning permission. He's just a pain in the backside. I explained to him that I cannot move the run, it's 18' x 9' and I've dug welded mesh 2' down into solid clay to keep foxes and vermin away. The run is always clean and tidy so there can be no complaint about smell etc.

 

I'll keep you posted.

[AJuff]

I'm puzzled as to why your neighbour has complained now after all this time. I do hope it resolves itself over time for you, it's always awful when things like that happen. Just be polite and considerate at all times, they may regret mentioning it in the first place.

 

At times like this I realise how lucky I am that my neighbours used to keep hens on a farm and enjoy looking after the girls when we're away.

[Pinkybijou]

I think your neighbour needs to go out and get a life! So there

 

Brilliant advice from everyone as usual on here.

 

Kris

Doris, Welsummer

Dora, Wyandotte

[Guest]

you don't need planning permission for anything that isn't a permanent structure.

 

does his dog have a kennel? did he get planning permission for it?

 

maybe this will help

 

http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/england/genpub/en/1011888236903.html

 

has he said anything since or does he only speak to you when he wants to say something nasty?

 

what have you said to him so far?

 

keep us posted but don't worry as he doesn't have cause for an official complaint.

[Olly]

I sometimes think people are scared of chickens - they are unusual and people don't know what to expect. You could build a kennel and have two really big and noisy dogs and "Ooops, word censored!"ody would question your right to do so, or you could build an aviary and fill it with budgies, but I have had people ask me, quite seriously 'did you have to get a licence to keep them?'

 

I am lucky as my nearest neighbour doesn't mind, and the other side can't see them. Sorry you are having problems, Chooks Aloud - it's upsetting isn't it, but hopefully he will give up on it. He probably knows there's nothing he can do about it.

[Jules.]

I have to say i have lovely neighbours , both to the sides of me & at the front across the road. At the back live 4 children who make LOTS of noise, & have their friends around.... but that's part of childhood, right?

At the moment my girls are out, & can't hear them & they don't even make a squeek when they lay, but I CAN hear a dog barking.

Please don't worry too much about your neighbour, although it's not nice when neighbours get niggly with you, it creates unhappy feelings

i would love a bigger house, but

a Can't really afford it, unless I want to be mortgaged up to the hilt, & until I am of pensionable age ( it's paid off all being well in 4 years!)

b I'm afraid of what my new neighbours would be like.

[Chooks Aloud]

I live in a detached house, my neighbour to my right seems to love the chooks, however, it is the house that backs on to my garden that's giving me the trouble. We don't have nothing to do with each other normally, but he's come round to complain after my having the chooks for nearly 2 years.

 

I'll keep you all posted when I hear of anything.

 

Karen

[WitchHazel]

Love your user name

[Egluntyne]

If he comes round again and is unpleasant....ask him to put any further complaints in writing.

 

That often stops bullies in their tracks.....and it will make him see that you are not going to be pushed about, without you having to be unpleasant back.

 

It is a perfectly reasonable request anyway.

 

Keep a diary too.

[Cheryl]

that sort of small mindedness really gets me wild!

stupid idiots!

[Eyren]

Even better - print out the noise pollution regulations, hand them to him and suggest (very politely) that he writes to the council if he's that bothered about the noise. Do all this with a friendly smile on your face (try not to grin or he'll think/know you're winding him up!) and watch him squirm

[redhotchick]

Magpies are much noisier than my chickens!

I was too frightened to tell my neighbours I was getting chickens.

They are lovely, but if they said no what was I going to do?

Give up my dream of chicken keeping!

Hope your neighbour calms down and this situation resolves itself.

Try not to let it upset you.

[chicklit]

I didn't tell any of my neighbours that we were getting the chickens. Now, seven months later, only my nearest neighbour has mentioned the chickens and she thinks they are great. To my knowledge no one else has noticed that they are in the garden, so any noise they make cannot be loud enough to attract attention. We have a lot of magpies in the trees at the end of the gardens and they make a lot more noise than my chooks.

 

A others have said before, some people need to get a life and take less notice of what others are doing.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Just caught up with this post . Poor you, try not to let it worry you unduly. He is probably making empty threats and even if he does complain, I agree with others, I don't think they'll take much notice.

 

If I ever hear my chickens squarking loudly I start to panic but "Ooops, word censored!"ody's complained yet .

[Chooks Aloud]

Well, we've just received a letter from the council saying that there has been a complaint against us re noise from chickens. The letter says that the neighbour has been given nuisance monitoring forms to record in writing any future disturbance.

 

What do you advise me to do. My chooks are not noisy it's just normal chicken clucking sounds.

 

Karen