What makes a chicken coop easy to live with?

[Staffordmum]

I kept a parrot in London and someone reported me to the autorities. Apparently she "screeched" in the garden. I categorically denied this since she was housed indoors and never in the garden unsupervised.

 

Then I had the dog warden on my back when I had to take a 2nd job and work nights. They compained the dogs had been abandoned and left without food & water. The fact of the matter was, that they were adequately fed & watered with access to a large kennel in the event of rain They even scellotaped my door to monitor my access ...

 

Now we have moved to the countryside, we are fortunate in that most people keep chickens here and no-one complains. I am woken by a cockerel (or 2) most mornings - but then I always considered I was a "country person" and accept this as part of being here

 

I wish these people would get a life! and as for reportiing you to Social Servcies - well that is the absolute limit!

 

Is their car taxed??

 

Rgds, Pat & Steve

[Hen Watch]

Dixie, just caught up with this post. How awful for you.

 

You mentioned about blacking out the eglu, and I'm sorry if this seems obvious or you do it already. But do you shut the eglu door at night?

 

2 years ago my lot would wake up at dawn, wander into the run and sqwark. The only way I put a stop to it was to shut the eglu door when it is dark, and I set my alarm clock for 7am (or 7.30 at weekends) and pad out in my dressing gown and open them up. I don't hear a peep from them when they are locked inside as they go into roosting mode.

 

Sorry if you already do this, but thought it worth mentioning as it works for me.

[Julia123]

Hi,

 

Something we use to cover the egglu and run is blackout material that you buy for backing curtains. It works really well, not a peep from them. About £4 per metre. Our neighbour complained and threatened to 'put a shotgun to them should they wake them early again on a Sunday morning,' not very nice words........

[sandyhas3chucks]

i had one made, £25.

brill as said blackout!

[Jules.]

Maybe Omlet could make black out covers for the eglu

 

Petra is to be rehomed as she screaches alot- I haven't had a complaint, but I feel edgy when she does make a noise

 

My boys haven't started doodle-dooing yet, they are just making practise party-blower noises

 

I hope the complainers soon find another person to pick on.

[smokiechicken1969]

i live on a farm. there have been chickens, (so i guess cockerels too) since the 17th century. the old barns have been converted into houses by the previous owner and sold to rich people who have relocated. no problem with that, but they've written to the council regarding my lovely boy.

 

he is not allowed out before 9am out of courtesly to the neighbours but they've still complained. aparantly he spoils the enjoyment of their gardens when he crows.

 

 

as one woman said ' we didnt move to a farm to be surrouded by noise'

 

unreal.

 

i have invited the council out to come and see the cockerel and the farm so fingers crossed. but if you cant keep a cockerel on a farm where can you keep one?

 

makes me furious.

 

in this day and age life is so noisey. traffic, music, parties, dogs barking. etc. at least a cockerel only crows during the day (i make sure mine is in a well sound proofed coop so he doesnt wake us at 4am ) but many noises these days carry on into the night!

 

the people who have complained have a swimming pool and have had countless parties until the small hours that have disturbed me!!!

 

ive just mentioned all of this in a previous post but the woman in question likes chickens and has had 4 hens off me. she has since added more.

 

im hoping that one of her hens gets dominant and starts crowning like a rooster.

 

my local newpaper is running a story of the near by town where 60 residents are marching because of yobs getting drunk and causing problems late into the night keeping people awake and frightening them. the council have done nothing, yet they're on my back for a cockerel that crows between 9am and 8pm at night!

 

 

the world has gone mad hasnt it.

 

rant over

 

 

and the bit about making party blower noises made me laugh so ending on a happy note.x

[mostin]

I totally agree with the "world gone mad comment". People have forgotten what "natural" noise is, the world is so synthetic now.

 

I too have a boy who's still making party blower noises, when he truly starts fingers crossed neighbours will be ok. Luckily the old trout next door is deaf , and the lovely people on the otherside just adore the chickens and complain when the can't see them .

 

Fingers crossed .

[chickenanne]

What?? Farms, IMO are just pretty green factories. They are there to produce things, and make the farmer a living. Why do people think farms will be silent? The only silent farm is one that's gone out of business.

[CluckyBucks]

I totally agree with Debbier, ive been woken up by many song birds on many occasions. ITS JUST NATURE! if your chooks squawk every so often, thats just natural. Im afraid that your miserable neighbors will just have to accept it.

 

Its almost like if one of your neighbors burped really loadly every morning.. its human nature... clucking in the morning is chicken nature

 

Best of luck of the council service do appear at your door.

Just be honest and freindly and im sure everything will be alright

xx xx

[smokiechicken1969]

Any news on your the council and your cockerel?

 

i have the e.h.o coming out this wednesday to see about the complaint to my boy. i invited them. he seems nice enough but that might change if he says boris has got to go and im arrested for trying to strangle a council offical

 

just joking. i actually feel quite sick with worry at the minute....

 

fingers crossed

 

chrissie

[Staffordmum]

Hey Chrissie,

 

Good for you - you invited the EHO - I did the same back in London.

 

They're just doing their job - unless you're unlucky enough to get an "officious" one

 

Try not to be at this early stage - you might be pleasantly surprised (fingers crossed for you!)

 

Kind rgds,

 

Pat & Steve

[chelsea]

 

 

as one woman said ' we didnt move to a farm to be surrouded by noise'

 

 

That is just ridiculous! No wonder you are so annoyed.

 

We get people like that here, who move to Devon from cities but then complain about things that have existed here for hundreds of years.

 

It wouldn't bother me one bit living next to a farm, in fact I would love it! (and I do strangely enough like the smell ...yes I am odd )

[Staffordmum]

 

 

as one woman said ' we didnt move to a farm to be surrouded by noise'

 

 

That is just ridiculous! No wonder you are so annoyed.

 

We get people like that here, who move to Devon from cities but then complain about things that have existed here for hundreds of years.

 

Here, here Chelsea!

 

I moved from town to country (Shropshire, Devon & Somerset) and was always conscious of being a "newbie" aka an "incomer".

 

My heart has always been in the country and I wouldn't dream of complaining about mother nature.

 

"Live and let live" - miserable people ...

 

Rgds,

 

Pat & Steve

[smokiechicken1969]

 

good news the e.h.o guy has been today and said it was ridiculous that someone had complained about the cockerel given the location.

 

so borris merrylegs the noisey bantam is safe (from the council anyway!)

 

i really hope that you get to keep your cockerel too. any news at all?

 

the council did ask me to keep him in until 7.30am which we do anyway, but i still dont see how a cockerel is anymore noisey than day to day life that we all have to endure. just my opinion and sure others would think differently.

 

thanks to everyone who sent nice messages. xxx

 

boris merrylegs

smokie the bantam

eva the bantam

rusty, d.c, and marbles the hylines

coco the cream legged bar

 

 

syrus the male mallard

merlin the female aylesbury

[Olly]

Congratulations, that's good news!

[smokiechicken1969]

ahh thank you. ive just been out and told him but he just looked at me as if to say 'i dont know what your on about, but is there any sweetcorn on offer'

 

[Staffordmum]

Brilliant news !

 

Rgds, Pat

[sadietoo]

A few years ago in a previous house we were those horrible complaining neighbours....the guy next to our very tiny garden installed a shed and over one hundred budgerigars.....now they really are very noisy little blighters!!! from 4 am in the morning until 9 pm they would endlessly argue and shout and scream....it drove me to distraction...so much so that we did complain...and complain and complain...directly to the neighbours at first and then when it was clear that they were not going to do anything about it, to the council. We thought about moving but who would buy a house with that racket going on next door all day long?..Our local council bless them didn't think it was a problem and declined to intervene..so we took them to court....had noise readings done and all that....

Long story short.... we lost - and the argument they used...that the decible level was less than a bus going past every 4 minutes (or something equally stupid - since we didn't have a bus stop outside our back garden gate or live in an otherwise noisy area)

Anyway the point of this long winded story is that we had constant noise....for 18+ hours a day which meant we couldn't open windows at the back of our house to sleep in the summer months or sit in the garden and enjoy a cup of tea.....so even if your neighbour is complaining, the noise has to be above a certain level before you could be prosecuted...and I very much doubt your girls make anywhere near the amount of noise that even two or three budgies could make. I am sure it will be fine

 

(In the end I am pleased to report that the neighbours did move away with their wretched budgies and we celebrated big time!!....I mean I am a vegetarian and everything...but in the end I was spending long hours fantasising about ways in which I could rid myself of the problem) .